The trouble with reading a book in translation is that you never know how true it is to the original. The title, Woman with Birthmark, for example, seems to be missing a couple words, as do many sentences in the book. The dialog seems especially stilted with short, choppy sentences back and forth (and back and forth again). It seems almost as if the characters are talking in shorthand, which doesn't feel natural.

There isn't much of a mystery. We know who did it from the start and can guess at the reason fairly quickly. We follow the police as they try to solve the murders, but their investigation doesn't really matter because they are led to the conclusion by the murderer herself.

All in all, a bit of an unsatisfying read.