Reviews

A sordid tale of family, greed, and secrets…

The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo is part of the Detective Kindaichi Mysteries, a Japanese detective novel series.

My knowledge of Detective Kindaichi comes from reading the wonderful Kindaichi Case Files manga which is a spinoff/homage featuring the grandson of the detective (similar to Lupin and Lupin the Third being two separate properties despite their similar connection).

The mysteries of detective Kindaichi are often overly complicated and deal with long held secrets and vicious murders.

The Inugami Cyrse starts easy enough with N inheritance issue involving a wealthy family. Unfortunately, it quickly gets complicated as near accidental deaths and the passing of a close family associate seem to indicate someone has dark intent regarding a recent Will reading.

The mystery goes at a pretty fast pace with little time to breath before another incident occurs. I am actually fine with that as I don’t like a lot of downtime between events in a mystery, but the timeline of this story is odd. In some cases weeks pass between incidents…leading me to believe that characters are just sitting around for weeks at a time not doing anything or talking…only to be brought back together by a new attempted or successful murder. It’s just kind of odd.

Still, I enjoyed it as I got to see the inspiration for one of my favorite mystery manga.

kknoblauch's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

noirdefilie's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

quietlycreepy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jamesgoodwin1982's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

A good crime writer and an interesting case. I've read the previous book in the series and enjoyed it, feels very classical crime. I did find that the book tried to juggle a lot of things happening which on times got a bit confusing.

On the whole however and enjoyable read.

purging's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

There are lots of things I want to say about this book.

1. I found the story is neatly written. The author succeeded in revealing each evidences little by little but still with a TWIST at the end.
2. I’m not saying this book is the best detective book but I respect for great writing style.
3. Everything was explained clearly at the end of the chapter but still… the mysterious tobacco will still remain unsolved.
4. SAD TRAGIC BROSHIP Shizumo-Sukekiyo CRY ME A RIVER.
5. Again, great writing and clever plot.

moniszka's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

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