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literareads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
emily_madcharo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
novemberninth's review against another edition
3.0
The first half was a slog. It was nothing but dialogue and exposition and attempts at a hypothesis. But also undeniably, it was the most important part of the story.
paperscrawls's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
illuminae's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
mkmilquetoast's review against another edition
2.0
I don't read a lot of mysteries, so I've been trying to shore up that gap in my library by reading all sorts takes on the genre.
The Tokyo Zodiac Murders was specifically recommended to me due to it kicking off the shin honkaku 'era' of mystery books in Japan. This term refers to more orthodox mysteries which tend to be closer to a puzzle box or game and is far less focused on the social and dramatic elements of a mystery. It's not about spotting inconsistencies in witness testimony or developing a criminal profile, it's more about solving the physical logic behind how a crime happened.
It's a fun idea for approaching a mystery. The problem is this particular book just isn't very fun to read.
The series of murders was fascinating, and I wanted so much to get absorbed in the mystery. But the book is more interested in bogging you down with facts and tidbits about the murder. There are pages and pages of names, astrology definitions, latitudes, longitudes, the top speed of a car during a blizzard, and on and on and on.
The reason for all this was not lost on me. A certain type of trick is being played on the reader, and it's an effective one. But it's also tremendously boring and tedious to actually run your eyes over. If you're going to misdirect me then you should at least have fun with it!
I enjoy logic puzzles, and while I haven't read many mysteries I've played plenty of games and visual novels in the genre, many of which were strongly influenced by honkaku. If this truly was game it'd be very poorly reviewed.
Perhaps it's the translation? I recognized many 'stock phrases' and other details throughout the book that suggested it adhered to a very literal translation. Could be that a lot has been lost in translation. It's hard to speculate too much about that.
I'm glad I read it to better understand the history of the genre, but I'd have a hard time recommending it to anyone, and I certainly can't see myself going reading it again.
The Tokyo Zodiac Murders was specifically recommended to me due to it kicking off the shin honkaku 'era' of mystery books in Japan. This term refers to more orthodox mysteries which tend to be closer to a puzzle box or game and is far less focused on the social and dramatic elements of a mystery. It's not about spotting inconsistencies in witness testimony or developing a criminal profile, it's more about solving the physical logic behind how a crime happened.
It's a fun idea for approaching a mystery. The problem is this particular book just isn't very fun to read.
The series of murders was fascinating, and I wanted so much to get absorbed in the mystery. But the book is more interested in bogging you down with facts and tidbits about the murder. There are pages and pages of names, astrology definitions, latitudes, longitudes, the top speed of a car during a blizzard, and on and on and on.
The reason for all this was not lost on me. A certain type of trick is being played on the reader, and it's an effective one. But it's also tremendously boring and tedious to actually run your eyes over. If you're going to misdirect me then you should at least have fun with it!
I enjoy logic puzzles, and while I haven't read many mysteries I've played plenty of games and visual novels in the genre, many of which were strongly influenced by honkaku. If this truly was game it'd be very poorly reviewed.
Perhaps it's the translation? I recognized many 'stock phrases' and other details throughout the book that suggested it adhered to a very literal translation. Could be that a lot has been lost in translation. It's hard to speculate too much about that.
I'm glad I read it to better understand the history of the genre, but I'd have a hard time recommending it to anyone, and I certainly can't see myself going reading it again.
lolasim's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
weiirrdddd. kinda boring in the middle but the start was crazy and the end was crazy. the reveal was actually so cool and i never wouldve guessed. but also just too much info bro i couldnt keep track of all the characters, they were all so unnecessary
guywhelon's review against another edition
3.0
There's definitely better Japanese crime novels out there, but given this one is a little old it's really interesting, the conclusion isn't very satisfying but the idea that the reader can solve the case before its presented to them is quite cool, I don't know how anyone could though, its so complicated!
bioniclib's review against another edition
3.0
The first almost 150 pages was just laying out the case and presenting all the clues necessary to solve the case ourselves. A fact that the author interrupted the narrative, twice, to challenge us with. That's the Golden Rule of mystery novels, to give all the info needed to solve it ahead of the protagonist. No hiding info or introducing a pivotal character right before the climax. And to his credit he follows that precious rule. But he throws so much info at us that it's overwhelming and feels like we're reading police notes. And then the explanation of how it was done takes another couple dozen pages at the end, only for our intrepid armature sleuth, to not know exactly how it was done. He just finds out who and is happy with that. So of course it ends with a letter from the murderer with all the gory deets.
I know that review doesn't sound like it's worth even three stars but the mystery was solid and those few chapter where the hunt is on were engaging. Even some of the speculation and letters were good. I love a good mental puzzle and this gave us many pieces, but ultimately, I was unsatisfied.
I liked out the letter was really Tokiko and the errors in the astrology she made because she wasn't an astrologer were clues that it was iffy. Her motivation for killing everyone was solid, she was doing it for her mom. The confusing the cop by pretending she was someone else and therefore skewing the cop's idea of when that someone else was killed was also solid.
Lots of good stuff but I just feel that the author was too arrogant and the narrative to clinical.
I know that review doesn't sound like it's worth even three stars but the mystery was solid and those few chapter where the hunt is on were engaging. Even some of the speculation and letters were good. I love a good mental puzzle and this gave us many pieces, but ultimately, I was unsatisfied.
Spoiler
I liked out the letter was really Tokiko and the errors in the astrology she made because she wasn't an astrologer were clues that it was iffy. Her motivation for killing everyone was solid, she was doing it for her mom. The confusing the cop by pretending she was someone else and therefore skewing the cop's idea of when that someone else was killed was also solid.
Lots of good stuff but I just feel that the author was too arrogant and the narrative to clinical.
rooy_soga's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
- The build-up is excellent, but the reveal is less.
- Pros: excellent misdirection, unpredictable ending.
- Cons: unnecessarily complicated, weak motive, unsatisfied reveal.