Reviews

Tokyo hoàng đạo án by Sōji Shimada

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

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.

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.

myke's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

It was a new take on how to do a mystery. I find the idea interesting, but I’m more interested in reading good story vs. solving a mystery myself. 

ishika_8's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

n3rdybookworm's review against another edition

2.0

I read this book after having greatly enjoyed "The decagon House Murders" and looking for a book of the same genre where it is clearer when one has all the clues. That was the case here, but I found the book an extreme bore to get through. It starts out with far-too-long, gruesome ravings detailing planned murders, then follows with a far-too-long conversation of one character describing the investigation around a murder 43 years later. Once you get through that, you get a far-too-long (and by now very outdated) sightseeing tour of several Japanese places that the narrator visits to pass the time while the detective is brooding over the case. Even the epilogue ends up feeling too long.

I'm sure this book will fit some people's tastes, it really did not fit mine.