Reviews with content warning for Gore - Die rätselhaften Honjin-Morde

The first third of this book is just ok, but then Detective Kindaichi is introduced, which picks up the pace considerably, and makes the story much more intriguing. It's fun trying to put the pieces together as more clues are revealed, but there are some things that are kept from the reader, so you are never going to be able to put together the whole picture on your own. I was able to guess some of the reveals though, so I still felt a sense of accomplishment.

This book is not told from the Detective's perspective. We are relayed information from a third party years later who uses interviews, notes, and police records to piece together the full story. For example there are several back-to-back chapters that are told from the village doctor's perspective, as he wrote down what had happened the day he was there. I thought this was interesting as these types of books are generally told from the perspective of the person trying to solve the case.

The last few pages of this are surprisingly dark ! It's a depressing ending that is essentially an epilogue as to what happens to the family after. It did catch me off guard a bit, so I finished the book with a different feeling than I had just a few pages earlier. However, I am interested in seeing how many books are in this Detective Kindaichi series, and if any more are at my library.

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noahhare's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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tomato_bisque's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

This is a typical, classic whodunit murder mystery. Readers are not going to find the types of plot twists you might find in a modern thriller/murder mystery. While there are oddball characters, more of the emphasis rests on solving the crime and finding evidence than on deep character development. It is a short, enjoyable book and I plan on reading more by the author.

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