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snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Also on Snow White Hates Apples.
As someone who has completely fallen in love with 20th-century Japanese mysteries, I was really looking forward to The Tattoo Murder by Akimitsu Takagi. But, sadly, it didn’t meet my expectations…
While I found the views on traditional Japanese tattoos, the intertwining Japanese folklore and the historical contexts of the setting interesting, they also took over too much of the book. Many times, it felt as though the murder mystery was placed on the back burner just so those views could be further explored. This, in return, made the mystery too drawn out, resulting it in being incredibly underwhelming despite how clever the crime was.
Moreover, Kyosuke Kamizu, the boy wonder mentioned in the summary entered the picture much too late. Instead of being present around the beginning and solving the mystery with us, he comes in only at the final quarter of the book which makes all the revelations too convenient. It felt like he was merely inserted just so a major plot point could be concluded. In fact, the entire crime aspect felt like it was just there as an excuse to talk more about the art of traditional Japanese tattoos.
I think it’s such a shame because the crime itself is clever — a little predictable but still, clever. You have pieces of a gorgeous woman’s corpse found in a locked room. Her torso is missing and it’s the exact location of her equally gorgeous Orochimaru tattoo which she had only just revealed to a crowd of spectators days ago. There are several suspects but instead of a tense race to unveil the truth before the next victim appears, we end up with an incredibly slow and cumbersome investigation. Sure, this may mimic reality where not all cases can be solved and closed quickly but I think in a book, there should be a little leeway for the pace to be sped up so that the story becomes less exhausting and more of a page-turner.
All things considered, The Tattoo Murder reads more like a historical fiction with a side of crime than a thriller mystery set in 1947 Japan. It’d be best to read this with the expectation that it’s more focused on the beauty of traditional Japanese tattoos instead of the murder mystery.
As someone who has completely fallen in love with 20th-century Japanese mysteries, I was really looking forward to The Tattoo Murder by Akimitsu Takagi. But, sadly, it didn’t meet my expectations…
While I found the views on traditional Japanese tattoos, the intertwining Japanese folklore and the historical contexts of the setting interesting, they also took over too much of the book. Many times, it felt as though the murder mystery was placed on the back burner just so those views could be further explored. This, in return, made the mystery too drawn out, resulting it in being incredibly underwhelming despite how clever the crime was.
Moreover, Kyosuke Kamizu, the boy wonder mentioned in the summary entered the picture much too late. Instead of being present around the beginning and solving the mystery with us, he comes in only at the final quarter of the book which makes all the revelations too convenient. It felt like he was merely inserted just so a major plot point could be concluded. In fact, the entire crime aspect felt like it was just there as an excuse to talk more about the art of traditional Japanese tattoos.
I think it’s such a shame because the crime itself is clever — a little predictable but still, clever. You have pieces of a gorgeous woman’s corpse found in a locked room. Her torso is missing and it’s the exact location of her equally gorgeous Orochimaru tattoo which she had only just revealed to a crowd of spectators days ago. There are several suspects but instead of a tense race to unveil the truth before the next victim appears, we end up with an incredibly slow and cumbersome investigation. Sure, this may mimic reality where not all cases can be solved and closed quickly but I think in a book, there should be a little leeway for the pace to be sped up so that the story becomes less exhausting and more of a page-turner.
All things considered, The Tattoo Murder reads more like a historical fiction with a side of crime than a thriller mystery set in 1947 Japan. It’d be best to read this with the expectation that it’s more focused on the beauty of traditional Japanese tattoos instead of the murder mystery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
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