This was like a British Golden Age mystery set in a very alien environment of a remote island village in post-war Japan. Maybe it was the translation. But the dialogue seemed very stilted. Nevertheless this was an enjoyable read with a satisfying solution

I have mixed feelings about this book.

This is the fourth book by Seishi Yokomizo that I've read so far and it's also the newest book that Pushkin Press translated and released.

As per usual, if you've read any book by Seishi Yokomizo before, you definitely know that the prologue is the background history or legend of the place where the 'murder' case or cases going to take on. It's really really nice to learn more information about the history or the legend before reading the book. It's really helpful and I like it.

This story took place on Gokumon Island where everyone who lives there is traditional folks. They are descendants of pirates and prisoners. They hate strangers and they prefer their own island's folks. They've been having intermarriage for over 5 generations that making them a huge family living in this island that is far from the mainland. What will happen if a murder happened there?

The story starts when Kindaichi Kosuke went to Gokumon Island to tell that his friend, Chimata, died on the way to the island and obvs can't go back there. Now Kindaichi was supposed to give his friend's letters to folks in Gokumon Island. The island itself is pretty weird and so the folks there. Murders happened and the culprits are taken by the police and the one who ran away died in some other island.

The culprits are predictable. It's probably because I have already know Seishi's habit on writing books. It's pretty predictable. I can't say that this is a perfect book. I enjoy the book but it's not that good. It's just pretty okay and not as bad as Honjin Murder.

Anything that is compared to Agatha Christie and I am already in love!. I haven't read books by this author previously but I certainly will now. The book is well written, with some comedic moments which were appropriate. I enjoyed the atmospheric setting and the impact of the recent war.

I couldn't put this book down, it was dark, intense and claustrophobic and I loved it. Well written with a gripping narrative, twisty, unpredictable and an atmosphere that took this book to the next level. I havent read this author before but I definitely will now.

This book is the fourth book in a detective series. It is very reminiscent of Agatha Christie in the way the story progresses. I think if you are a fan of Christie but you want something a little bit darker, this is the book for you.
I am not a huge fan of detective books but this one sounded interesting so I gave it a try. It’s just not the sub genre for me. Personally this would be a two star book but I think the writing is a four star. I think for the right audience, this book would be a hit.

I am torn between liking the mystery aspect of the book and ruing upon the lack of depth in any of the characters portrayed. The mystery is pretty decent but the problem with this book is that i never felt i cared for any of the characters. They felt flat and somewhat of a caricature. Where the book does well is in invoking a mood - that of Japan immediately after the second world war is over and disbanded yet frustrated soldiers can be found everywhere.

This was the fourth book in this series that I read and i found it to be a weak one overall.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy.

This is a thriller in the best way, keeping you engaged and immersed in Japanese island life while unfurling murder and clues. The fact it’s set in Japan adds to its appeal as it elevated the book beyond the average mystery, and although death in it is gruesomely portrayed, it doesn’t stray into the gratuitous in the way that some modern thrillers do. The protagonist is believable and likeable, although I think the conversations between characters is somewhat flat at times but this could be due to my Western expectations.

I read this book on a whim because I saw it was available for Read Now on Netgalley and the premise really interested me, plus I really like the cover. I'm glad I did because it's introduced me to the books of Seishi Yokomizo and I'm excited to read more of his work.

Kosuke Kindaiche isn't the confident and assured detective stereotype that we often see. The way he got flustered was endearing. Still, I feel like he wasn't that fully fleshed out yet. The other characters as well have this problem, and at first it took me some time to distinguish who was who because all of them were described and acted in the same, clinical way. It did get better as we continued through the book.

The atmosphere was very well-done and I also learned some about Japanese culture. I think these aspects were the ones I enjoyed the most and it was actually intriguing reading about it. Concerning the plot, it was quite enjoyable trying to figure out who were the murderers and I got pretty stumped about it too. But to be honest, the reasoning behind it felt kind of off? It was definitely a chilling reason though and perhaps that was the effect the author was going for. The writing was good and it did have some funny moments. Technically, there were some typos here and there, but since this is an arc I'm assuming it'll get polished before the release.

Overall, an enjoyable mystery book. Definitely looking forward to reading more of the author's work.