Welcome to Litsy!

So I watched the documentary about this woman and her disappearance...it was chilling as is this book. So many missed opportunities...and so much judgment. Sad and at the same time her father's dedication to finding her was astounding. #bookspin @thearomaofbooks

My brother & sister-in-law stayed with us over Thanksgiving. She brought me this book to read. Lucie‘s story alone is tragic/frustrating but the ABSOLUTE RABBIT HOLE this book goes down is insane. I‘ll post her picture because she, along with the other victims, deserves to be remembered. Perhaps if we listened to victims instead of shaming them, these monsters would be caught quicker. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Anyway, this book was a sad, frustrating, wild trip.

This book took me forever to get through!! It's about a young British woman who moves to Japan and goes missing. A very interesting true time story with lots of history and other info about related things!

This true crime story was just okay for me. I can‘t exactly put my finger on why. The narration was average. Parts of the story were interesting and sometimes the story didn‘t keep my interest. My heart definitely goes out to Lucie and her loved ones. Her life ending in murder in Tokyo was truly tragic. #MountTBR

Listened to this fascinating true crime audiobook about a young English woman, Lucie Blackman, who goes missing while working as a companion in Japan. Her family tries to work with the local police to find out what happened to her, and the insight into the cultural differences surrounding the justice system are fascinating to read about. I was totally unaware of this story before reading the book, and was totally engrossed beginning to end. 4⭐

Finished this one a while back. The shift in tone between the different narrative elements, from the disappearance to the investigation to the historical context and legal proceedings, is engaging and manages to feel respectful of the victims.

All the local libraries are closed, so I haven't been able to return these overdue books.

I couldn‘t do it. I got about halfway through and even the details of the crime couldn‘t keep me interested anymore. The author would take detours into describing the political history of different populations in Japan, which normally would be fine and interesting, but they felt like distractions from the real narrative.

If you‘re frequenting the hostess restaurants in Roppongi, Tokyo, you‘re the Japanese equivalent of a #partyman. This book is so atmospheric, about the disappearance of a British woman in Tokyo in 2000. I‘m fully immersed in the culture and lifestyle. #soaringscores

I always feel weird saying I "enjoyed" a #truecrime book, but there it is. Good for true crime fans and those just getting into it. Not sensationalized or too dense. Sensitive depiction of grief and what the families go through. Also an interesting, brief look at a part of the Japanese justice system.

Setting aside my audiobooks for my #labsoundtrack today so I can catch up on some podcasts. Casefile is one of my favorites and Case 107 covers the murder I read about in ‘People Who Eat Darkness‘. Anyone else listen to Casefile? It‘s really well-produced - very in-depth research, great narration, plus they add in atmospheric music in the background that is light enough to not interfere with the narration. So good!

This was an interesting and very frustrating story of an English girl who went missing in Japan, and the weird and terrifying discoveries that were made during the ensuing search. I enjoyed the writing as it was not written in the dense manner that some true crime can be.

#MountTBR2019 13/36
Goodreads 18/52

I enjoyed this true crime story about a young woman missing in Japan. It goes into detail about her job (hostessing), her family, the man eventually accused of her murder, & the Japanese court system. I think this book has shown me that true crime can join my very short list of audiobooks I like (memoir, biography).

This is as much green as you‘ll see from me today! We won‘t tell the Irish that my new redhead status has more to do with Merida...

Unconstrained by clocks and time, I‘m eating Jafrezi chicken and rice for breakfast and listening to this weirdly compelling nonfiction book while completing my morning administrative tasks. Happy Friday!

People don‘t dissolve into particles.

Excellent! So well written. It felt like I was reading a Jo Nesbo novel, but it's even more horrifying in that it's all real!

I found another Eeyore!!!! Or should I pick another one? Help me pick!!

The murder of an English hostess in Japan and the super creepy who was eventually caught and the nutso trial that followed. A good read with some pretty messed up stuff (though not as messed up as The Monster of Florence). #truecrime #bookclub #ballsdeepdivebookclub #crimewritersonpodcast

Here they are! I don't think they are reads I would have picked for myself, but I want to give them a try because I do feel like the bibliologist really paid attention to my answers on the questionnaire. I wonder if my library has any of these. Has anyone read these?

I listened to audio mostly in the daylight driving in my car.Lucie Blackman goes to Japan to make some quick money as a hostess in the nightclubs of Tokyo.I mean , Japan is a pretty safe country and the clubs look after the girls, what could go wrong?Meeting the wrong man? The emotional price to the family and the strange Japanese judicial process figure prominently in this dark book of a terrible crime.

A dark story. Learned about Japanese court, which is totally different from America's and Great Britian. Kinda scary.

I think true crime is going to be my go-to genre for audiobooks.

This book is creepy and well-written so far.

Though I‘ve been enjoying some #TrueCrime lately, I really struggled getting through this #audiobook- I don‘t think it was due to the performance but maybe more because of the difference in my expectations and the reality of this crime and the unsatisfactory conclusion...

1️⃣ Ashley Judd
2️⃣I aim for 10:30pm.
3️⃣The tagged book is true crime
4️⃣ Paring knife
5️⃣ Library is closer but I wind up at the store more often.

#HumpDayPost @MinDea

Lindsay: “It‘s a dark story about a British woman who goes to Japan to work and pay off her credit card debt. She works as a hostess in the sex industry and ends up being murdered. The problem is that it‘s a white dude writing about a woman‘s life—he‘s coming at this book with a complete outsider perspective. I‘m sure there are plenty of Japanese authors who write about their country but I wouldn‘t even know where to find them.” #newyork

3.5🌟🌟🌟.💫I felt as if this book 📖 was a pick more for its information on Japan & the information it gave of the cultural aspects surrounding the case more so than the information it gave on the case itself, which was just okay to be honest. The book could‘ve been edited by a few hundred pages or so where the author vainly inserts himself & unnecessarily goes into some of the family‘s history, but I enjoyed it overall ✌🏼🙃✌🏼

I finally am back to reading this book, I took a break because the story is so dark and messed up... turns out that I missed it. It's insane and terrifying.

Day 11 of #MarchMadness
True Crime shelfie.
There's a lot more, this is just a small section that's actually organized 😂

Grim & compelling

I don‘t read much true crime but this was interesting with its observations of cultural differences and the justice system in Japan. The “bad guy” is just a creepy old bad guy not an indictment of being Korean or Japanese—just a really sick guy who should have been caught long before murdering Lucie.

This book was a sad and dark story of a Japanese murderer, the English girl he killed and her family. The author managed to make every character unlikable which is quite a feat! Maybe that was to do with the way the audiobook was read. However it was still a very interesting deep(ish) dive into the Japanese law system and to some extent some parts Japanese culture. I think it is worth a read.

The beginning of my to-read pile for 2018, it's going to get so out of hand I better get started😊

My first (audio) book of the year! I‘ve had a very strange experience learning about the victims life this evening as we worked in exactly the same place...and with some of the same people exactly 10 years apart. Listening to her diary entries was like listening to mine. Very strange and unsettling.

"Are we the strong if we name them the weak?"

Is anyone else thinking creepy serial rapist/killer looks like an Elvis wannabe? This book is incredibly creepy and messed up - haven‘t gotten to the end yet but I hope this dude is rotting in jail.

Oh Audible sales, you get me every time. #bookhaul #audiobooks #imaddictedandijustcantgetenough

Tough read. Dark, gritty, sad. I listened on audio-it was a free offering from the audible library. I think it could have been significantly shorter and I didn't live how the author/journalist inserted himself into the story so I gave it a so-so. I did find the peek into Japanese culture fascinating.

I don't read a lot of true crime, though I'm starting another from this genre now, so maybe that's changing...anyway, I thought this was good, if a bit long-winded in places. I liked the way he arranged the story, giving different perspectives in each section. #LitsyAtoZ #LetterP #LitsyReadingChallenge #LRC8 #over400pages @jessica @BookishMarginalia

Most of these reading challenges I can completely #blameitonlitsy! I was already doing the #ReadHarder challenge, but all of these others I only embarked on thanks to you lovely people!!! #marchintoreading

I spent my day listening to this #nonfictionread on audio and watching the sea lions while my students did an observational project at the zoo. The sea lion exhibit is new and fairly awesome as zoo exhibits go! The scenery didn't exactly match the subject matter, but that's probably a good thing since it's a true crime book about a serial killer #marchintoreading

This is a true crime story about an English young woman who was murdered in Tokyo...the Lucie Blackman case. Very well researched and written, especially the culture clashes and choices made. I remember this case because police notes on getting call information from mobile phone was accidentally faxed to my house. Called police and two detectives showed up to pick it up and gave us box of sweets.

Interesting meditations on the performance aspect of grief.

Dang did this book cover a lot of ground. Sexual politics, misogyny, orientalism, the role of the news media, the particulars of the Japanese court system, and all without it feeling out of place. This is a crime story that remembers to focus on the human side, and tells its story well.

Nothing beats a scary non-fiction crime book. When the monsters become real, breathing human beings that you could encounter in every day life, you'll never feel safe.
Lucie Blackman goes to Japan, but never returns. The book goes into why she went to Japan, the possibilities of why she went missing, the discovery of her remains, and what does Joji Obara have to do with this.
#AllHallowsRead #ScaryNonFiction

My shelves are full of impulse book purchases, but this is the ultimate #ImpulseBuy. In NYC last year I came across secret books wrapped in brown paper & a short description written on the front. This one was a true crime pick that takes place in Japan. So I bought it on a whim. 📦

I was happy when I unwrapped it because it was already on my TBR. Plus, it's SHINY. You can't tell from the photo well, but the entire cover is dark shiny red. ❤️📕

A fascinating glimpse into the dark world of Japanese crime, focusing on the murder of British girl Lucie Blackman. Well researched and highly readable. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an audio book listen for me, which explains a bit of my struggle, but overall I felt like I couldn't stay interested. I felt like "eating darkness" promised more than this delivered, despite growing to care for Lucie and her family.

Listening via Audible. The story of Lucy Blackman's murder breaks my heart, but overall the book is not what I expected. And yet I can't place my finger on exactly what it is I had expected. Maybe more mystery? More punches to the gut?