Behold a Fair Woman is the fifth and last book of the Mordecai Tremaine series. In this one, Mordecai is taking a much needed holiday away from crime when murder strikes, and he has no choice but to get involved and help out.

Like the others in this cozy mystery series, this book's plot unfolds slowly. In fact, the murder doesn't occur until about half way through book after we have met all the potential suspects. What follows is the slow and steady reveal of clues and of secrets, which everyone seems to have aplenty. It culminates in the big reveal which wraps everything up with comforting satisfaction.

This isn't the most exciting murder mystery series out there, but there's something charming and relaxing about it. Even though the books are about murder, they're a fun and light read, which perfectly suits my mood at the moment.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

The Monk of Mokha is the true story of a young Yemeni American man named Mokhtar who became fascinated with coffee, especially its origin in Yemen. He wanted to elevated the quality of coffee there and bring it to the world, while also ensuring that the local coffee farmers are paid a more fair share for their hard work so that they can make a living wage. While Mokhtar was working to achieve this, Yemen was embroiled in a civil war, making his mission even harder and sometimes mortally perilous.

Even though the premise of this book sounds interesting and so many people loved it, I honestly found the book to be pretty boring for the most part. (And I feel so bad for saying so!) I think this is definitely a case where my interests just didn't align with what the book is offering. I drink coffee occasionally, but that's as far as my interest in coffee goes. So to read chapter upon chapter on the origins of coffee, its varietals, its growing and processing methodologies, etc. made my eyes glaze over. There are also many pages with dry facts about the Yemeni civil war, most of which I've already read about elsewhere.

The only thing I found interesting was the details about how much work goes into growing and processing coffee plants before they become the coffee beans we all know, and how little of that effort is translated into fair pay for the farmers doing the grunt work. It is certainly something that is deserving of attention, and I'm glad the book highlighted this gross pay inequity.

Otherwise, this book was a pretty disappointing read for me. I debated not-finishing it, but thought if I held out, it would get more interesting. And while the last few chapters were certainly more entertaining as they showcased Mokhtar racing to reach his goals, it just never became fully compelling to me. I think this is a case where my lack of interest in coffee really impeded my ability to get into the book.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars

Jane Harper is the queen of character-driven mysteries, and The Lost Man adds yet another feather to her cap.

Three brothers meet under the unrelenting sun of the outback. Older brother Nathan and younger brother Bub stare down at the dead figure of their middle brother Cameron, who died of dehydration and exposure to the elements after leaving his fully stocked car and wandering nine miles away. The family gathers at the homestead to mourn Cameron's passing, and what follows is the slow surfacing of emotions and secrets that have entangled them for years.

While the mystery of how Cameron died helps to propel the plot along, that isn't the heart of this book. Instead, this is really a shrewd family drama with complex characters. Each person comes with their own expectations and experiences, bringing with them sadness and fear, but also hope for the future. Harper is able to sketch each of them into sharp relief, and I found the quiet and insightful study of the different characters to be a real highlight.

The mystery itself is interesting, starting off immediately with the kind of conundrum I love in a murder mystery: why did Cameron leave his fully stocked car to venture out into the unforgiving elements to begin with? As the mystery unfolds, there were plenty of twists and turns, making you question everyone and everything. And the ending is satisfying and thorough.

I admit this isn't the sort of book I would have normally picked up, being set in the outback with lots of dirt and sun and dreary, monochromatic landscapes. Just thinking about reading those sorts of passages makes me feel tired. And I did find the initial pages like that, slow and dull. But as I kept on reading, the story grabbed ahold of me and before I realized it, I couldn't put it down anymore.

I can't think of another author who so deftly marries character studies and mysteries the way Jane Harper does. Her books are something to be savored, which is a must while I wait impatiently for her to write more.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

I Found You follows three convergent story lines. Alice finds a man sitting on the beach outside her house with no memory of himself or how he got there, and invites him in. Lily is a newlywed who grows anxious when her husband does not return home after work one day. And two decades ago, teenagers Gray and Kirsty are holidaying with their parents when a troubled young man starts paying attention to Kirsty.

This book starts off so strong. Even with three story lines, it seamlessly introduced all the characters and drew me in immediately. Lisa Jewell has a real knack for crafting interesting characters that feel real and believable, and I find her writing style to be engrossing.

But for me, the story started feeling flat towards the middle when the characters began to behave oddly. Alice clings to the man with amnesia. Her daughter had to be the voice of reason and tell her that if she had found a dog, she would have done everything she could to reunite it with its family, but she is trying to keep this man from returning to his regular life. Gray and Kirsty did not trust or even like the young man, but they keep agreeing to go hang out with him. And Lily is self-centered, demanding that everyone just drop what they are doing to help her. It's frustrating to read about people so lacking in awareness.

Another issue is that the climax of the book is dragged out, page by page, with lots of interspersed story lines in between. When you stretch an emotionally charged scene out over a hundred pages, a little bit here, then a little bit later, it loses a lot of its momentum. At some point, I just don't care anymore and want this sort of emotional manipulation to be over and for the story to move on.

The twists in here are fine, though not completely surprising, but I don't mind that. The ending does wrap up everything, though maybe a little too neatly. Everyone gets a happy ending, which feels a bit contrived. And for how long the middle part of the story was stretched out, the wrap up feels rushed to me.

In the end, this was a middle-of-the-road read for me. I enjoyed Lisa Jewell's writing and the three converging story lines were interesting, but I found the second half of the book to be too drawn out and contrived for me to totally buy-in.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

My Sister, the Serial Killer is the story of responsible older sister Korede, who is pulled in by her beautiful younger sister Ayoola to help cover up a series of murders. Ayoola, with her stunning looks, has no trouble attracting men, and before long she ends up killing them. Korede feels a responsibility for her younger sister, and so helps her clean and cover up after the slayings. Soon enough, Ayoola sets her sights on the kind doctor that Korede secretly pines for, and Korede is caught in the middle.

How crazy is that, right? I admit that the name of this book and its blurb completely drew me in. And for the most part, it delivers. I found the story itself to be riveting, with its absurd story line and dark humor.

But I found the ending to be a let down. I had hoped for more--more character progression, more insight, more social commentary. In the end, I'm not sure I got more than a superficial covering, if that, in any of these. It was also frustrating to read about a character that doesn't progress, no matter what good or bad things happen to them. They just stay the same from beginning to end, which is hard for me to relate to.

Still the story is unique and wacky, no doubt about it. It's also a quick read, so it's definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for something unusual with a dose of macabre humor.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

In The Line Between, when Wynter is evicted from a doomsday cult, she rejoins the world at the same time that a mysterious outbreak of dementia is spreading across the country. While she is trying to adjust to life in the real-world, she also realizes that she may be able to do something to help the research into the epidemic, all the while trying to figure out how to get her sister and her niece out of the cult too.

Whew, there is a lot going on in this book. In the first half, I was so into the story that the pages were practically turning themselves. We follow Wynter after she leaves the cult, alternating chapters with her life in the cult and what eventually led to her expulsion. The first half of the book is also when the outbreak first captures the public's attention, and it was fascinating to read the author's take on what the first weeks of an epidemic could look like as the country slowly experiences a breakdown of its infrastructure and services.

Then we hit about the middle of the book, and everything slows down to a snails pace. We reach the part in the story that is the bane of every apocalypse book I have ever read, and that is the run/hide/scrounge for resources/keep alive section. It's just not that interesting to read chapter after chapter of characters driving around, looking for gas and food, hiding in various dwellings, fighting off crazy people, and being tired and dirty. This section really dragged on.

Eventually, in the end, everything does come together in a somewhat satisfactory (though unsurprising) way. Since there is an epidemic, this book isn't able to wrap all that up, but rather leaves it open-ended. And it looks like the author is writing another book to continue Wynter's story further.

Even though the epidemic story line has been written many times, the cult element brings an interesting new dimension to this book. I particularly enjoyed the first half of the book, with all of its action and fast-pacing. It also has a slew of sweet and kind-hearted supporting characters who really make the book feel warm when it could easily have been depressing and cold. In the end, there is enough that is new and interesting in this story to keep my attention, and I'm glad I picked it up.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

In Frankenstein in Baghdad, modern-day Baghdad is in a constant state of chaos due to terrorist attempts and bombings. In this landscape, a local man scavenges for body parts collected from various bombing sites, and assembles those into a corpse. But the corpse soon goes missing, and a slew of suspicious murders start happening around the city.

For me, the best part of the book is the story around the corpse. As he goes on to fulfill his mission to bring vengeance and justice for all the people whose body parts he is now using, he starts to gain awareness of what he is doing. He explores whether there could ever be an end to his mission, if those seeking vengeance is truly innocent, and how all his killings can stop. There is also a look at the morality of using innocent people as collateral when seeking the greater good. I found this story line to be insightful and stimulating.

Another part of the story that works well is its portrayal of daily life in these war-like conditions. Soon, people gain an indifference to all the violence and bloodshed, and those cease to shock them. As bombs go off and friends and acquaintances get injured or die, people go on with their every day lives, and that normalcy is shocking and depressing. There is also the constant mental tug-of-war between staying in this city, hoping it might one day return to the beautiful place they know and loved, or leave and abandon all hope and familiarity.

For me, what didn't work so well in this book is its numerous characters and subplots. There were so many people in here that it was hard to remember who they all are, and it made the plot feel scattered and random. The corpse story line was a surprisingly small amount of the total book, with the rest filled up by a real estate agent trying to get others to sell him their house or hotel, a government department employing magicians and fortune tellers, a journalist trying to become more like his boss while lusting after his boss's woman, and various other odd musings. I wanted more of the main story line, and less of all these side characters.

Going in, the premise of this story sounded interesting and unique, if a bit odd. And since this book came highly recommended from a friend, I was excited to dive in. I enjoyed the book for its Frankenstein story line and its exploration of life in contemporary Baghdad. I do wish the book is more focused so that we get more of the main story line and less of all the random subplots that cluttered up what should have been a purposeful and cohesive tale.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars