Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Die rätselhaften Honjin-Morde

This had potential, but it turned out to be quite boring and the motives behind it were low-key problematic... Sad times, was excited about having a new mystery author to read but I think I'll pass

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augie_'s review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A little convoluted but an obvious love letter to other mystery books in overt references. It contains spoilers to the murder mysteries The Mystery of Yellow Room and The Problem of the Thor Bridge (this one I know is a Sherlock Homes one).

There is some violent misogyny in the book but I would not say it was ever condoned by the book. I said the book was diverse bc while the cast is entirely Japanese and largely one family there are two disabled characters. One with an intellectual disability and another with a stammer.

At times the writing was pretty convoluted and while I was able to guess and follow a long for the most part and tell what was meant to be a red herring I can see why some reviewers find that frustrating. I do think the book does a lot of telling vs showing unfortunately that I hope decreases in his other works.

That said there is a meta quality to the book that I found Sometimes interrupted the flow of the book but I think someone might find endearing of the author or very annoying even if I was more in the middle and it some what reminded me of “The woman in the Library” by Gentil even if that wasn’t outright the author interrupting the book and more smooth and interesting to me personally. I would consider giving the book a shot if you like murder mysteries!

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daepyonimst's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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linguaphile412's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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dorsetreader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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

2.75

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snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.

A classic Japanese mystery that’s fascinating and clever, The Honjin Murders is the first of the Detective Kosuke Kindaichi series. This locked-room mystery is set in 1937 in a rural village where a tragedy befalls the wealthy Ichiyanagi family immediately after the wedding of the eldest son and Kosuke is requested to help solve the case by the uncle of the newlywed wife.

“…a blood-curdling scream rang out, followed by the eerie strains of a koto being plucked with wild abandon.”

The story is narrated rather matter-of-factly by a writer of detective stories in the future (the fourth-wall-breaking moments were brilliant!) as he reconstructs the events of the murders. Though, despite this and past the initial difficulty I had getting into the story because of the tone, this book still managed to give me goosebumps and kept me in the dark while the mystery gradually unravelled. Yokomizo didn’t really hide anything as there were a bunch of clues throughout the story. Instead, he offered unexpected twists and red herrings that kept me intrigued and clueless. All of this accumulated to an aha! moment that just stunned me and made me realise that yes, Yokomizo’s books deserve to be a classic.

“The ground was carpeted in those deep red spider lilies sometimes known as equinox flowers.”

Other than that, while I understand that different aspects are given more importance in this book and am aware of the period it’s written in, I must add that there’s barely any character development or fleshing of characters until they’re three-dimensional. The ingenious plot and its execution are the stars of the show here, so for those expecting stronger characters, don’t let the lack of it get you down. Focus, instead, on how wicked and clever the mystery is and I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading this book as well.

Content Warnings

bookshelf_al's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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