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fraise's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Drug abuse, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Child death, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity and Rape
phantomgecko's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Firstly, maybe it was the translation, but the phrasing and manner of speaking in this book felt so Japanese. Not in a distracting or bad way, just noticeably.
This book is Japanese And Then There Were None, like explicitly so. The similarities to Agatha Christie's book is intentional and spoken about repeatedly. I love that for this book.
Like, an Agatha Christie novel, I definitely did not predict the ending. But it wasn't jarring or twisty. Just a matter of cleverly disguised identity.
This book is Japanese And Then There Were None, like explicitly so. The similarities to Agatha Christie's book is intentional and spoken about repeatedly. I love that for this book.
Like, an Agatha Christie novel, I definitely did not predict the ending. But it wasn't jarring or twisty. Just a matter of cleverly disguised identity.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Murder
samanthaleereads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Murder
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Sexism
hanniquinn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I REALLY enjoyed reading this. There were definitely parts I didn’t care about as much and some things that I felt were a bit underwhelming but overall I had a lot of fun reading this and I really recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Blood, and Death of parent
blakeandbooks's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Medical content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Alcohol
kimtazo's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Death, Suicide, Blood, Alcohol, and Violence
_maia3_'s review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I'm rating this a very safe 2.5 because whilst I did enjoy the book, a lot of it felt a little off in a bad way.
Either this reads better in its native language, or the writing is by design a little amateur-ish. Further, the characterisation is lacking (which is tentatively fine, one can only explore so much in a single novel), and this leads to emotional beats lacking punch. The actual set-up for the murders is rather unrealistic - I cannot fathom how any of the students thought staying at a remote island for a week with no contact or escape was a good idea, even if there wasn't a murderer around.
It's clear that this was written for people who are already deeply entrenched in the mystery genre, as a lot of the novel references mystery tropes and this specifically guides the characters in who they suspect/ what they think - but the psychological aspect wasn't very much explored and I think that was a pity.
As for the final twist, it was unexpected-yet-earned, although the overall explanation was a quite convoluted, which meant I didn't feel like much could have been pieced together until the author decided that it was time to give everything out.
Overall, it was a good book which was worth the afternoon I read it in, but it does feel like it may have benefited from a couple more drafts, as it feels too loose and messy. Read at your own peril?
Either this reads better in its native language, or the writing is by design a little amateur-ish. Further, the characterisation is lacking (which is tentatively fine, one can only explore so much in a single novel), and this leads to emotional beats lacking punch. The actual set-up for the murders is rather unrealistic - I cannot fathom how any of the students thought staying at a remote island for a week with no contact or escape was a good idea, even if there wasn't a murderer around.
It's clear that this was written for people who are already deeply entrenched in the mystery genre, as a lot of the novel references mystery tropes and this specifically guides the characters in who they suspect/ what they think - but the psychological aspect wasn't very much explored and I think that was a pity.
As for the final twist, it was unexpected-yet-earned, although the overall explanation was a quite convoluted, which meant I didn't feel like much could have been pieced together until the author decided that it was time to give everything out.
Overall, it was a good book which was worth the afternoon I read it in, but it does feel like it may have benefited from a couple more drafts, as it feels too loose and messy. Read at your own peril?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity
moonlightreads007's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I would describe this book as a mysterious, suspenseful and Christie-esque type of read. Although the plot development starts off slowly at first, the pace of the book picks up quickly. It was hard to tell how the story would unfold and the author keeps you guessing as to who the main suspects are and who the culprit might be (which I consider to be the hallmarks of a good mystery/detective style book). The narrative style is interesting, as it switches between the events occurring on the mainland and those on the island. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Agatha Christie-style novels and who enjoys tense, suspenseful settings and plot developments in books. However, I would also recommend checking out the content warnings for this book as some of the deaths are quite graphically described at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Suicide
Minor: Rape and Vomit
toffishay's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a really engaging, creepy, but fun mystery! The homages to classic mysteries, especially Agatha Christie were really fun as a lover of mystery and detective media. I won't spoil the ending, but I think it's a worthwhile read if you are a fan of the genre. The only things bringing it down for me, is that I think there could have been a little more drama at the end and one character in particular, I felt was under-used.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Confinement, Murder, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Grief, Gaslighting, Blood, Suicide, and Medical content
Minor: Rape, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Infidelity
akira_outofthegravity's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A really enjoyable murder mystery novel that kept me guessing until the very end.
I felt that the solution was a little far fetched, but I have to say I didn’t guess it lol. I felt bad because I really liked all the characters and then they all died, and it felt like the murderers motive wasn’t really all there?
if chiori had been more prevalent in the lead up, perhaps with the members feeling guilt over her death, then maybe it would have seemed less out the blue. Her death from alcohol consumption is fine, but no one remembers her or even cares that she died apart from Orczy and the murderer.
While I have a couple of issues with the story, what this book gets really well is ATMOSPHERE. The second to last chapter seriously spooked me, maybe because murder mysteries tend not to talk too much about how a body looks and so it threw me off.
A unique and atmospheric story that I felt could have been fleshed out a little more, from the author of one of my favourite manga’s (Another).
I felt that the solution was a little far fetched, but I have to say I didn’t guess it lol. I felt bad because I really liked all the characters and then they all died, and it felt like the murderers motive wasn’t really all there?
While I have a couple of issues with the story, what this book gets really well is ATMOSPHERE. The second to last chapter seriously spooked me, maybe because murder mysteries tend not to talk too much about how a body looks and so it threw me off.
A unique and atmospheric story that I felt could have been fleshed out a little more, from the author of one of my favourite manga’s (Another).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit