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bookedby_raye's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
It felt like a real slow paced thriller so it didn't feel interesting to me and the plot sounds promising but as I'm reading its confusing
bookswithvicky's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, and Stalking
renila's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
aimsiu's review
4.0
The plot and characters were immensely interesting. It was a bit hard to follow at times because of all the many characters and relationships and the bureaucratic intricacies thereof, but it was worth the effort.
chicageek's review against another edition
1.0
Se me ha hecho muy largo, pesado y bastante aburrido. Hasta la pág. 200 o así no se empieza a poner interesante y luego no va a mejor. El problema es que se centra demasiado en los entresijos de la comisaría, los papeleos, los politiqueos, las tramas para ascender y demás... Y no tanto en los propios casos que se investigan, que al fin y al cabo es lo que esperas de una novela policíaca. Muy decepcionante, la verdad. No me explico los comentarios que trae en las solapas de que es "super adictiva"
wanderlustsleeping's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 Stars
My most disappointing read of 2019. Maybe of even the last couple of years.
I've tried to read this book on and off for a few years now. The first 100 pages are a confusing mess, throwing a billion names at the reader and a billion positions within the police force and press media hierarchy, but with no clear explanation of how all these people and positions fit together. Things pick up 100 pages in but each place that's supposed to feel like a step forward in this thriller has a lackluster landing. The "thriller" and "crime" part of the story never lived up to the enormously long wait. The first 95% of the the book is about the inner workings and politics of the police force and media press. A snoozefest, and not worth the label of a thriller. The answers we receive to the mystery, while I admit interesting, seem far fetched, and like I said before, does not live up to the enormously long wait.
The main character got on my nerves so many times, and every moment his character supposedly grew or transformed, felt like something I couldn't grasp, because he never seemed like a character whose form could be seen. Regarding everyone else, I genuinely didn't care for anybody.
I teared up once near the end because objectively what certain characters are going through are tragedies no one should have to deal with, but the crimes, most character's stories, and their presentation left me with an "I don't care" attitude most of the time. Genuinely, would not recommend.
My most disappointing read of 2019. Maybe of even the last couple of years.
I've tried to read this book on and off for a few years now. The first 100 pages are a confusing mess, throwing a billion names at the reader and a billion positions within the police force and press media hierarchy, but with no clear explanation of how all these people and positions fit together. Things pick up 100 pages in but each place that's supposed to feel like a step forward in this thriller has a lackluster landing. The "thriller" and "crime" part of the story never lived up to the enormously long wait. The first 95% of the the book is about the inner workings and politics of the police force and media press. A snoozefest, and not worth the label of a thriller. The answers we receive to the mystery, while I admit interesting, seem far fetched, and like I said before, does not live up to the enormously long wait.
The main character got on my nerves so many times, and every moment his character supposedly grew or transformed, felt like something I couldn't grasp, because he never seemed like a character whose form could be seen. Regarding everyone else, I genuinely didn't care for anybody.
I teared up once near the end because objectively what certain characters are going through are tragedies no one should have to deal with, but the crimes, most character's stories, and their presentation left me with an "I don't care" attitude most of the time. Genuinely, would not recommend.
amy_caren's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
gothicgunslinger's review
4.0
Probably more like 3.5 stars.
I liked a lot about this book; as a crime drama, it's rather outside the mold, and the many twists and turns kept me reading. I went in assuming one set of circumstances would take place – cracking a cold case, maybe simultaneously tracking down a missing person. It quickly subverts these expectations and becomes a pretty fascinating study on the internal politics of the Japanese police. Mikami as the somewhat hapless honest cop confronted with a system that seems more concerned with its own image than actually solving crimes was pretty satisfying to read about.
The novel functions also kind of a crash course on the Japanese law enforcement. I found myself looking up more information on the National Police Agency, and how the whole hierarchy is set up, to get a better understanding of why certain things were going on. Apparently, unlike in the United States that has separate police forces for each state, and then a separate agency that handles federal manners, Japan has a more centralized force, with personnel and policy decisions coming from high up in Tokyo. The book sure doesn't hold your hand in regards to this information. It's deeply immersed in Japanese culture and assumes the reader knows a lot of this information (unsurprisingly, considering it's a translation of something originally meant for a Japanese audience). People who don't like to do legwork to understand their fiction might be annoyed, but I found this some of the most interesting parts of my reading experience.
I also loved Mikami and Minako's struggle to deal with Ayumi's disappearance. It was quite nuanced and very poignant, especially considering the "hard-boiled detective" angle of the majority of the narrative.
Unfortunately, there were certain obstacles that kept me from loving this book. First, it was a bit too long. There were parts where I would be reading with interest, but as soon as we hit another section where Mikami simply sits and reasons through anything and everything in his head, I began wondering how many pages were left until the next chapter. Perhaps this is cultural as well – I've noticed Japanese fiction to be more cerebral than your average English narrative, but as a "fast-paced" suspense novel rounding out at 566 pages, a lot of the longer internal monologues could have been cut down.
The other big downside is that there are a lot of characters, and a bunch of them have extremely similar names. Mikami, Minako, Mikumo, Mizuki... and that's just one batch. I spent the majority of the novel assuming this had to be something lost in translation, that in Japanese these spellings weren't nearly interchangeble so I could barely tell who was who.
Overall, a good read, but not a great one. Still, worth it for the cultural immersion lesson, whch is probably why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 3.
I liked a lot about this book; as a crime drama, it's rather outside the mold, and the many twists and turns kept me reading. I went in assuming one set of circumstances would take place – cracking a cold case, maybe simultaneously tracking down a missing person. It quickly subverts these expectations and becomes a pretty fascinating study on the internal politics of the Japanese police. Mikami as the somewhat hapless honest cop confronted with a system that seems more concerned with its own image than actually solving crimes was pretty satisfying to read about.
The novel functions also kind of a crash course on the Japanese law enforcement. I found myself looking up more information on the National Police Agency, and how the whole hierarchy is set up, to get a better understanding of why certain things were going on. Apparently, unlike in the United States that has separate police forces for each state, and then a separate agency that handles federal manners, Japan has a more centralized force, with personnel and policy decisions coming from high up in Tokyo. The book sure doesn't hold your hand in regards to this information. It's deeply immersed in Japanese culture and assumes the reader knows a lot of this information (unsurprisingly, considering it's a translation of something originally meant for a Japanese audience). People who don't like to do legwork to understand their fiction might be annoyed, but I found this some of the most interesting parts of my reading experience.
I also loved Mikami and Minako's struggle to deal with Ayumi's disappearance. It was quite nuanced and very poignant, especially considering the "hard-boiled detective" angle of the majority of the narrative.
Unfortunately, there were certain obstacles that kept me from loving this book. First, it was a bit too long. There were parts where I would be reading with interest, but as soon as we hit another section where Mikami simply sits and reasons through anything and everything in his head, I began wondering how many pages were left until the next chapter. Perhaps this is cultural as well – I've noticed Japanese fiction to be more cerebral than your average English narrative, but as a "fast-paced" suspense novel rounding out at 566 pages, a lot of the longer internal monologues could have been cut down.
The other big downside is that there are a lot of characters, and a bunch of them have extremely similar names. Mikami, Minako, Mikumo, Mizuki... and that's just one batch. I spent the majority of the novel assuming this had to be something lost in translation, that in Japanese these spellings weren't nearly interchangeble so I could barely tell who was who.
Spoiler
But then it turns out that was 100% intentional and fed directly into the big plot twist at the end, which resulted in me giving a literal eye roll. The twist that Amamiya had been spending years calling everyone in the phone directory in search of the killer's voice was pretty badass, but man, not giving your characters similar names so the reader will confuse them is Creative Writing 101.Overall, a good read, but not a great one. Still, worth it for the cultural immersion lesson, whch is probably why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 3.
roq's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0