This book was so excessive. It felt like it was just throwing everything blindly at the wall to see what stuck, and funnily enough, that's exactly how the investigation went too. Harry Hole and company must have arrested half a dozen people for these murders before finally getting down to the last (and most obvious) suspect. Like who else could it have been at that point? Half the cast had either already been arrested or was dead. For the book itself, there were too many characters and too many moments in the past we flashed back to, sometimes with random characters. Keeping up with what mattered to the story was kind of a struggle.

Also, this book was really sexist. Every woman was either a whore (as the language in the book) or a victim. Most were both. In addition, they were also emotionally unstable and throwing themselves at the protagonist constantly. I've read a lot of crime books where individual cops or especially the killer have a hatred of women, but it felt like that hatred permeated throughout the entire book. It was really vile to read. It probably would have ruined the experience of the book for me, but I was already having a pretty miserable time.

And okay, can we please talk about the mold guy? The one who randomly knocks on this cop's door and claims there's mold he can't see that he will remove for free? Harry Hole, investigator extraordinaire, doesn't do a background check. Doesn't check this guy's business card or his website. Doesn't ask the neighbors he's supposedly been working for or for a second opinion. Barely remembers his name. But still gives him a spare key and tells him to have at it. Because logic?

I didn't enjoy this. I can see where people would like the excessive quality of this writing style, though. It's not my thing, but I can see where it would work for some people. The sexism was rough, though. There are plenty of better crime thrillers that don't hate women.

I found this book to be incredibly helpful in addressing my own racism. The purpose is for you to look inward and acknowledge parts of yourself that you might rather pretend don't exist. We do live in a racist society and it's important to recognize our own part in that, and this book does a great job at that.

Some parts of this did feel repetitive. Perhaps that was her intent, repetition to drive the point home, but there were some things she kept coming back to and lines that were repeated two or three times.

Mostly, I wish it had been more researched and detailed. DiAngelo introduced a lot of important ideas and brought up great topics, but just touched on the briefly. Or she'd make a sweeping statement (that I fully believe to be true), but not go into the research behind that statement. I just wish there had been a lot more because I feel like it would have made this book stronger.

But the general ideas and the way she pointed out racist behaviors was incredibly helpful. I think it's very important to call yourself out and this is a good book on my continuing antiracism education. Would definitely recommend.

This was an odd book and it left me very confused. I wasn't sure whether to rate it two stars or five stars, so I went with a confused and noncommittal three.

This is such a nothing book about such annoying people and I kind of liked that? Like nothing happened, no one went through character growth or any shocking revelations. It was just kind of this offbeat family drama with tension and awkwardness. I kind of loved that. It's definitely not a book for everyone, but I found it fascinating.

That said, I do think there was opportunity for a little more character growth than happened. There was opportunity for more self awareness, or at least a rejection of self awareness. This book could have been a little bit more and I think been stronger for it, especially considering the dramatic nature of some of the events (a fire, a car crash).

There's a fair amount of racism in this book. Always small things, but they were pretty constant and obvious throughout (like her correcting a black student when he complained about Mark Twain's racism or making joke's about a Chinese student's name). It almost felt like the author was making a point of it. But then it was never address and it left me feeling very mixed. Generally, I don't think you're intended to like the main character. She has a lot of flaws and it felt almost like this was one of them. She doesn't see a lot of things in herself and I thought perhaps this was intentionally done. But to be perfectly honest, I can't tell and even it was intentional, I think it ought to have been addressed at some point, even subtly.

But overall, I did like this. The characters were an odd jumble of dysfunctional people coping with their unhappiness in different ways and how they try (fail) to connect with each other. I did love the ending and the main character's convictions because of how absolutely disconnected she is from everything else. I don't think this is a book that will be enjoyed by many people, though, as evidenced by the many negative reviews. But I found it an interesting read.

This was nice. I understand why people like Agatha Christie (this is my first and I plan to read more), but this book just didn't do very much for me apart from being nice.

I like the character of Miss Marple quite a bit, and her perspective on things. The juxtaposition of a sweet little old lady with her pragmatism and cool handling of murders is funny and really well done.

Didn't think much of the plot of this particular one, but it was a fine cozy mystery. Held my attention and I was down for the ride. It gives good story vibes and good character vibes.

The main problem for me is the racism/sexism/classism/etc. I totally understand that this book is ~70 years old and it's a product of its time. There's a totally valid argument to be made in that regard. But it's a cozy mystery and for me, the main point of a cozy mystery is the good vibes. Nothing ruins the good vibes faster than dropping a casual slur. I plan to read more as I own several and see if this remains my main opinion, but right now I'm feeling like I'd rather read a contemporary cozy mystery instead of getting through the prejudice of this.

I dunno why every time I go into one of Ellen Emerson White's books, I think this will be the one that's mediocre. I spent the second half of this book crying. It's a war book so a lot of tragic things happen, but less so than you might expect. It's more the small things that are heart breaking, and she's so good at hitting you hard with the small things when you're expecting something dramatic.

To be honest, I was absurdly biased in favor of this book from the first page because her writing style just feels like coming home to me. I adore it. It flows so well and sounds so real. I could probably pick her out of a line up every time because her voice is that familiar to me at this point. She's for sure one of my favorite writers.

The characters are great. I always love the cast she comes up with. They're sarcastic and smart and funny, but always with gravitas. I love them all, even when I hate them. She's just so good at making people likeable.

War time books are not generally my favorite, but she imbues this whole book with such sadness and melancholy that I just want to die. It's so absurdly good. This book made my soul book. I'm not entirely certain how I am meant to be emotionally capable enough to read the next three books in the series.

I love this and I love her as an author. Most underrated YA author I've ever read. If you like realistic YA (historical fiction or contemporary), I truly can't recommend her enough.

I didn't love this book as much as the first one, but it was still fantastic.

The only difference and the slight disconnect I had came from the extra military stuff. There were more combat scenes and more detailed scenes describing weaponry, neither of which I have a whole lot of interest in. I tried my best, but it's hard for me not to skim them a little.

But the characters are still great and I still cried. This just didn't have quite as much of an emotional impact. Still highly recommend the whole series because the writing is wonderful.

This book was a little bit jarring just because I expected it to be from the perspective of Michael and about the boys again, but they play a very small role. Like it's still a fantastic book (obviously, I gave it 5 stars), it just took me sometime to adjust. I feel like maybe the synopsis was a little bit misleading in that regard.

But once I got over that, this book was fantastic. We're following Rebecca who's a nurse at the rear and mistakenly winds up on her own in the jungle. She's such a wonderful character and I adore her perspective. She's so fake cheerful for the people around her, but the trauma she witnesses every day leaves a huge impact.

This book, once again, made me cry, so Ellen Emerson White is three for three here. Apparently, Rebecca is also the main character of The Road Home so I am especially stoked for that now.

I continue to highly recommend this series because it's probably my favorite thing that I've read all year.

I just found this annoying. Like it wasn't one of the worst thrillers I've read, but just about everything in this was annoying to me in some form.

One thing I struggled with so much for the first two thirds was the lack of information. I get that thrillers keep secrets from the reader and the characters, but I still want to have some information. I want to be able to follow what's happening and I want to be in the process of learning new things, and it just felt like I wasn't. At all. The lack of information was thrown in my face constantly (like oh wouldn't you like to know this thing we've referenced sixteen times? gotta wait another hundred pages). And then you get all the information at the end, obviously, but I needed something more to carry me through the book.

The plot twists in this were pretty cool and I was very down for them, but they weren't enough to get me/keep me invested. It felt like the super cool plot twists came at the expense of well developed characters and an interesting story. I'd rather the latter two, but if you are a thriller reader who's very driven by twisting, turning, shocking revelations, this may do a lot more for you than it did me.

This book is told from what is essentially four POVs; the husband, the wife, a mysterious woman, and letters previously written from the wife to her husband on their anniversaries. I liked the inclusion of the letters in theory, but in practice it felt like they delayed the story. Like the way they shared information and changed the reader's perception was really cool, but just for story pacing and personal enjoyment, I always kind of sighed whenever we got to a (often very lengthy) letter from the past that continuously talked around whatever all the secrets were.

Not a book for me. There were other little things, like at one point she made a crack about a super bitter woman who was the kind of person who writes negative book reviews (eyeroll inducing and kinda made me not want to try her again), but it wasn't terrible. Just annoying to me. I've read worse; I've read better. It's probably not one I'll ever think about again.

Absolute adoration. A remarkable piece of fiction. I'm so mad there's not more. I just wish there were enough books in this series to cover Michael's entire year in Vietnam. (Yes, I know there's a companion and I'm infinitely stoked to read it.) I just don't want this series to be over because goddamn Ellen Emerson White can write.

I don't know how to wax poet about how fantastic this is. The characters are all awesome. Real and funny and so likeable. The relationships are great. She's writes the best friendships of almost any author I know, and the romance is so small. Like it's not overblown dramatic love, it's people who like each other and feel attraction, and maybe it's okay that it's not more because it makes them happy.

Her writing itself just speaks to my soul. I don't know what it is about her style, but it's so casual and personable and adds so much to the story. It makes me just like her. Like I read this, and I like her. And I like this people. And I'm so happy to be here reading it, until it's over and I'm wishing there's more. I don't think I've ever finished a single one of her books and not wished there was more.

I also love the way she structures her plots. They're kind of plotless, in a way. Plenty of dramatic things happen, but the crux of the plot is just people living their lives. It's less structured than most books I read.

This review is basically just all of her books not this specific one, but this book epitomizes all of this. It's fantastic. She's fantastic. Read this series or anything else by her.

This is a very interesting story of a fisherman who survived being adrift at sea for over a year (2012-2014). If that sounds good to you, you will probably enjoy this book.

One thing I think Franklin did very well was pacing. With long term survival stories, there's a lot of boredom. People in those situations spend a great deal of time doing the same repetitive tasks, or even just killing time waiting to be rescued. But Franklin managed to capture everything he was doing and skip through time in a way that still flowed very naturally.

Usually my reviews are longer, but this book was very straightforward. I enjoyed it a great deal. Definitely pick this up if you're into this kind of story because this was a great one.