The premise of this book was very intriguing and I had recently listened to a podcast about the real-life murder cases that inspired Kaji's character, so I was drawn to it.

I thought that the main character - Rika- fell a bit flat, as she didn't seem to have any thoughts or feelings that were not based on others' influence. Her immediate obsession with Kaji reminds me of the journalist in Inventing Anna - how she fell under the spell of a woman whose crimes were made possible through her charm and manipulation. However, I did like that speaking with Kaji forces Rika to re-assess what she had been taught to think about food and weight, thus questioning the impossible beauty standards for Japanese women. 

The plot also dragged a bit in the middle, as it became repetitive. I found the process of Rika visiting Kaji and going to restaurants/cooking recipes to become tedious after a while; I felt it could have been cut shorter. I became interested again when Reiko was introduced to Kaji and became entwined in the case, but I thought her story could have ended differently.

I don't love that she ended up staying with her husband despite her huge revelation that marriage and children were not what she wanted for herself.

The story was overall interesting and written well, but the character choices and slow plot progression are preventing me from rating higher.