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A review by abbiesdigitallibrary
Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo
3.0
Finding a specific sub-genre is a really cool thing, and I've recently found that in 1900s Japanese murder mysteries.
Death on Gokumon Island is the 4th installment of the Detective Kindaichi Mysteries series, but they can be read out of order. In this novel, Detective Kindaichi is sent to Gokumon Island by his dying friend with the request to save his three younger sisters from being murdered.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book. The writing was intriguing, it left me guessing as to who the murderer was. It's unlike anything I've read before. The parallels & connections made (without spoiling what they are) were very well done and seeing more of that in today's murder mysteries would be amazing. It's definitely a little bit creepy as well in how the murders are described, which adds to the mysterious atmosphere of a small island inhabited by an unknow murderer.
However, there are a few things that didn't draw me in and that are a bit dated & today are problematic. To start with what didn't draw me in, the set up was not very engaging, it took 20% before getting interesting, and until that point I had no pull to pick up the book. There's also a few instances where narration says "dear reader" and tells you directly something that happened in a previous book. It only served to pull me out of the story. And the problematic part is how mental illness is used as a plot device & many ableist terms are used.
This is a good 3 star read, but is limited to 3 stars from me because of the ableism. Without that, it would definitely move up to 4.
CW: murder, death details, ableist language, mental illness to aid plot
Rating system:
5 - absolutely love, little-to-no dislikes that did not impact my reading experience
4 - great book, minor dislikes that did have an impact on my reading experience
3 - good/decent book but for some reason did not hook me or there were some problematic things that just were not addressed or greatly impacted my reading experience
2 - is either a book I did not click with and did not enjoy, problematic aspects are not addressed and severely impacted my reading experience, or I DNF'd but think it has potential for others
1 - is very problematic, I would not recommend the book to anyone
Thank you to Netgalley & Pushkin Vertigo for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected pub date: July 5, 2022.
Death on Gokumon Island is the 4th installment of the Detective Kindaichi Mysteries series, but they can be read out of order. In this novel, Detective Kindaichi is sent to Gokumon Island by his dying friend with the request to save his three younger sisters from being murdered.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book. The writing was intriguing, it left me guessing as to who the murderer was. It's unlike anything I've read before. The parallels & connections made (without spoiling what they are) were very well done and seeing more of that in today's murder mysteries would be amazing. It's definitely a little bit creepy as well in how the murders are described, which adds to the mysterious atmosphere of a small island inhabited by an unknow murderer.
However, there are a few things that didn't draw me in and that are a bit dated & today are problematic. To start with what didn't draw me in, the set up was not very engaging, it took 20% before getting interesting, and until that point I had no pull to pick up the book. There's also a few instances where narration says "dear reader" and tells you directly something that happened in a previous book. It only served to pull me out of the story. And the problematic part is how mental illness is used as a plot device & many ableist terms are used.
This is a good 3 star read, but is limited to 3 stars from me because of the ableism. Without that, it would definitely move up to 4.
CW: murder, death details, ableist language, mental illness to aid plot
Rating system:
5 - absolutely love, little-to-no dislikes that did not impact my reading experience
4 - great book, minor dislikes that did have an impact on my reading experience
3 - good/decent book but for some reason did not hook me or there were some problematic things that just were not addressed or greatly impacted my reading experience
2 - is either a book I did not click with and did not enjoy, problematic aspects are not addressed and severely impacted my reading experience, or I DNF'd but think it has potential for others
1 - is very problematic, I would not recommend the book to anyone
Thank you to Netgalley & Pushkin Vertigo for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected pub date: July 5, 2022.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Ableism