I just couldn’t get into this novel. I’m not exactly sure why the premise was really cute but it just didn’t resonate with me. The characters just didn’t seem real to me.

3.5 stars.
Reluctantly, Eun-jo takes over the running of her family’s laundromat after her university had shut down unexpectedly. Without other options, Eun-jo returns to her old neighbourhood in Yeonsu.
She cleans clothes, and also watches the comings and goings of people in her neighbourhood, which is rundown, suffers from some criminal activity, and needs something to make it a happening place again. Eun-jo accidentally meets a detective sent (banished from his perspective) to this part of Korea from Seoul; he’s in this town reluctantly, and is crabby about it and impatient with others.

Eun-jo reminisces about an older cousin, Eun-so, and we get the sense that there is something tragic or bad that happened to her. Eun-jo is pained by her memories of her older cousin, and it’s these memories that are an impetus for her to begin dealing with the criminal activities in the neighbourhood.

The cases Eun-Jo solves with the crabby detective’s help involve a local pimp, a woman who faked her own disappearance, thefts, a gambling ring, selling stolen goods, domestic abuse, and others.

Eun-Jo gradually gains the friendship of three older women, long time residents of the neighbourhood, and various business owners themselves. Eventually, she becomes a strong advocate for the neighbourhood’s revitalization, as a way to finally become part of the place, to build something for herself and others.

Though the writing is awkward, leaving out details that would have helped me understand Eun-jo's past better, and how Eun-jo figured out so much about the criminal activity in the neighbourhood. Also, the dialogue felt choppy. That said, there was something pretty charming and cozy about this book with its interesting main character, neighbourhood dynamics, and the possibility that Eun-jo has an interesting future ahead of her.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Safehouse Inc. For this ARC in exchange for my review.

If one loves K-Drama, then this book probably will be more enjoyable to the reader since we already know a bit of the setting and the culture. A lot of quirks and wonderful bickering makes this book a good read.

I did not find this book at all interesting so I had to stop reading it early on. Very disappointing. I could not find it on Amazon so won't be leaving a review on there.

The perfect comfort read for anyone who’s planning to settle down for a calm, lazy weekend. I also loved that the setting was in Korea, one of my favourite countries.

Baekjo Laundry Has a Neat Answer to All Your Problems is the first novel by Korean author, Lee Jae-in. It is translated into English via Viothru. Unfortunate circumstances have forced Eun-jo from Seoul to her stifling hometown of Yeosu. Before she finished her course, her university was shut down as sub-standard, leaving her without the qualification in fashion design she so much desired, and thus, jobless, her parents’ retirement from their laundry business presented her only viable opportunity.

So there she sits, in the small laundry her parents have run for thirty years, putting up with critical neighbours and nearby shop owners, cleaning and mending for customers. It’s on a delivery run that she has an unintentional close encounter, on her scooter, with police Detective Lee Jeong-do.

Lee has been kicked down from the Regional Investigation Unit’s narcotic crimes team in Seoul, and resent being relegated to such frivolous and demeaning cases, especially those Eun-jo keeps calling him to attend. But eventually, he realises that her observational skills and her neighbours’ local knowledge is useful.

The reader might find it a little incredible that Eun-jo can apply her extensive knowledge and experience with fashion and designer collections to getting a violent drug-dealing pimp arrested, locating a missing YouTuber, and exposing a fake vintage clothing racket.

Then she teams up with her irritating neighbouring shopkeepers and Lee to crack a gambling ring. She mediates between a quarrelling mother and teen. And finally, she tracks down a missing waste paper collector and exposes local government corruption. The group’s ideas for revitalising the neighbourhood are imaginative, and an interesting fact about laundries is how these people use them as storage for their out-of-season wardrobe.

This is a quirky tale whose characters would likely connect better with Korean readers than English speakers. Eun-jo’s first-person narrative occasionally slips inexplicably into the third person; sometimes Jeong-do’s perspective is given. The story, told in several interconnected episodes, is a little disjointed at times, and is rather too convoluted at the end to follow properly. A decent effort for a debut novel.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Safehouse Inc.

Set in Yeosu South Korea, this unique story is about a young woman who moved back home to Yeosu after five years' absence. Her life had not been successful and she was struggling financially. Eunjo's parents retired, leaving their small laundry business to her to run. But her business becomes more than mending and laundering clothes. She keeps running into detective Lee Jeon-Do and encounters a few small mishaps they solve together such as a YouTuber disappearing.

Though the premise is a good one and there is so much scope for interesting happenings, the disjointed writing and sometimes confusing unexplained time jumps makes it a bit difficult to become attached to and immersed in. Perhaps it is related to translation to English. My favourite aspects are the character descriptions and the author's notes about her inspiration.

It is difficult to categorize this neatly into a genre. To me it is not a Mystery/Thriller. General Fiction, perhaps. But if you are intrigued by something entirely different, do give this a shot. Enjoy it for what it is.

My sincere thank you to Safehouse Inc. and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this book.

The translation here did not work for me. It left the book with stiff stilted dialogue and strange jumps in the story. I found this a very hard read because of that. Did anyone read the English translation before sending out the arc? It’s so odd.

Something truly must have gotten lost in translation because this skipped around so much that I had no idea what was happening or had happened at any given moment. I do think this could have been great as a movie or tv show but the translation and way in which the story were told were impossible. I could not finish this and thus will not be posting a full review. Thank you for the opportunity.

Let me start by saying that I would watch the heck out of this kdrama. Give me Gong Hyo Jin wearing swimming goggles while sitting out front of the small town laundry she has inherited and people watching. Sign me up for Park Hae Soo as the cranky detective busted down from Seoul who relies on the former fashion student to help him solve crimes. I can see it all play out in my head and I love it!

Unfortunately, this book doesn't read like a complete story. It reads like somebody has written the episode outlines for a drama without filling in all the details necessary to connect the stories. I'm not sure if it's an issue with the translation or actually written this poorly. There are no connecting sentences letting the reader know that we are now "a few months later", "later that day", "the next week", etc. Sometimes the mysteries are discussed as if they have been solved and closed out without actually telling the reader what happened or why that evidence clinched the case. Only for that crime to pop up and get solved a few chapters later. It was very confusing.

My book club sometimes talks about reading a book written by someone who wishes they were writing a movie. This book felt like it was written by someone who wishes they were working at JTBC.

I get why this is "cozy mystery" because... it is! "Baekjo Laundry Has a Neat Answer to All Your Problems" is an interesting little book following a character named Eunjo who has to return to her hometown in order to take over her parents' laundry business. She's not particularly glad of this outcome but she life goes on. The story is actually made of several shorter stories, in which Eunjo sort of teams up with a detective to solve a couple of issues (not actual mystery... more like misunderstandings?) involving her neighbours and even a YouTuber. I'd say this is a good blend of small town problems and engaging characters. One thing I was really confused about was the recurring changes between first and third persons narrative. It was hard to follow at times (especially if you were as tired as I was yesterday night), but I pushed through eventually. I think this could've been adapted a tad better. Kudos to the translator, because this was very pleasant to read.

City girls discovering themselves in places with not much else to discover. The taste of sea salt during a scenic scooter ride. Nosy busybodies (known as the “mariteses” in my language) popping in at odd times for a chat…or two…or three. New old friends, old new friends and the occasional neighbour who makes you want to pull out your hair. The smell of fresh laundry, unfolding a mystery, searching for holes, mending them, giving them a wash and then neatly folding them back up again.

Baekjo Laundry Has a Neat Answer to All Your Problems serves a cozy slice of life with a warm cup of intrigue in the beautiful, coastal city of Yeosu, South Korea. It read like those seaside small town Kdramas—think Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol, Our Blues—but throw in a helping of mundane mystery.

While it possessed a quaint charm and entertaining characters (particularly liked Seri and the detective), the writing felt admittedly awkward as the POVs shifted suddenly and chapters ended abruptly too often for the flow to feel natural. I struggled to keep up at times but that being said, I’m convinced this would have read better in its original Korean since the descriptions were really rich—so that’s probably a translation thing.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Safehouse Inc. and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Charmingly brilliant unfortunately the translation was off in parts. I understood overall but some might not put the effort in at the end of the day.

Baek Eun Jo's dreams of becoming a fashion designer looks to be over when her university closes. Her parents conveniently retire, and she comes home to run her family's laundry shop. A Youtuber disappears after visiting a coffee shop near Eun Jo's shop, and Eun Jo helps Detective Lee Jeong-Do despite their history (he ran into her motorcycle) to try and figure out what happened.

I really enjoyed this story, but I feel the translation fell a bit short for this one and at times was a bit difficult to follow.

Baekjo Laundry Has A Neat Answer To All Your Problems is a novel that was selected as the winner of the cozy mystery category. As for me, yes I'm judging from the title itself😅. A slow pace and no burning at all, I'm afraid😅.

The book is set in the old city area of Yeosu. Because the university she'd been attending had been singled out as substandard and forced to close down, Baek Eun-Jo's parents had announced their retirement and she had nowhere to go but inherit the shop. Eun-Jo runs the only laundry service in the neighbourhood.

Other features characters that entail the story are the detective, Lee Jeong-Do (a skilled detective but he seems to be dependent on Eun-Jo's keen eye), a famous Youtuber CoffeeHolic (a rival and drama queen in the neighbourhood) and other neighbours that too attached in Eun-Jo's life😅.

When I say ordinary residents, there is no mystery involved. Just a missing person, misunderstanding and small and insignificant events that happened around them. For a debut, I am proud of the author. It reminds me of some of kdrama that I've watched. My rating is 3 ⭐

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for providing the copy. Watch out for the pub date this November 11th.

📚

#donereading #BaekjoLaundryHasANeatAnswerToAllYourProblems #LeeJaeIn #emabaca #malaysiamembaca #bookstagram #igreads #goodreads

I was charmed by the title and description of this small town Korean book!

Baek Eun Jo takes over her parents laundry shop in a sleepy Korean town after her Seoul based fashion design college is forced to shut down. Facing resistance from the tightly knit neighborhood and some small town shame after failing to make it in the big city; Eunjo turns into a rookie detective.

What follows are charming slice of life accounts of cases Eunjo solves with her smarts, plus a rotating cast of interesting characters who have a lot of heart. There's also a fascinating bit with a semi famous local You-tuber, which is quite entertaining. There's a detective who pops up around Eunjo all the time, posed in what looked like a potential love interest for Eunjo... at least that's where I thought it was headed. Maybe it was a prospect the author thought best to save for a second book (if it happens?).

Eunjo's theories and case solving are fun to read , not in the least because she makes these discoveries through her talent in fashion and other clothes related details she has learnt to read from running a laundry store. Eunjo is always a step ahead, even more so than the detective himself!
I wonder about confidentiality in crime solving in SK. Are all detectives so loose about protocol? Is it credible to have a civilian helping him step by step in every case?
I also wonder at the subtext about the affairs in South Korea- that she could not get into a good college despite her being smart and clearly talented at her craft.

The glimpse into Korean culture and the subtleties in the interactions between characters were wonderful to read. Not having delved much into Korean culture, it felt like a nice look into what an every day person and interaction would look like there.

I went into this book wanting to like it. and I was not disappointed by the story. The editing and translation however, leave quite a bit to be desired.
The narrative randomly changed from first person to third person with Eunjo , serving no visible purpose but to confuse the reader. There was no demarcation to keep these logically separate either. The language is also stilted and confusing in parts - it's not quite clear what the characters are saying. I tried to find if the novel was translated from Korean, thus leading to a halting sentence structure in English, but there's no information available on the book or author ( that I could find).

A round of rigorous editing and formatting could really help this book shine , as the story is already there!
3.5 stars