The Honjin Murders by Seishi YokomizoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is exactly how I like my detective novels - clever and straight to the point!
The story is set in late 1930s Japan, in a small town where a murder has been committed.
This book sets it out perfectly: set up, crime scene, clues, suspects, resolution. There's no side story about the tragic past of the grizzled detective on the case, there's no romance, there is no empty apartment with a lone cat for companionship. It commits to being a murder mystery with no extra fluff and I honestly could not have been happier.
The storytelling is quite fun, with it being penned by an unnamed chronicler, much like John Watson told the stories of Sherlock Holmes. Our detective Kosuke Kindaichi bears a strong resemblance, too - he's determined to use logic to solve the puzzles of crime and often notices the minute details others easily miss. He enjoys the thrill of solving a well-perpetrated crime and, as a consequence, often expresses joy at the most inappropriate times.
The crime itself was fascinating, with many random clues that didn't at all seem to relate. I loved how random it all seemed, and thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion. It's nice to read such a tangled, unpredictable story after so many crime novels with the same formula.
I picked this one after listening to book #5 on audio and enjoying it thoroughly, and I wasn't disappointed. It was great to read the first book introducing Kindaichi, and I've got the second one ready to go!
Highly recommend to lovers of detective novels and crime puzzle-solving.
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