Reviews - The Tokyo Zodiac Murders

595 reviews for:

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders

Sōji Shimada

3.78 AVERAGE

abbie_'s review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious medium-paced

I started reading this book two years ago but couldn’t make it past the first chapter, but if you’ve had a similar experience then push through it because it’s completely different to the rest of the book. The premise of this locked room murder mystery is an ‘eccentric’ artist who details his grisly plans for murdering the seven women (daughters and nieces) he lives with to create the perfect doll. But before he can carry out his plan, he’s found murdered in a locked room - but the seven women in his life are found murdered in exactly the way he planned days later.

This is a specific type of Japanese mystery where the author (who writes us several notes during it, a little quirk I found charming) lays out all the suspects and clues for the reader and encourages them to solve it alongside the detectives. I am absolutely useless at stuff like this, so I just enjoyed the ride. But as a result, some of the book reads a little dryly, as the author is trying to give you as much information as possible. With so many victims, suspects, and detectives at play, it can get a little confusing sometimes.

I found the resolution to be clever if a little unsatisfying in terms of motive. I genuinely still don’t fully comprehend the method of the women’s murders, despite several diagrams 😂 But I understand enough to know that it’s smart - and brutal! But yes, not fully convinced

that some neglect from your parents and ostracisation from your sisters is quite enough to make you commit seven murders and dismember several bodies

It seems like I have quite a lot of complaints but honestly I did enjoy reading it, kept me engaged, and was a good set up. Doesn’t feel fair to rate it any lower than a three given some of the books I’ve rated two this year, which I didn’t enjoy nearly as much.