Yet another Japanese mystery. This time it is from one of the best Japanese mystery writers - Seishi Yokomizo. I had read "The Village of Eight Graves" previously which was fairly good. Plus, I really like the blurb of the book.
The head of the wealthy Inugami clan dies, and his family awaits the will to be read. But once the details are read, little does anyone realize the gruesome murders that start happening. Meanwhile, detective Kindachi is also in the vicinity at the request of a client who is also found dead on the day he arrives. Who is hell-bent on killing the Inugamis? Why was Kindachi drawn in? forms the story.
A really interesting premise. What I liked in this book is how something or the other keeps on happening in the story. This made the reading very exciting. The book was a very quick and fast read for me. Even though it seemed like Kindachi was present at the same time for some other reason, it was interesting to see how he travels throughout the story just like us. Again a big shout out to the translation and Pushkin Vertigo publication. I really like how even Detective Kindachi was vulnerable and clueless just like the readers. And when the unmasking happened, he was back in his usual self. Literally, each of the characters was a suspect barring the Detective himself. The characters had their own backstories. It was really interesting how the family tree was branched and how the priest of Inugami clans had a great effect on the story. Also, the gay relationship arc even though a small one was interesting provided the time this was written. The cold-bloodedness of the people in the family was really surprising. The beauty of the Nasu area was well brought out through the writings. But towards the end, as in many other books I have read there were moments of slowness. Probably a couple of lesser pages might have helped.
In short, I really enjoyed the book and this was a real page-turner except maybe towards the end. People familiar with Japanese mysteries and mystery lovers will definitely enjoy this book. I did read that there were one or two movies made based on this but personally have not watched them yet.
To read my reviews of other books by Seishi Yokomizo, please check out the below link
The Village of Eight Graves - Seishi Yokomizo
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