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dxdnelion 's review for:
The Meiji Guillotine Murders
by Fūtarō Yamada
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-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:
N/A
The Meiji Guillotine Murders story set after the Boshin War which taking us back to the Meiji Restoration, a tempestuous period of when Government is still reshaping . We follow Inspectors Kawaji and Kazuki who work for the Imperial Prosecuting Office, a branch of the government that aims to root out corruption especially the police forces (Rasotsu). In this novella, they tackle a series of cases where various murder victims which most of them are the members of the government that murdered in mysterious ways. The Guillotine was a 'weapon' imported from French which is a famous execution method back then. We will see this been used almost each of the short stories.
To be honest, this story is not exactly what I was anticipating. I was expecting a full stories of a brutal murders and we follow their procedural investigation (of course it's my own fault for not reading it thoroughly). Instead of that, we get a collections of short stories which the plot focuses on the murder mysteries. Each of the short stories were so interesting, some are difficult to digest, and almost all of them are quite graphic & violence; the bodies cradling the severed heads, the man hanged at the bridge, the leg being cut-off. I quite enjoy the gory detailed despite being caught off guard.
However, maybe it's because of my expectation but most of how the case revealed and settled are quite unsatisfying.. I craved for more and satisfying revelation. However, the way this story ended was quite thrilling, unexpected and sad. I did not expected the last chapter to end that way. Overall, this is such a interesting read. I wouldn't doubt for this author abilities for the settings because he was so good at that (look at his anime adaptation works). Giving it 3.5 ⭐️
Thank you Pansing (@definitelybooks) for the review copy in exchange for a honest review!
To be honest, this story is not exactly what I was anticipating. I was expecting a full stories of a brutal murders and we follow their procedural investigation (of course it's my own fault for not reading it thoroughly). Instead of that, we get a collections of short stories which the plot focuses on the murder mysteries. Each of the short stories were so interesting, some are difficult to digest, and almost all of them are quite graphic & violence; the bodies cradling the severed heads, the man hanged at the bridge, the leg being cut-off. I quite enjoy the gory detailed despite being caught off guard.
However, maybe it's because of my expectation but most of how the case revealed and settled are quite unsatisfying.. I craved for more and satisfying revelation. However, the way this story ended was quite thrilling, unexpected and sad. I did not expected the last chapter to end that way. Overall, this is such a interesting read. I wouldn't doubt for this author abilities for the settings because he was so good at that (look at his anime adaptation works). Giving it 3.5 ⭐️
Thank you Pansing (@definitelybooks) for the review copy in exchange for a honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, War