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A review by trin
The Salaryman's Wife by Sujata Massey
2.0
A mystery I read because it’s set in Japan. There are some mildly interesting insights into Japanese culture, but as a mystery it’s pretty run of the mill and boring. The murderer is easily identifiable both by being the only character with a blatantly obvious false alibi, and through the “who’s the only character without any other role in the narrative?” method. All right, it’s true that the latter would be impossible for Rei, the progagonist, to use as a crime-solving tool, but I think the former might have given her a clue. Instead she “solves” the mystery when the murder tries to kill her. Brilliant deduction, Holmes!
Despite its faults as a truly mysterious mystery, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if Rei had been a more likeable and relatable character. But she seems to have such a negative outlook on everything that it’s not much fun to slump through 400-plus pages at her side. And her love interest was actively unpleasant. So much for reading more in this series; I will have to get my Japan fix elsewhere.
Despite its faults as a truly mysterious mystery, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if Rei had been a more likeable and relatable character. But she seems to have such a negative outlook on everything that it’s not much fun to slump through 400-plus pages at her side. And her love interest was actively unpleasant. So much for reading more in this series; I will have to get my Japan fix elsewhere.