This is more of a 2.5 for me. 
 First off, the good(ish): Confessions called up in my mind a vivid image of a Japanese junior high. I found myself wondering if the author had actually described the old desks with bags clipped on the sides, the wall of windows over a dirt courtyard, the staffroom students apologized for entering...or if I was just remembering all that myself? Her description of the students listening to sensei, cleaning up around the school, and having teachers reprimand them for out of school behavior was all spot-on and so Japanese chugakko. I appreciated the way in which the story unfolded: separate chapters by different protagonists who provide a contrasting perspective to the central story. Most chapters read like a monologue to a specific audience with the narrator responding to the listener's reaction. 
 While the book is about a murder and "punishing" the murders, much of the content feels like Japanese horror rather than straight up crime. Lots of bullying/ijime which just makes me hate everything. My greatest issue though was the treatment of HIV and AIDS (shocked that's even in there, aren't you? I mean, right?? This book is not even supposed to be about that! What the heck?) (view spoiler)[ In the book, contracting HIV is depicted as end-of-the-world devastating and, in all cases, viewed as a punishment for bad behavior. Granted, most characters' horrific reaction to those who are or might be HIV+ show the ignorance of students (who display fear that simply touching someone will result in you contracting the disease. Small rant: Is this pre-Google? I mean why doesn't Naoki just look up how it spreads instead of bleaching his whole house, omg). At the same time, this builds on the general perception of HIV and AIDS in Japanese society. It is horrific that any teacher would torture children with the threat of exposing them to any harmful agent -- one reason I view Confessions as horror -- but it is exceptionally telling and offensive that HIV is presented as the worst of all possibilities. It just made me want to punch Japanese news. So, I recognize I come into this with lots of bias. (hide spoiler)] Overall, the story is a very Japanese horror/crime novel set in a school. Full of horrible people doing horrible things. The structure and unraveling is intriguing, and those who like crime or mysteries set in school situations should likely be entertained.