The Strange Case of Jane O by Karen Thompson Walker

If I ever write a book, it would be something like this—part exploration of the human mind, part quiet mystery, and wholly unforgettable. It weaves threads of psychology, mental health, and the haunting unreliability of memory, all through a narrative that pulses with subtle suspense and emotional depth.

Told in alternating chapters—clinical reports and personal musings—the story follows Dr. Henry Byrd, a calm and measured psychiatrist, and his growing fascination with a private, enigmatic woman named Jane O. She claims they met twenty years ago under strange circumstances, but her story fractures from the beginning.

Jane was found unconscious in a park: unharmed, but lost in time, her memory blacked out for over 25 hours. There are no clear signs of trauma. No evidence of foul play. And yet, something isn’t right. Dr. Byrd suspects a connection between her brief, earlier visit to his office and this bizarre fugue state. But her crystal-clear autobiographical memory and occasional hallucinations suggest something deeper, more elusive.

After the blackout, Jane begins to write letters to her son in a notebook—a tender and heartbreaking attempt to explain the inexplicable. It’s a gesture meant for a future version of him, perhaps when he, too, begins to question the complexities of the mind and memory.

Then, two weeks later, she vanishes again—this time with her son—only to be found nine days later. For Dr. Byrd, this second disappearance becomes a turning point. A dissociative fugue, and also a doorway. A mirror. A chance to unravel not only Jane’s story but perhaps something buried within himself.

Jane’s memory is both her gift and her curse. And the most astonishing part is the intricate tapestry of pain and perception, which is known only to Jane and Dr. Byrd. 5 ⭐. An achingly beautiful, slow-burn mystery of the mind and heart. It moved me deeply

The Interdimensional Detective by Ten

Ava Brook's brother, River, vanishes just before an important interview, and with the local authorities dragging their feet, Ava makes a desperate call to a number she found on a bizarre ad — The Interdimensional Detective Bureau. What follows is a wild, heartfelt plunge into the unknown.

Amelia — a strange woman who casually steps out of what appears to be a dingy mobile toilet — turns out to be an interdimensional detective. Her "toilet" is actually a spaceship.

The rawness of Ava’s grief, the bittersweet hope in Amelia’s suggestion, and the reckless urgency of their search through alternate dimensions give this novella a pulse that's both sweet and thrilling. The world-building is vibrant without bogging down the pace, and the emotional stakes feel sharp and real.

For a novella, it’s wonderfully compact. Just enough to leave you wanting more, but not so much that it loses the electric feeling of a desperate rescue mission. If there had been more backstory, it might have stretched into a full novel — but honestly, the tightness of it works beautifully.

A strange, moving adventure. I loved it.

The Labyrinth House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

Shimada Kiyoshi returns in another spellbinding case that blurs the line between fiction and reality. When he receives a mysterious book from the elusive author Shishiya Kadomi—a pseudonym hiding a deeper trauma—he’s drawn into the chilling retelling of the Labyrinth House Murder Case, a haunting crime based on a real event from 1987.

Set in a bizarre mansion designed by the eccentric architect Nakamura Seiji—whose name is synonymous with architectural nightmares like The Decagon House and The Mill House—the story twists through narrow hallways and hidden truths. This time, the labyrinthine setting is the home of the reclusive mystery writer Miyagaki Yotaro, whose sixtieth birthday becomes a death sentence for several guests.

Miyagaki’s shocking suicide during the celebration throws the inheritance of his vast estate into chaos, and the mounting deaths that follow turn what should’ve been a literary gathering into a locked-room nightmare. With layers of deception and clues laced with references to Greek mythology, the book brilliantly fuses honkaku logic, classic whodunnit pacing, and mythological symbolism into a mind-bending narrative.

Shimada Kiyoshi shines once again as the brilliant detective unraveling a mystery only he could solve. With every page, I was pulled deeper into the maze—never sure what lay around the next corner. A masterful blend of brain and suspense, this is a must-read for fans of smart, atmospheric mysteries. Five stars—no question.

Thank you to @netgalley and @pushkin_press for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

📚

Bayang Sofea by Teme Abdullah

Di awal penceritaan, kita diperkenalkan kepada dua watak utama—Sofea dan Danny—yang dahulunya bersahabat baik semasa zaman persekolahan. Namun, kerana salah faham yang tidak diselesaikan, mereka membawa haluan masing-masing. Sofea kini bekerja dalam dunia korporat yang penuh persaingan, manakala Danny memilih laluan sebagai peninju profesional.

Penulis kemudiannya menyuntik unsur misteri apabila watak Sofea digambarkan seolah-olah sedang melarikan diri daripada seseorang, menjadikan dirinya paranoid dan sentiasa berjaga-jaga. Dalam masa yang sama, Danny pula mula menyedari bahawa dirinya dipergunakan oleh sebuah organisasi rahsia yang mempunyai pengaruh besar dalam dunia sukan Nusaraya. Organisasi ini dikatakan memanipulasi kehidupan tokoh-tokoh ternama dengan janji kemasyhuran, selagi mereka akur kepada arahan yang diberi.

Apa yang aku suka tentang buku ini ialah gaya penceritaannya yang pantas dan mendebarkan. Premisnya juga unik—gabungan dunia korporat yang penuh drama, hasad dengki, dan politik kotor, bersama konflik dalaman watak-watak yang menarik.

Namun, aku merasakan pembangunan watak agak mendatar. Kebanyakan watak tampak dua dimensi, dan ada beberapa babak yang terasa tidak relevan, malah sedikit cringey dan ada part yang eh tiberr pulak. Walaupun begitu, aku tetap berpuas hati dapat menghabiskan bacaan ini, lebih-lebih lagi selepas hype buku ini sedikit reda. Ia tetap satu pengalaman yang menghiburkan.

Salutation Road by Salma Ibrahim

Salutation Road delivers a poignant and thought-provoking tale that straddles the line between reality and imagination, identity and displacement.

Sirad Ali is a quiet, introspective girl living in Greenwich, a place that feels more like a cage than a home. Her world is defined by the expectations of others, and her identity is shaped by the shadows of perception. Memories of her birthplace, Somalia, have blurred into abstraction—distant echoes of a life she barely recalls. With the burden of family responsibility weighing heavily on her shoulders, Sirad quietly drifts through a life that doesn’t quite feel like her own.

Then, something extraordinary happens.

Sirad receives an invitation to participate in a mysterious project called Unclassified—a one-day journey into a parallel realm designed for third-culture youth. The aim is to reconnect with their ancestral pasts in an alternate lifetime. What begins as a suspected prank soon morphs into an uncanny reality as she boards a bus from London to Mogadishu.

There, in Somalia, both familiar and utterly foreign, Sirad confronts an alternate version of herself—Ubah. This mirror image is bold, restless, and rebellious, married yet yearning for freedom. Through Ubah, Sirad is forced to face the fragments of a life she left behind, in a city scarred by war but still pulsing with untold stories.

As the two girls’ lives intertwine, Unclassified becomes more than just a journey—it’s a meditation on identity, memory, and the invisible threads that bind us to the past and future. When Ubah chooses to escape her life and board the same bus Sirad arrived on, the consequences ripple across realities, leaving both girls changed in profound, haunting ways.

Despite a few minor narrative loopholes, it is a bold, imaginative debut. The author has crafted rich, multidimensional characters and infused the novel with emotional resonance. It’s a story that lingers long after the final page—one that dares to ask what it means to belong and whether true freedom lies in staying or in the courage to leave.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

As I made my way through the book, it struck me as a heartfelt exploration of past regrets and the desire for redemption. At sixty-one, Gail Simmons is staring down the possibility of retirement or, worse, termination just before her daughter’s wedding. Her people skills, or lack thereof, have put her in a tough spot at work, yet financially, she cannot afford to quit her job.

At the same time, Gail’s daughter, Debbie, is dealing with tensions of her own. A confrontation with her fiancé and a future mother-in-law creates a strain that spills into the wedding plans. Gail, feeling pushed to the sidelines, begins to worry that Debbie might start favoring her future in-law over her. It's a relatable conflict, and readers may find themselves connecting with this story on a personal level. 

At its core, the book delves into themes of family, marriage, and the painful midlife crisis. Gail’s journey is filled with emotional highs and lows. Some will see it as a path to growth and self-discovery, while others might reflect on their own experiences with uncertainty and the search for meaning.

Despite its deeper themes, the book remains accessible and easy to read. It offers a thoughtful, touching experience without being overly complex. A compelling look at the relationships that shape us and the choices that define us.

The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer

Near Metland Farm, hidden among the cliffs, a near-mythical colony of guillemots once laid eggs unlike any other. The Metland Egg—cone-shaped, blood-red, and several times the size of a hen’s egg—became the stuff of legend. A prized possession among early 20th-century collectors, it was as elusive as it was illegal in modern times. Most striking of all, the egg was red..

A hundred years later, the Metland Egg has become more myth than reality—until Weird Nick tells his friend Patrick Fort that a strange egg has been stolen from his house. An inheritance from his father, the stolen artifact turns out to be the legendary Metland Egg itself, and its disappearance sets them on a path filled with secrets, obsessions, and the shadowy underworld of illegal wildlife collectors.

What unfolds is a richly layered, dual-timeline mystery, filled with twists that pull readers deeper into both the past and present. The narrative deftly juggles the tension of a classic whodunit with the quiet melancholy of lost heritage and fragile ecosystems. But what truly makes the story stand out is the character of Patrick Fort. His literal interpretation of language, difficulty with sarcasm, and social challenges strongly suggest traits of Asperger’s Syndrome. 

As I reached the end of this spellbinding novel, I found myself both satisfied and haunted. The writing is immersive, the pacing well-balanced, and the tone strikes just the right chord between nostalgic and urgent. And yet, one question lingers, quietly unsettling in its simplicity: Aren’t eggs supposed to hatch?

4.5 ⭐A richly imagined, emotionally intelligent story that combines the thrill of a mystery with the quiet wonder of natural history. Riveting.

The Death Of Us by Abigail Dean

Despite the slow-burn pacing, I found myself completely drawn into the chilling chronology of this story, told through the eyes of Isabel Nolan. What begins as a seemingly ordinary love-at-first-sight moment between Isabel and Edward Hennessy in the '90s quickly unfolds into something far more haunting. The author’s writing style is magnetic — weaving tenderness and terror with equal finesse.

As fear spread through the city, small crimes turned into something far more dangerous — the rise of a serial attacker known as the South London Invader. Starting in the late '80s with petty thefts and break-ins, his crimes grew darker over the years, leading to violent home invasions, torture, and eventually, murder.

Each page is a raw glimpse into the trauma left behind — how victims live under the shadow of being watched, how ordinary life slowly unravels. In 2001, tragedy strikes Isabel herself. What follows is not just her struggle to survive, but to exist. The emotional aftermath is palpable. You feel it in every missed detail, every strained attempt to return to normalcy.

Told in a striking epistolary format, the novel feels like reading Isabel's private messages — personal, vulnerable, and eerily intimate. Her words to address the Invader himself, as if trying to reclaim power over the narrative. The emotional weight Isabel and Edward carry after their trauma is rendered with aching.

This isn't just a story about a criminal — it’s about the enduring wounds left behind, and the quiet, invisible strength it takes to go on living. Every chapter brings new revelations, questions, and heartbreaks. I couldn’t put it down. I give 5 ⭐

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

From the moment I started The Housemaid, I thought I was in for a straightforward story. But by the time I reached the end, my adrenaline was through the roof! This psychological thriller took me on a wild ride, and I absolutely loved every twist and turn.

The story starts with Millie Calloway, a woman struggling to rebuild her life after spending the past ten years in prison. Rejection after rejection has left her desperate, forcing her to live in her car. So when she lands a live-in housekeeping job with the wealthy and elegant Nina Winchester, it feels like a dream—especially with the added bonus of a generous salary.

At first glance, Nina seems easy to work for. She has it all: a lavish home, endless wealth, and a husband who is the definition of perfection—Andrew Winchester is charming, caring, wealthy, and heartbreakingly handsome. But as Millie settles in, an unsettling feeling gnaws at her. Nina’s mood swings are erratic, her behavior unpredictable, and she scrutinizes Millie’s every move. Then there are the whispers, the rumors about the Winchesters, and before Millie knows it, she finds herself sympathizing with Andrew… maybe even falling for him.

Part II flips the script. We step into Nina’s world, and suddenly, everything shifts. The puzzle pieces snap into place, and the truth is far darker than I ever imagined. The character development is masterfully executed, tying the plot together in a way that leaves me breathless. It is a gripping, chilling, and brilliantly plotted novel that keeps me guessing until the very end - I give it a solid 4.5 stars!