Set in Japan in the late 1980s, this book tells the story of a beautiful young woman, Kaori Hirakata, who lives in the small town of Kyushu with her wealthy parents and younger brother. Her twin sister has moved overseas, spreading her wings away from the family. On the night before she is due to run away with her boyfriend, Hiroki Sato, Hiroki visits Kaori and presents her with a box of chocolates. As she starts to eat the chocolates, she becomes violently ill and despite an ambulance being called, Kaori dies and is later found to have been poisoned. But who is responsible? Is it her secret boyfriend Hiroki who is never seen again and who was previously connected to one of the local gangs or was he the intended victim? Despite the attempts of the local police to solve the crime, no one is ever charged and her heartbroken parents move away.

Fast forward twelve years and after the death of their parents, Kaori's twin sister and younger brother return to their small town to go through the family's possessions which have remained in the house. Aki, Kaori's brother, is now a grown man and determined to find out who killed his sister and why.

This story beautifully depicts life in Japan including intra-family dynamics and societal customs and norms. The story's characters are filled with angst for their own reasons and they tug at your heart strings - this is as much a mystery as it is a story about people. The mystery/murder aspect of the story is well constructed and it keeps you guessing about who could possibly be responsible and why, right till the end. A great story which I highly recommend. I am keen to read more works by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This one was okay for me. It took me a few tries to get into this with the formatting of the book sent to my kindle. It was hard to look at. But overall it wasn’t a bad read.

Our murder happens quickly so we're rapidly into a whodunnit. The first half of the book is the first police inquiry which fails to apprehend the murderer. Then, in the second half of the book, 10 years later, the brother of the victim is back in town and determined to find out what really happened.

I've not read many crime novels with the structure being a failed investigation then a second successful investigation. However, I kept reading and the ending worked for me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I found the beginning of the book hard to follow, it didn’t pull me in as fast as I hoped. It took me a little longer than normal to finish a book of this size. Halfway into the book I got into it and started seeing the story come alive. I can’t believe I almost didn’t finish it! It developed so well, I was excited to finish the book. There are hints as to who is who and who did it near the end if you pay attention. Overall I did enjoy the book.