Reviews

The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike

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kimsquatch's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.5

curiouslykatt's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Mixed bag of unease, spine-chilling creepiness, but a lingering of missing satisfaction.

A young couple along with their daughter and family dog move into a newly built apartment building: Central Plaza Mansion. The one big catch is location, the apartment complex neighbours a temple and graveyard. Which is all well and good, as long as the neighbours stay quiet and peaceful.

This is an extremely slow moving story and much of the horror is strictly psychological horror. There’s enough to create an overall feeling of unease, but not enough to throw you down a terror spiral.

I did spend a lot of time worrying Cookie (the dog) was going to be an early casualty to the building, which if you know me it’s the absolute worst for me.

This story does explore how grief and past jealousies can linger, fester and contribute to present day horrors.

Overall it’s an enjoyable enough read even with the overall experience being a bit lacklustre for what I was hoping for from the book.

babs_b's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

honeychain's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.75

alwroteabook's review against another edition

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5.0

In a fit of whimsy, I hereby announce I will give everyone five stars, but the reviews may not reflect it.

I found this disappointing and feel like it's "lost in translation". The story is good but the writing seems mostly juvenile interspersed with some "big words" (the translator likes the word "ebullient") that disturb the flow. The scary scenes are well done and kept me reading despite the writing issues, while the background of the MCs was unique. I think this could be a stellar movie in the right hands.