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Detective Kosuke Kindaichi #1
The Honjin Murders
In the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumour – it seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions about the Ichiyanagis around the village.
Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi family are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music – death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. The murder seems impossible, but amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi is determined to get to the bottom of it.
Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi family are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music – death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. The murder seems impossible, but amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi is determined to get to the bottom of it.
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First published January 1, 1946
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About the author
Seishi Yokomizo
237 books766 followersSeishi Yokomizo (横溝 正史) was a novelist in Shōwa period Japan.
Yokomizo was born in the city of Kobe, Hyōgo (兵庫県 神戸市). He read detective stories as a boy and in 1921, while employed by the Daiichi Bank, published his first story in the popular magazine "Shin Seinen" (新青年[New Youth]). He graduated from Osaka Pharmaceutical College (currently part of Osaka University) with a degree in pharmacy, and initially intended to take over his family's drug store even though sceptical of the contemporary ahistorical attitude towards drugs. However, drawn by his interest in literature, and the encouragement of Edogawa Rampo (江戸川 乱歩), he went to Tokyo instead, where he was hired by the Hakubunkan publishing company in 1926. After serving as editor in chief of several magazines, he resigned in 1932 to devote himself full-time to writing.
Yokomizo was attracted to the literary genre of historical fiction, especially that of the historical detective novel. In July 1934, while resting in the mountains of Nagano to recuperate from tuberculosis, he completed his first novel "Onibi" (『鬼火』), which was published in 1935, although parts were immediately censored by the authorities. Undeterred, Yokomizo followed on his early success with a second novel Ningyo Sashichi torimonocho (1938–1939). However, during World War II, he faced difficulties in getting his works published due to the wartime conditions, and was in severe economic difficulties. The lack of Streptomycin and other antibiotics also meant that his tuberculosis could not be properly treated, and he joked with friends that it was a race to see whether he would die of disease or of starvation.
However, soon after the end of World War II, his works received wide recognition and he developed an enormous fan following. He published many works via Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine in serialized form, concentrating only on popular mystery novels, based on the orthodox western detective story format, starting with "Honjin Satsujin Jiken" (『本陣殺人事件』) and "Chōchō Satsujin Jinken" (『蝶々殺人事件』) (both in 1946). His works became the model for postwar Japanese mystery writing. He was also often called the "Japanese John Dickson Carr" after the writer whom he admired.
Yokomizo is most well known for creating the private detective character Kosuke Kindaichi (金田一 耕助). Many of his works have been made into movies.
Yokomizo died of colon cancer in 1981. His grave is at the Seishun-en cemetery in Kawasaki, Kanagawa (神奈川県 川崎市).
Yokomizo was born in the city of Kobe, Hyōgo (兵庫県 神戸市). He read detective stories as a boy and in 1921, while employed by the Daiichi Bank, published his first story in the popular magazine "Shin Seinen" (新青年[New Youth]). He graduated from Osaka Pharmaceutical College (currently part of Osaka University) with a degree in pharmacy, and initially intended to take over his family's drug store even though sceptical of the contemporary ahistorical attitude towards drugs. However, drawn by his interest in literature, and the encouragement of Edogawa Rampo (江戸川 乱歩), he went to Tokyo instead, where he was hired by the Hakubunkan publishing company in 1926. After serving as editor in chief of several magazines, he resigned in 1932 to devote himself full-time to writing.
Yokomizo was attracted to the literary genre of historical fiction, especially that of the historical detective novel. In July 1934, while resting in the mountains of Nagano to recuperate from tuberculosis, he completed his first novel "Onibi" (『鬼火』), which was published in 1935, although parts were immediately censored by the authorities. Undeterred, Yokomizo followed on his early success with a second novel Ningyo Sashichi torimonocho (1938–1939). However, during World War II, he faced difficulties in getting his works published due to the wartime conditions, and was in severe economic difficulties. The lack of Streptomycin and other antibiotics also meant that his tuberculosis could not be properly treated, and he joked with friends that it was a race to see whether he would die of disease or of starvation.
However, soon after the end of World War II, his works received wide recognition and he developed an enormous fan following. He published many works via Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine in serialized form, concentrating only on popular mystery novels, based on the orthodox western detective story format, starting with "Honjin Satsujin Jiken" (『本陣殺人事件』) and "Chōchō Satsujin Jinken" (『蝶々殺人事件』) (both in 1946). His works became the model for postwar Japanese mystery writing. He was also often called the "Japanese John Dickson Carr" after the writer whom he admired.
Yokomizo is most well known for creating the private detective character Kosuke Kindaichi (金田一 耕助). Many of his works have been made into movies.
Yokomizo died of colon cancer in 1981. His grave is at the Seishun-en cemetery in Kawasaki, Kanagawa (神奈川県 川崎市).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,159 reviews
May 21, 2022
*3.5 stars*
First published in 1946, the eponymous crimes (The Honjin Murders) occurred in 1937 and in a simple rural community as yet untouched by any hint of the devastating war to come. In the nineteen thirties there were trains and buses but no cars in the back country of Honshu, Japan. People rode bicycles or walked. There were no phones. A feudal legacy prevailed, but it was ambivalent, flexible. Until recently, touring nobles and their retinues were accommodated in elite establishments called honjins, the proprietors, through association, achieving such high rank themselves that they came to be regarded almost as gentry.
This was Japan before globalisation, epitomised by a village dominated by an extended honjin family, the widowed matriarch, now retired, and occupying a large house with her two sons and a daughter said to be “a bit slow”. Another son is a doctor in Osaka, and a second daughter lives in Shanghai (but she doesn’t come into the story so can be ignored, the narrator assures the reader).
The action takes place in the annexe - a second house in the grounds of the main residence. This cottage is about to be occupied by the eldest son and his bride. The fiancée is the daughter of a fruit farmer, her lower class deplored by others in the family and emphasised by the narrator. In such circumstances it seems not inappropriate that violent death should involve the bridal pair. That it should occur on the wedding night may be dismissed as a coincidence but for the over-riding factor that the couple died in a locked room.
As might be expected, all the family members are suspects, including the sweet girl who the author calls ‘slow’. She sleepwalks and keeps vigil at the grave of her dead kitten. There is a chief suspect, as well as a kind bumbling policeman, various servants, farm workers - and a publican who preserves the crucial glass.
It’s absorbing enough that it’s not until you reach the end and consider and deconstruct ‘The Honjin Murders’ that you realise much of its merit must derive from the translation by Louise Heal Kawai. Yokomizo has to share the honours too of course, and this teamwork has produced a delightful curiosity.
First published in 1946, the eponymous crimes (The Honjin Murders) occurred in 1937 and in a simple rural community as yet untouched by any hint of the devastating war to come. In the nineteen thirties there were trains and buses but no cars in the back country of Honshu, Japan. People rode bicycles or walked. There were no phones. A feudal legacy prevailed, but it was ambivalent, flexible. Until recently, touring nobles and their retinues were accommodated in elite establishments called honjins, the proprietors, through association, achieving such high rank themselves that they came to be regarded almost as gentry.
This was Japan before globalisation, epitomised by a village dominated by an extended honjin family, the widowed matriarch, now retired, and occupying a large house with her two sons and a daughter said to be “a bit slow”. Another son is a doctor in Osaka, and a second daughter lives in Shanghai (but she doesn’t come into the story so can be ignored, the narrator assures the reader).
The action takes place in the annexe - a second house in the grounds of the main residence. This cottage is about to be occupied by the eldest son and his bride. The fiancée is the daughter of a fruit farmer, her lower class deplored by others in the family and emphasised by the narrator. In such circumstances it seems not inappropriate that violent death should involve the bridal pair. That it should occur on the wedding night may be dismissed as a coincidence but for the over-riding factor that the couple died in a locked room.
As might be expected, all the family members are suspects, including the sweet girl who the author calls ‘slow’. She sleepwalks and keeps vigil at the grave of her dead kitten. There is a chief suspect, as well as a kind bumbling policeman, various servants, farm workers - and a publican who preserves the crucial glass.
It’s absorbing enough that it’s not until you reach the end and consider and deconstruct ‘The Honjin Murders’ that you realise much of its merit must derive from the translation by Louise Heal Kawai. Yokomizo has to share the honours too of course, and this teamwork has produced a delightful curiosity.
August 2, 2020
I didn't think Kindaichi-san's theory too outlandish
... Hmm, the narrator might not think it outlandish, but I thought the final solution was fiendish to the point of being the most eye-rollingly wacky and bizarre I've ever read! Definitely one to file under theatrical artifice...
What I enjoyed is the fluent writing; the meta nods to detective fiction and classic locked-room mysteries; and the little touches of Japanese culture - the solution may be more gasps at the outrageous cheek of Yokomizo, but the chilling moment comes when a character goes to Hiroshima and we learn he was there the day the bomb was dropped.
Because the narrator is a writer of detective fiction who is reconstructing the case years after it happened, there's no urgency in the narrative, there's lots of foreshadowing, and sections are very 'told'. Perhaps the author realised since at the end, other temporary narrators take over.
So not the slickest of whodunnits but a quick and enjoyable read that rather pokes fun at itself in an amiable way.
December 26, 2019
full post here:
http://www.crimesegments.com/2019/12/...
Pushkin Vertigo has done it again, this time with the classic Japanese mystery, The Honjin Murders, the first book to feature Yokomizo's "scruffy-looking" sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi. Making his debut in 1946, he would go on to solve a further 76 cases over the next thirty-plus years before his creator's death in 1981.
As it turns out, the plot was particularly ingenious and actually downright heinous when all is said and done, offering more than one unexpected twist that kept things lively and kept me guessing. The first time through I was a bit annoyed when the narrator started pointing out various items of "significance" as if telling his readers that these are things to pay attention to, or at least to keep in the back of their our minds for later. And before the mystery is completely explained, he reveals the point in the case in which Kindaichi reaches his "aha" moment, which points the reader to a particular avenue of thought. Again, I found this a bit annoying, but the truth is that this bit of Kindaichi's later insight (without giving the show away, thank goodness) took the armchair detective in me in a direction I would never have considered. I was still wrong, but after the second read I was kicking myself for not having figured it out the first time.
It is important to keep in mind when and where this book was written. While there is not a lot of character development as you read along, there are cultural and social issues and anxieties that rise to the surface that will become important later down the road. There is also much to say about the locked-room/impossible crime genre within the story itself, which provides more than just a deft touch to the mysteries at hand, also reading as a bit of an homage to the genre. My standard practice when reading this sort of thing is to read it twice, the second time to block out the noise of red herrings, etc. and try to get to the point of my own "aha" moment. The story is so nicely plotted that I didn't, even after the second reading when I already knew what had happened.
I hope that The Honjin Murders will gain a following, prompting Pushkin Vertigo to publish more of Yokomizo Seishi's work in the future. Recommended, certainly for fans of the locked-room mystery, but for readers just testing the waters with this sort of thing, you couldn't go wrong by starting here.
http://www.crimesegments.com/2019/12/...
Pushkin Vertigo has done it again, this time with the classic Japanese mystery, The Honjin Murders, the first book to feature Yokomizo's "scruffy-looking" sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi. Making his debut in 1946, he would go on to solve a further 76 cases over the next thirty-plus years before his creator's death in 1981.
As it turns out, the plot was particularly ingenious and actually downright heinous when all is said and done, offering more than one unexpected twist that kept things lively and kept me guessing. The first time through I was a bit annoyed when the narrator started pointing out various items of "significance" as if telling his readers that these are things to pay attention to, or at least to keep in the back of their our minds for later. And before the mystery is completely explained, he reveals the point in the case in which Kindaichi reaches his "aha" moment, which points the reader to a particular avenue of thought. Again, I found this a bit annoying, but the truth is that this bit of Kindaichi's later insight (without giving the show away, thank goodness) took the armchair detective in me in a direction I would never have considered. I was still wrong, but after the second read I was kicking myself for not having figured it out the first time.
It is important to keep in mind when and where this book was written. While there is not a lot of character development as you read along, there are cultural and social issues and anxieties that rise to the surface that will become important later down the road. There is also much to say about the locked-room/impossible crime genre within the story itself, which provides more than just a deft touch to the mysteries at hand, also reading as a bit of an homage to the genre. My standard practice when reading this sort of thing is to read it twice, the second time to block out the noise of red herrings, etc. and try to get to the point of my own "aha" moment. The story is so nicely plotted that I didn't, even after the second reading when I already knew what had happened.
I hope that The Honjin Murders will gain a following, prompting Pushkin Vertigo to publish more of Yokomizo Seishi's work in the future. Recommended, certainly for fans of the locked-room mystery, but for readers just testing the waters with this sort of thing, you couldn't go wrong by starting here.
June 1, 2024
First of all I want to thank Anthony Horowitz for mentioning this book along with a couple of other classic locked room mysteries in his recently published ‘Close to Death’.
The story takes place in 1937 in a village in Japan.
A bride and groom are killed on the night of their wedding. Their bodies are found the next day, slashed and soaked in blood in a locked room.
All that was left was a tableau from hell.
How was this impossible crime committed? What was the motive? And how did the murderer manage to leave the locked room?
The story takes place in 1937 in a village in Japan.
A bride and groom are killed on the night of their wedding. Their bodies are found the next day, slashed and soaked in blood in a locked room.
All that was left was a tableau from hell.
How was this impossible crime committed? What was the motive? And how did the murderer manage to leave the locked room?
March 14, 2025
It is the first Detective Kindaichi mystery, and it is an impressive, awesome debut!
In a rural Japanese village, the young master of the most powerful family is getting married with a beautiful, talented young bride. But at the wedding night, the family heard terrible screams coming from the bedroom of the newlywed couple, the door and the windows were locked and the couple were found stabbed to death. Why must they be killed? Was the ominous 'Three Fingered Man' witnessed by the villagers, the true murderer?
Detective Kindaichi was summoned by the bride's uncle, to investigate the double murders case, but the truth he uncovered might be unsettling to both his client...and the victim's family.
My thoughts:
(1) After reading this novel for so many time, I can see the flaws in the plot design quite clearly, but I am still enjoying the story.
PS: I first read it when I was a little girl.
My Top Ten Yokomizo's Detective Kosuke Kindaichi Mysteries novels
1.惡魔的手毬歌 / A Devilish Temari Song (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
2.本陣殺人事件 / The Honjin Murders (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
3.犬神家一族 / The Inugami Clan (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
4.獄門島 / Gokumon Island (my review for Gokumonto: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
5.夜行 / Night Walk (my review: (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...))
6.惡魔吹著笛子來 / The Devil Comes and Plays His Flute
7.惡靈島 / Demon Island (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
8. 醫院坡上吊之家 / The House of Hanging on Hospital Slope
9. 女王蜂 / Queen Bee
10. 八墓村 / The Village of Eight Graves
In a rural Japanese village, the young master of the most powerful family is getting married with a beautiful, talented young bride. But at the wedding night, the family heard terrible screams coming from the bedroom of the newlywed couple, the door and the windows were locked and the couple were found stabbed to death. Why must they be killed? Was the ominous 'Three Fingered Man' witnessed by the villagers, the true murderer?
Detective Kindaichi was summoned by the bride's uncle, to investigate the double murders case, but the truth he uncovered might be unsettling to both his client...and the victim's family.
My thoughts:
(1) After reading this novel for so many time, I can see the flaws in the plot design quite clearly, but I am still enjoying the story.
PS: I first read it when I was a little girl.
My Top Ten Yokomizo's Detective Kosuke Kindaichi Mysteries novels
1.惡魔的手毬歌 / A Devilish Temari Song (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
2.本陣殺人事件 / The Honjin Murders (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
3.犬神家一族 / The Inugami Clan (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
4.獄門島 / Gokumon Island (my review for Gokumonto: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
5.夜行 / Night Walk (my review: (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...))
6.惡魔吹著笛子來 / The Devil Comes and Plays His Flute
7.惡靈島 / Demon Island (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
8. 醫院坡上吊之家 / The House of Hanging on Hospital Slope
9. 女王蜂 / Queen Bee
10. 八墓村 / The Village of Eight Graves
June 28, 2023
For starters, I am a HUGE fan of classic detective series. My best-of list would include the master, Sherlock Holmes; the feisty Belgian, Poriot; the holy brother, Cadfael; the godfather, Auguste Dupin; and last but certainly not least, my first love, Nancy Drew.
The reason I bring that up is because in "The Honjin Murders," the quirky detective uses his knowledge of old classic detective novels to solve the crime. That’s right! And believe me, I was all eyes—you know, the all-ears equivalent. Just run with me here.
So, we have a 1930s setting, a locked-room murder, many suspects (including a masked person with three fingers), and a fun detective on the case. What could go wrong?
Well, I’ll tell you, but before I do, I might bring up a few analogies that might give a very slight inclination toward the killer's mindset. So, if you want to go in completely blind, skip the rest.
Okay, I lied. If you are still reading the review, you must post some of your favorite detectives at the bottom so I can look them up and discover some other fun series.
Really now, let’s continue.
Where were we? Oh, that’s right. What could go wrong? Well, as much as it pains me to say it, the reveal was just so implausible. I really, really wanted to like this story, but I think Leonardo da Vinci would have a hard time developing and executing this ruse, especially over the course of two days. I was thinking, maybe there will be a reveal within the reveal or a twist that would make me gasp or perhaps the victim was actually someone else. Nope, it just kind of fizzles out.
Now if you’ve read this book and are thinking, no way, Chris, it was innovative how this connected to that and this was pulled here, and that taut line held the so and so in place, etc., and to that, I would say, "Sorry, I’m just not buying it. It’s too elaborate to pull off, the theatrics are too grand, the variables are too great, it would have been too easy to just follow the blood." Just sayin’ 😉
There were a few other things I should mention. One: the red herrings are plentiful in this one. Sadly, some of the mysteries you fill in your head are probably a bit more exciting than the actual outcome. Two, the marriage conclusion was extremely icky. Three, I would recommend you look up some of the architectural elements that are mentioned as a visual so that the reveal makes a bit more sense, unless, of course, you are Rube Goldberg, Doc Brown, or Frank Lloyd Wright.
I guess this has turned into what the kids like to call "a rant review", but I’m not entirely sure I actually reviewed anything. Okay, so this is just rambling on at this point, so I’ll just leave it with this. It was fine. That’s it; it was fine.
I lied again. One more thing. I already know someone is going to read this review and post the following quote in response to the problems I had with the convoluted murder plot. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth", because it is something I would do. And to that, I would say, "bravo", but I’m still not changing my rating. 😁
❖ Category: mystery
❖ Rating: 2.5/5
The reason I bring that up is because in "The Honjin Murders," the quirky detective uses his knowledge of old classic detective novels to solve the crime. That’s right! And believe me, I was all eyes—you know, the all-ears equivalent. Just run with me here.
So, we have a 1930s setting, a locked-room murder, many suspects (including a masked person with three fingers), and a fun detective on the case. What could go wrong?
Well, I’ll tell you, but before I do, I might bring up a few analogies that might give a very slight inclination toward the killer's mindset. So, if you want to go in completely blind, skip the rest.
Okay, I lied. If you are still reading the review, you must post some of your favorite detectives at the bottom so I can look them up and discover some other fun series.
Really now, let’s continue.
Where were we? Oh, that’s right. What could go wrong? Well, as much as it pains me to say it, the reveal was just so implausible. I really, really wanted to like this story, but I think Leonardo da Vinci would have a hard time developing and executing this ruse, especially over the course of two days. I was thinking, maybe there will be a reveal within the reveal or a twist that would make me gasp or perhaps the victim was actually someone else. Nope, it just kind of fizzles out.
Now if you’ve read this book and are thinking, no way, Chris, it was innovative how this connected to that and this was pulled here, and that taut line held the so and so in place, etc., and to that, I would say, "Sorry, I’m just not buying it. It’s too elaborate to pull off, the theatrics are too grand, the variables are too great, it would have been too easy to just follow the blood." Just sayin’ 😉
There were a few other things I should mention. One: the red herrings are plentiful in this one. Sadly, some of the mysteries you fill in your head are probably a bit more exciting than the actual outcome. Two, the marriage conclusion was extremely icky. Three, I would recommend you look up some of the architectural elements that are mentioned as a visual so that the reveal makes a bit more sense, unless, of course, you are Rube Goldberg, Doc Brown, or Frank Lloyd Wright.
I guess this has turned into what the kids like to call "a rant review", but I’m not entirely sure I actually reviewed anything. Okay, so this is just rambling on at this point, so I’ll just leave it with this. It was fine. That’s it; it was fine.
I lied again. One more thing. I already know someone is going to read this review and post the following quote in response to the problems I had with the convoluted murder plot. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth", because it is something I would do. And to that, I would say, "bravo", but I’m still not changing my rating. 😁
❖ Category: mystery
❖ Rating: 2.5/5
February 5, 2025
The year is 1937. The village of Okamura is excited about an upcoming wedding. A mysterious creepy stranger with three fingers comes to the village and starts asking questions. A murder occurs in a locked room. And a samurai sword covered in blood is found, thrust into the snow.
The wealthy family that’s at the center of this story lives in a Honjin, a former inn for the nobility during the Edo period. The reason Honjin is in the title, is because the setting plays an important part in the story. It feels interesting to explore the more traditional historical Japan. The Japanese setting and culture are firmly on display here, which helps immerse you into the story. This is absolutely one of the highlights of this book.
The narrator already knows the outcome of the mystery and basically tells you what happened, rather than showing it. It comes across like the narrator’s deliberately trying to withhold information from the reader to make it more interesting, though he does give you some subtle clues. There are also quite a few characters to keep track of.
This is the first book in a very long series. And it’s a classic Japanese mystery book for a reason. It’s an easy read. It’s got an interesting locked room murder mystery plot that kept me guessing. I also loved the little nods to a certain Agatha Christie novel, The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux, and other classic murder mystery stories. The historical and traditional Japanese culture and setting are also worth exploring. But the characters and the narrator do keep me from rating it higher. Despite its flaws though, it’s still an interesting read.
The wealthy family that’s at the center of this story lives in a Honjin, a former inn for the nobility during the Edo period. The reason Honjin is in the title, is because the setting plays an important part in the story. It feels interesting to explore the more traditional historical Japan. The Japanese setting and culture are firmly on display here, which helps immerse you into the story. This is absolutely one of the highlights of this book.
The narrator already knows the outcome of the mystery and basically tells you what happened, rather than showing it. It comes across like the narrator’s deliberately trying to withhold information from the reader to make it more interesting, though he does give you some subtle clues. There are also quite a few characters to keep track of.
This is the first book in a very long series. And it’s a classic Japanese mystery book for a reason. It’s an easy read. It’s got an interesting locked room murder mystery plot that kept me guessing. I also loved the little nods to a certain Agatha Christie novel, The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux, and other classic murder mystery stories. The historical and traditional Japanese culture and setting are also worth exploring. But the characters and the narrator do keep me from rating it higher. Despite its flaws though, it’s still an interesting read.
June 2, 2025
The Hojin Murders was published in Japan in 1946 and was an instant sensation. The detective character, Kosuke Kindaichi appeared in another 76 books by the author. The book was not translated into English until 2019. In the pre-WWII period rural Japan was still very traditional as to customs, jobs, living standards etc. and this novel looks back to the past but does have a transitional feel. You know things are changing. The murders take place in a honjin, a type of inn for the upper classes in the preceding era. The Ichiyanagi family who own this honjin have some lingering status because of their wealth and ownership of this property. That has an effect on the plot. The honjin is located in a prefecture with scattered small townships and rural people such as farmers, tavern owners and cart drivers,
The setting is fascinating and may have been helped by skillful translation. A lot of things here are described in detail that is probably more important for the Western reader than many Japanese in 1946. A wedding is about to take place between the lord of the manor and a woman who is a school teacher, a social step downward for the Ichiyanagi family. The groom is determined and the wedding goes on. At four in the morning an uproar takes place in a locked-from-within room. A bloody murder has happened. This was the type of story the author admired and mentions many times in the
novel, a Golden Age type classic.
I find the “how” hard to believe in this sort of story. The unraveling is beyond difficult. It’s a puzzle though, if you like that type of mystery. If you put that aside, everything else is top-notch. There is a typical 20th century bit of psychoanalysis involved. After the solution is revealed there is an epilogue describing what happens after the story ends. It seemed fresh although it’s an old technique. It’s also commonly used in films such as American Graffiti, Animal House and Harry Potter. You are made aware that a way of life is passing and life for these characters will be very different.
The setting is fascinating and may have been helped by skillful translation. A lot of things here are described in detail that is probably more important for the Western reader than many Japanese in 1946. A wedding is about to take place between the lord of the manor and a woman who is a school teacher, a social step downward for the Ichiyanagi family. The groom is determined and the wedding goes on. At four in the morning an uproar takes place in a locked-from-within room. A bloody murder has happened. This was the type of story the author admired and mentions many times in the
novel, a Golden Age type classic.
I find the “how” hard to believe in this sort of story. The unraveling is beyond difficult. It’s a puzzle though, if you like that type of mystery. If you put that aside, everything else is top-notch. There is a typical 20th century bit of psychoanalysis involved. After the solution is revealed there is an epilogue describing what happens after the story ends. It seemed fresh although it’s an old technique. It’s also commonly used in films such as American Graffiti, Animal House and Harry Potter. You are made aware that a way of life is passing and life for these characters will be very different.
May 1, 2023
The character development was slim to none, but this was a super fun, true blue whodunnit with a locked room trope. I also really enjoyed learning more about the culture of this rural 1930s Japanese village - will continue in the series!
July 27, 2022
Very different to another book I’ve read in this series, The Inugami curse, this is a retrospective metatextual locked-room whodunnit that takes place in a village in Japan. On the wedding night the newlyweds are murdered by a katana and everyone in the village keeps seeing or hearing about a mysterious man with three fingers. The grief-stricken uncle of the murdered bride asks Kosuke Kindaichi, a detective-wunderkind to solve it.
This one name drops a lot of famous works of the genre, all of them Western, and I haven’t read them all. Curious to know if being familiar with those mysteries enhances the reading experience.
But anyways, this was once again a fun, quick-paced, highly improbable romp and Kindaichi gives me Death Note’s L vibes. Mop of tousled hair and OCD as in obsessive scratching of his head. And of course genius eccentric detective. I'm really enjoying this author, a nice palate cleanser.
This one name drops a lot of famous works of the genre, all of them Western, and I haven’t read them all. Curious to know if being familiar with those mysteries enhances the reading experience.
But anyways, this was once again a fun, quick-paced, highly improbable romp and Kindaichi gives me Death Note’s L vibes. Mop of tousled hair and OCD as in obsessive scratching of his head. And of course genius eccentric detective. I'm really enjoying this author, a nice palate cleanser.
May 27, 2020
“A locked room murder, a red ochre-painted room and the sound of the koto...”
Set in 1937 in a rural Japanese village, a horrible murder takes place following the wedding of the eldest son of a wealthy family. The Ichiyanagi family operated a honjin (an inn for the nobility) but when the feudal system was on the verge of collapse they moved to this small town and bought cheap farmland. This is a classic locked room murder mystery. It is the first in a series featuring the young, disheveled and stuttering detective Kosuke Kindaichi. (Think of a less pompous Hercule Poirot.) A suspicious looking three-fingered vagrant has been seen lurking around the estate and mysterious koto music has been heard in the night.
The story is related by an unnamed narrator based on what he was told by people close to the crime. It’s a very inventive plot. There is no way I could have figured out how the crime was committed, but the narrator didn’t really hide anything. In fact, at the end of the book he sets out several instances of how his careful wording should have been a clue to the reader. I would love to read more of this series, but most of the books don’t seem to be readily available in English. The author matches up well with the other authors to whom he refers in this book, including Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
Set in 1937 in a rural Japanese village, a horrible murder takes place following the wedding of the eldest son of a wealthy family. The Ichiyanagi family operated a honjin (an inn for the nobility) but when the feudal system was on the verge of collapse they moved to this small town and bought cheap farmland. This is a classic locked room murder mystery. It is the first in a series featuring the young, disheveled and stuttering detective Kosuke Kindaichi. (Think of a less pompous Hercule Poirot.) A suspicious looking three-fingered vagrant has been seen lurking around the estate and mysterious koto music has been heard in the night.
The story is related by an unnamed narrator based on what he was told by people close to the crime. It’s a very inventive plot. There is no way I could have figured out how the crime was committed, but the narrator didn’t really hide anything. In fact, at the end of the book he sets out several instances of how his careful wording should have been a clue to the reader. I would love to read more of this series, but most of the books don’t seem to be readily available in English. The author matches up well with the other authors to whom he refers in this book, including Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
January 18, 2022
the ending sucked but i loved everything else so it balances it out i guess
August 28, 2024
4 ✨ I enjoyed reading this classic!
I had to look up a couple of things, like hakama, tatami mats, tokonoma, and koto picks. I’ve seen all of these in Asian dramas before but never knew what they were called 🤭— now I know 🩰
I thought the plot was brilliant. I Never could have guessed who did it and how. The characters were unpredictable (all of them were suspects), the detective was clever, & it was a quick read with no typos! I loved the author’s brief dive into the personalities of a few of the characters, & how their society, and upbringing influenced the decisions they made.
Now, 🗣️ Make me A Movie!!!!
I recommend to fans of classics and mystery thrillers…
I had to look up a couple of things, like hakama, tatami mats, tokonoma, and koto picks. I’ve seen all of these in Asian dramas before but never knew what they were called 🤭— now I know 🩰
I thought the plot was brilliant. I Never could have guessed who did it and how. The characters were unpredictable (all of them were suspects), the detective was clever, & it was a quick read with no typos! I loved the author’s brief dive into the personalities of a few of the characters, & how their society, and upbringing influenced the decisions they made.
Now, 🗣️ Make me A Movie!!!!
I recommend to fans of classics and mystery thrillers…
April 27, 2024
The Publisher Says: One of Japan's greatest classic murder mysteries, introducing their best loved detective, translated into English for the first time.
In the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumour - it seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions around the village.
Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi household are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music. Death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. Soon, amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi is on the scene to investigate what will become a legendary murder case, but can this scruffy sleuth solve a seemingly impossible crime?
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: In a very Sherlock's-Watson fashion, the events of this premarital murder are narrated to us after the fact; we know, by this very technique, that the mystery is one that can be solved if we're game to follow the clues. Which clues? Well, the mystery-writer narrator and I are glad you asked:
You really can't get a lot more fair-play than that, can you, giving the reader the crib sheet from which the author made choices and still, not to make it too easy by telling the reader *what* was cribbed from the Greats of the Golden Age. I found it endearing. I was very amused by the conceit, and by the writer/narrator following in the footsteps of the wildly disheveled amateur detective. Now...keep in mind this is a story written in the late 1940s and set in the 1930s. The idea of a Japanese man presenting himself as less than polished and perfect is damned near heretical. There was no beatnik, or proto-hippie, movement in Japan. It is a culture of Face, something I equate with my mother's endless mantra, "but what will People Think?" It's very, very important not to insult your neighbors, or your betters, by deciding to be different, to wear your Otherness on the outside...so featuring someone who's indifferent to Face in this mystery series is quite a powerful statement of value and intent on the author's part.
What's important for your pleasure in an amateur-sleuth read? An aura of verisimilitude? A relatable cast of characters? An evocation of a place and time? I'd venture to say that no one would behave the way the characters in this mystery do...but I could be wrong...at any rate, the point for me wasn't the verisimilitude (never is with amateur-sleuth mysteries, pace all you true-crime podcasters) but the delicious evocation of the time and the place:
The author, or more likely the editor and translator, gives me such a full and satisfying sense of the place with this simple paragraph. I wanted to feel transported and I did...as well as catered to, told a story to, and one that really did leave me guessing until the end. Very satisfying that Anglophone readers are getting this series (it has SEVENTY-SIX MORE VOLUMES!!) at long last...the author's only been dead since 1981. No rush, guys.
The things I wasn't quite so pleased to read were the class-conscious snobberies of the groom's family, presented without apparent or, to my mind, appropriate negativity cast on them. This being a thing that bothers me now, in the 21st century, I can't even try to guess if I'd even have noticed it had I read the book around the time the author died...almost forty years after it appeared. The snobbish tone is grating on old-man me, anyway. And the last chapter, number 18, is such a Golden-Agey thing...the way the guilty party is dealt with, the careful recounting of the places the clues were left...it was both what I wanted, and a hair too much to swallow in one draft.
If your mystery-story shelves are a touch too light, this is a good, solid, entertaining read...my crotchets aside.
In the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumour - it seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions around the village.
Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi household are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music. Death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. Soon, amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi is on the scene to investigate what will become a legendary murder case, but can this scruffy sleuth solve a seemingly impossible crime?
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: In a very Sherlock's-Watson fashion, the events of this premarital murder are narrated to us after the fact; we know, by this very technique, that the mystery is one that can be solved if we're game to follow the clues. Which clues? Well, the mystery-writer narrator and I are glad you asked:
When I first heard the story, I immediately racked my brain to think of any similar cases among all the novels I’ve read. The first that came to mind were Gaston Leroux’s The Mystery of the Yellow Room and Maurice Leblanc’s The Teeth of the Tiger; then there’s The Canary Murder Case and The Kennel Murder Case, both by S.S. Van Dine; and finally, Dickson Carr’s The Plague Court Murders. I even considered that variation on the locked room murder theme of Roger Scarlett’s Murder Among the Angells.
You really can't get a lot more fair-play than that, can you, giving the reader the crib sheet from which the author made choices and still, not to make it too easy by telling the reader *what* was cribbed from the Greats of the Golden Age. I found it endearing. I was very amused by the conceit, and by the writer/narrator following in the footsteps of the wildly disheveled amateur detective. Now...keep in mind this is a story written in the late 1940s and set in the 1930s. The idea of a Japanese man presenting himself as less than polished and perfect is damned near heretical. There was no beatnik, or proto-hippie, movement in Japan. It is a culture of Face, something I equate with my mother's endless mantra, "but what will People Think?" It's very, very important not to insult your neighbors, or your betters, by deciding to be different, to wear your Otherness on the outside...so featuring someone who's indifferent to Face in this mystery series is quite a powerful statement of value and intent on the author's part.
What's important for your pleasure in an amateur-sleuth read? An aura of verisimilitude? A relatable cast of characters? An evocation of a place and time? I'd venture to say that no one would behave the way the characters in this mystery do...but I could be wrong...at any rate, the point for me wasn't the verisimilitude (never is with amateur-sleuth mysteries, pace all you true-crime podcasters) but the delicious evocation of the time and the place:
A honjin was a kind of inn in feudal Japan where daimyo lords and other important officials would stay on their way to or from paying attendance on the Shogun in the capital, Edo—the old name for Tokyo. Ordinary members of the public were not permitted to stay at a honjin. A family who owned such a high-class lodging house were also members of the elite, and so it followed that this was a place where the rules of high society were closely adhered to.
The author, or more likely the editor and translator, gives me such a full and satisfying sense of the place with this simple paragraph. I wanted to feel transported and I did...as well as catered to, told a story to, and one that really did leave me guessing until the end. Very satisfying that Anglophone readers are getting this series (it has SEVENTY-SIX MORE VOLUMES!!) at long last...the author's only been dead since 1981. No rush, guys.
The things I wasn't quite so pleased to read were the class-conscious snobberies of the groom's family, presented without apparent or, to my mind, appropriate negativity cast on them. This being a thing that bothers me now, in the 21st century, I can't even try to guess if I'd even have noticed it had I read the book around the time the author died...almost forty years after it appeared. The snobbish tone is grating on old-man me, anyway. And the last chapter, number 18, is such a Golden-Agey thing...the way the guilty party is dealt with, the careful recounting of the places the clues were left...it was both what I wanted, and a hair too much to swallow in one draft.
If your mystery-story shelves are a touch too light, this is a good, solid, entertaining read...my crotchets aside.
June 5, 2022
Originally published in 1946 The Honjin Murders is a locked-room murder mystery. Throughout the course of the novel, the author pays homage to Golden Age detective novels, by alluding directly to authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie and their works and by being quite self-aware when it comes to the conventions that characterise this genre. Sadly, despite my being a fan of detective novels and classic whodunits, The Honjin Murders failed to catch my interest nor I was impressed by its intertextuality. The narrative doesn’t really subvert any of the tropes it mentions, in fact, it seemed to me that it follows too closely in the steps of those classic detective novels. The way the whole murder is related to us also distanced me somewhat. The narrative is very heavy on the telling, with the same events being recapitulated one time too many. The narrator, I’ve forgotten what, if any, role he plays in the case, begins by mentioning this very ‘interesting’ case and relates the day of the murders and the subsequent investigation in an almost matter-of-fact manner. He’s somehow able to recount conversations and interactions that he had no way of witnessing and keeps foreshadowing what is to come in a way that didn’t add any intrigue or suspense to the story. The characters were one-note, dull even.
The murder takes place in the village of Okamura during the winter of 1937. The oldest son of the Ichiyanagi, a family of repute, is set to marry a teacher. Many of his family members aren’t keen on his marrying ‘down’, but he refuses to budge. The wedding takes place and on that very same night, the newlywed couple is found dead in a locked room. The evidence seems to point to a stranger who was sighted in the village earlier in the day. A relative of the bride reaches out to Kosuke Kindaichi, a sort-of-kid detective who, much like Poirot and his ‘little grey cells’, uses ‘logic’ to figure out the culprit and their motives.
I figured out the murderer pretty early on in the narrative which definitely decreased my engagement in the murder investigation.
Predictable and kind of dry (maybe this is due to my having read a translation) The Honjin Murders may appeal to those who haven’t read a lot of detective novels or perhaps those who aren’t seeking anything particularly riveting or complex.
January 12, 2023
i can't believe i guessed most of the mystery again 🤦♀️
i am starting to think maybe I'm the problem, that maybe i have read wayy too much mystery and detective fiction and this genre will never blow my mind again
i am starting to think maybe I'm the problem, that maybe i have read wayy too much mystery and detective fiction and this genre will never blow my mind again
September 22, 2021
'দ্য হোনজিন মার্ডারস' এর জন্য সেইশি ইয়োকোমিযো ১৯৪৮ সালে প্রথমবার 'মিস্ট্রি রাইটারস অফ জাপান এওয়ার্ড' অর্জন করেন। জাপানি হোনজিন শব্দের আভিধানিক অর্থ অভিজাত। বিয়ের রাতে অভিজাত পরিবারের এক চল্লিশোর্ধ্ব পুরুষ আর তার স্ত্রীর হত্যারহস্যকে কেন্দ্র করে গড়ে উঠেছে উপন্যাসের কাহিনী। ক্লাসিক হিসেবে বইটা যতটুকু সুখপাঠ্য, লকড রুম মার্ডার মিস্ট্রি হিসেবে তার চেয়েও বেশি আগ্রহোদ্দীপক। শুধুমাত্র যুক্তি আর তীক্ষ্ম পর্যবেক্ষণ শক্তির সাহায্যে রহস্যের সমাধান পাঠককে অবাক করে দেয়, আবার একই সাথে ভোগায় বিষাদের অনুভূতিতে।
তৎকালীন জাপানের সংস্কৃতি আর গ্রামীণ দৃশ্যপট স্পষ্টভাবে ফুটে উঠেছে বইয়ের পাতায়। পড়ার সময় কোতো নামক ঐতিহ্যবাহী বাদ্যযন্ত্রের সুর (Source: Youtube) লো ভলিউমে ছেড়ে রেখেছিলাম। আমেজটা আরও ভালোভাবে ধরা দিচ্ছিল তাতে। পারিপার্শ্বিক বর্ণণায় জাপানের নিত্যদিনের ব্যবহার্য আসবাব অথবা টুকিটাকি জিনিসপত্রের নাম এসেছে বারবার। চাইলে তোকোনামা শেলফ/বিয়োবো পর্দা অথবা আনুসঙ্গিক এমন অনেক কিছুর ছবি গুগল করে দেখে নিতে পারেন পড়ার ফাঁকেফাঁকে।
জাপানের 'ডিকসন কার' খ্যাত লেখক সেইশি ইয়োকোমিযো পাশ্চাত্যের বিখ্যাত কিছু ডিটেকটিভ ফিকশনের রেফারেন্স এনেছেন। গল্পগুলো আগে থেকে পড়া থাকলে ভালো লাগবে, আর না পড়ে থাকলে নতুন করে পড়ার আগ্রহ জাগবে। তবে সবচেয়ে উল্লেখযোগ্য বিষয় হলো, বহুমাত্রিক বিষয়ের অবতারণা ঘটিয়েও দ্য হোনজিন মার্ডার্সের মূলকাহিনী নির্দিষ্ট পথেই এগিয়েছে। কিছুক্ষেত্রে ধীরগতির বলে মনে হলেও বইটা শতভাগ বাহুল্যবর্জিত।
প্রকাশের বহু বছর পর, প্রথমবারের মতো ২০১৯ সালে ক্লাসিক এই জাপানিজ ডিটেকটিভ ফিকশনের ইংরেজি অনুবাদ প্রকাশিত হয়। বাংলা অনুবাদটাও মানসম্মত, পড়ার সময় ঠেকতে হয়নি।
তৎকালীন জাপানের সংস্কৃতি আর গ্রামীণ দৃশ্যপট স্পষ্টভাবে ফুটে উঠেছে বইয়ের পাতায়। পড়ার সময় কোতো নামক ঐতিহ্যবাহী বাদ্যযন্ত্রের সুর (Source: Youtube) লো ভলিউমে ছেড়ে রেখেছিলাম। আমেজটা আরও ভালোভাবে ধরা দিচ্ছিল তাতে। পারিপার্শ্বিক বর্ণণায় জাপানের নিত্যদিনের ব্যবহার্য আসবাব অথবা টুকিটাকি জিনিসপত্রের নাম এসেছে বারবার। চাইলে তোকোনামা শেলফ/বিয়োবো পর্দা অথবা আনুসঙ্গিক এমন অনেক কিছুর ছবি গুগল করে দেখে নিতে পারেন পড়ার ফাঁকেফাঁকে।
জাপানের 'ডিকসন কার' খ্যাত লেখক সেইশি ইয়োকোমিযো পাশ্চাত্যের বিখ্যাত কিছু ডিটেকটিভ ফিকশনের রেফারেন্স এনেছেন। গল্পগুলো আগে থেকে পড়া থাকলে ভালো লাগবে, আর না পড়ে থাকলে নতুন করে পড়ার আগ্রহ জাগবে। তবে সবচেয়ে উল্লেখযোগ্য বিষয় হলো, বহুমাত্রিক বিষয়ের অবতারণা ঘটিয়েও দ্য হোনজিন মার্ডার্সের মূলকাহিনী নির্দিষ্ট পথেই এগিয়েছে। কিছুক্ষেত্রে ধীরগতির বলে মনে হলেও বইটা শতভাগ বাহুল্যবর্জিত।
প্রকাশের বহু বছর পর, প্রথমবারের মতো ২০১৯ সালে ক্লাসিক এই জাপানিজ ডিটেকটিভ ফিকশনের ইংরেজি অনুবাদ প্রকাশিত হয়। বাংলা অনুবাদটাও মানসম্মত, পড়ার সময় ঠেকতে হয়নি।
July 3, 2020
I not long ago read a book that I marked down a bit for being a locked room mystery. Now I am going to do an about face and say I enjoyed this example of the genre quite a bit for those rules or conventions it breaks or stretches quite widely. I found myself a willing reader as the narrator presented the various stages of the crime: characters and setting involved, set up of events and the deaths themselves. Then there is an unwinding that, for me, was well done. It was true to the characters and family involved and the information the reader was given. There were red herrings, yes, but not absurdities.
This novel was written in the late 1940s, winning the first Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1948 and only now translated into English. This is the first of a series of an eventual 77 books featuring Kosuke Kindaichi, a brilliant, young, somewhat disheveled detective. I would read more of this series if they became available.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
This novel was written in the late 1940s, winning the first Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1948 and only now translated into English. This is the first of a series of an eventual 77 books featuring Kosuke Kindaichi, a brilliant, young, somewhat disheveled detective. I would read more of this series if they became available.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
May 22, 2024
3 Stars for the Who Done It
Have you ever worn a wristwatch? A perfectly serviceable timepiece, tolerably accurate, nice large numerals, you would have liked a sweep secondhand. Maybe a Swatch, Timex, or Seiko? No? Oh, you use your phone you say.
The Honjin Murders is a perfectly serviceable mystery, in the style of a locked room Who-Done-It. However, I found the narrative a little irritating, much like that perfectly serviceable wristwatch whose band left an itchy rash on my wrist. Maybe it was the translation. Maybe I should get a phone.
Have you ever worn a wristwatch? A perfectly serviceable timepiece, tolerably accurate, nice large numerals, you would have liked a sweep secondhand. Maybe a Swatch, Timex, or Seiko? No? Oh, you use your phone you say.
The Honjin Murders is a perfectly serviceable mystery, in the style of a locked room Who-Done-It. However, I found the narrative a little irritating, much like that perfectly serviceable wristwatch whose band left an itchy rash on my wrist. Maybe it was the translation. Maybe I should get a phone.
October 20, 2020
When I started this rather thin book I didn't know I was in for a treat. This was so good - a detective story with the actual detective, a seemingly unsolvable mystic mystery and absolutely logical resolving of it. Is that you Sherlock? No. In this book we meet the main star of the series, detective Kindaichi, who solved murder and other crimes (I hope) in next 70 something (!) books.
What I especially appreciated, was the author's conscious choice to go all meta at his reader from the very first page marking that this is going to be a locked room mystery and even mentioning the authors who did it before and did it brilliantly - so reader gets the idea he was aiming high from the very start. And then in the story we saw some characters who themselves were big fans of detective stories and crime fiction and Kindaichi got into detailed conversation about locked room mysteries with one of them. If it's not winking at the reader then I don't know what it is.
There were no unnecessary descriptions in the book, the characters - as basically everything - got short but very on point characteristics, and oh boy, how many cultural and customary levels the author still managed to open. This detective story while taking the best from western tradition is in no way westernized. There's no devil in the detail - there's oni and kappa and probably bakeneko too.
Highly recommended if you're into this kind of detective story and a bit of the red herring in your maki. ;)
What I especially appreciated, was the author's conscious choice to go all meta at his reader from the very first page marking that this is going to be a locked room mystery and even mentioning the authors who did it before and did it brilliantly - so reader gets the idea he was aiming high from the very start. And then in the story we saw some characters who themselves were big fans of detective stories and crime fiction and Kindaichi got into detailed conversation about locked room mysteries with one of them. If it's not winking at the reader then I don't know what it is.
There were no unnecessary descriptions in the book, the characters - as basically everything - got short but very on point characteristics, and oh boy, how many cultural and customary levels the author still managed to open. This detective story while taking the best from western tradition is in no way westernized. There's no devil in the detail - there's oni and kappa and probably bakeneko too.
Highly recommended if you're into this kind of detective story and a bit of the red herring in your maki. ;)
July 16, 2024
This is exactly how I like my detective novels - clever and straight to the point!
The story is set in late 1930s Japan, in a small town where a murder has been committed.
This book sets it out perfectly: set up, crime scene, clues, suspects, resolution. There's no side story about the tragic past of the grizzled detective on the case, there's no romance, there is no empty apartment with a lone cat for companionship. It commits to being a murder mystery with no extra fluff and I honestly could not have been happier.
The storytelling is quite fun, with it being penned by an unnamed chronicler, much like John Watson told the stories of Sherlock Holmes. Our detective Kosuke Kindaichi bears a strong resemblance, too - he's determined to use logic to solve the puzzles of crime and often notices the minute details others easily miss. He enjoys the thrill of solving a well-perpetrated crime and, as a consequence, often expresses joy at the most inappropriate times.
The crime itself was fascinating, with many random clues that didn't at all seem to relate. I loved how random it all seemed, and thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion. It's nice to read such a tangled, unpredictable story after so many crime novels with the same formula.
I picked this one after listening to book #5 on audio and enjoying it thoroughly, and I wasn't disappointed. It was great to read the first book introducing Kindaichi, and I've got the second one ready to go!
Highly recommend to lovers of detective novels and crime puzzle-solving.
The story is set in late 1930s Japan, in a small town where a murder has been committed.
This book sets it out perfectly: set up, crime scene, clues, suspects, resolution. There's no side story about the tragic past of the grizzled detective on the case, there's no romance, there is no empty apartment with a lone cat for companionship. It commits to being a murder mystery with no extra fluff and I honestly could not have been happier.
The storytelling is quite fun, with it being penned by an unnamed chronicler, much like John Watson told the stories of Sherlock Holmes. Our detective Kosuke Kindaichi bears a strong resemblance, too - he's determined to use logic to solve the puzzles of crime and often notices the minute details others easily miss. He enjoys the thrill of solving a well-perpetrated crime and, as a consequence, often expresses joy at the most inappropriate times.
The crime itself was fascinating, with many random clues that didn't at all seem to relate. I loved how random it all seemed, and thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion. It's nice to read such a tangled, unpredictable story after so many crime novels with the same formula.
I picked this one after listening to book #5 on audio and enjoying it thoroughly, and I wasn't disappointed. It was great to read the first book introducing Kindaichi, and I've got the second one ready to go!
Highly recommend to lovers of detective novels and crime puzzle-solving.
November 27, 2022
Der Roman wurde bereits 1973 in Japan veröffentlicht und ist der erste von insgesamt 77 Bände rund um den Ermittler Kosuke Kindaichi. Pro Buch - ein abgeschlossener Fall.
Im Jahr 1937 wird ein kleines Dorf von einem schrecklichen Verbrechen erschüttert: In einem von innen verschlossen Raum werden in der Hochzeitsnacht der Bräutigam und seine Braut tot aufgefunden.
Was ist passiert?! - Der Leser wird eingeladen mitzudenken und mitzuraten. Ein echtes "Locked-Room-Murder Mystery", der mich ein wenig an meine Zeit von Detektiv Conan erinnern ließ.
200 Seiten, die ich sehr gern gelesen habe und mit der Auflösung von dem Fall sehr zufrieden bin. Ich freue mich bereits auf die weiteren Bände.
Im Jahr 1937 wird ein kleines Dorf von einem schrecklichen Verbrechen erschüttert: In einem von innen verschlossen Raum werden in der Hochzeitsnacht der Bräutigam und seine Braut tot aufgefunden.
Was ist passiert?! - Der Leser wird eingeladen mitzudenken und mitzuraten. Ein echtes "Locked-Room-Murder Mystery", der mich ein wenig an meine Zeit von Detektiv Conan erinnern ließ.
200 Seiten, die ich sehr gern gelesen habe und mit der Auflösung von dem Fall sehr zufrieden bin. Ich freue mich bereits auf die weiteren Bände.
May 6, 2023
Enjoyable Japanese mystery where social and cultural anxieties prevail. Nod to the golden age of detective novels. Hells bells, what an outrageous solution!
April 23, 2024
I'm a sucker for a locked-room mystery and I had so much fun with this!! I loved the atmosphere set by the author.
Here's to hoping all the books in the series get translated🤞🏾🤞🏾
Here's to hoping all the books in the series get translated🤞🏾🤞🏾
January 17, 2025
Fun read although really a bit outlandish. Still I enjoyed the way it was written and the voice of the author.
June 9, 2024
I loved the language, the not so complicated structure of the murder mystery (nowadays they're so convoluted and far-fetched it's ridiculous) and the kooky inspector! I have to say though because of the cultural reasons related to the murder it was impossible for me to be able to guess the murderer, so there's that. I think I'll keep on reading the series, though, because the skeleton is great.
August 10, 2019
Un delitto della camera chiusa nel Giappone degli ex grandi feudatari del 1936, in cui dominano ancora un forte classismo e un solido legame con le tradizioni.
Un’atmosfera cupa e suggestiva accompagna le indagini di Kindaichi, un giovane detective privato dall’aspetto trasandato, balbuziente e incredibilmente brillante. Lo seguiamo dipanare la matassa di un caso estremamente intricato, reso ulteriormente spinoso dalle reticenze di un’antica famiglia di proprietari terrieri.
Un’atmosfera cupa e suggestiva accompagna le indagini di Kindaichi, un giovane detective privato dall’aspetto trasandato, balbuziente e incredibilmente brillante. Lo seguiamo dipanare la matassa di un caso estremamente intricato, reso ulteriormente spinoso dalle reticenze di un’antica famiglia di proprietari terrieri.
January 23, 2020
Yokomizo Seishi (1902-1981) was a Japanese mystery novelist. He’s especially known for his series of stories featuring young detective Kosuke Kindaichi (77 total). His influence can still be seen today in many authors. Among them, Kanari Yozaburo who took inspiration for his manga (and anime) series Kindaichi Shōnen no Jikenbo (featuring the fictitious grandson of Kosuke Kindaichi) or Aoyama Gosho, author of the Metantei Conan series.
In spite of his influence, he has seldom been translated. Part of his works have been published in French, but none in English as far as I know, until now.
The Case of the Honjin Murders is the first story featuring Kosuke Kindaichi, and is considered a classic.
In 1937, at the large mansion of the Ichiyanagi family, the wedding of the eldest son and heir, Kenzo, is being prepared. Meanwhile, a strange vagrant missing two fingers on one hand is seen at a nearby village.
Several members of the family are present at the ceremony, during which the koto, a 13 string musical instrument, is played, as it is traditional in the family. The ceremony then ends with a celebration of the couple by the locals.
Later that night, a cacophony of koto and screams is heard across the mansion. Members of the family rush outside to the annex in which the couple’s bedroom is located. As it is locked from the inside, they have to force their way in, and they discover the couple brutally murdered. The katana used to commit the crime is found outside, in the middle of the garden, on a coat of snow, with no footprints around.
A perfect locked room mystery.
While the police looks for the vagrant, the late bride’s suspicious uncle calls for his protégé, young detective Kosuke Kindaichi.
The book was a great read. It has been translated in English in quite an adequate style by Louise Heal Kawai. We can feel the contagious enthusiasm of the young detective jump from the pages, and share the bafflement of the police and other protagonists while he unravels the intricate mystery.
The story is narrated after the fact by an « author of detective novels », allowing Yokomizo Seishi to introduce us to his own influences from occidental and Japanese mystery authors.
This is a book that will be enjoyed both by Agatha Christie lovers, and fans of mystery manga and anime such as those I’ve referenced above. I hope Pushkin Press will continue their effort in adapting all further entries in the series.
Thanks to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for this unbiased review.
In spite of his influence, he has seldom been translated. Part of his works have been published in French, but none in English as far as I know, until now.
The Case of the Honjin Murders is the first story featuring Kosuke Kindaichi, and is considered a classic.
In 1937, at the large mansion of the Ichiyanagi family, the wedding of the eldest son and heir, Kenzo, is being prepared. Meanwhile, a strange vagrant missing two fingers on one hand is seen at a nearby village.
Several members of the family are present at the ceremony, during which the koto, a 13 string musical instrument, is played, as it is traditional in the family. The ceremony then ends with a celebration of the couple by the locals.
Later that night, a cacophony of koto and screams is heard across the mansion. Members of the family rush outside to the annex in which the couple’s bedroom is located. As it is locked from the inside, they have to force their way in, and they discover the couple brutally murdered. The katana used to commit the crime is found outside, in the middle of the garden, on a coat of snow, with no footprints around.
A perfect locked room mystery.
While the police looks for the vagrant, the late bride’s suspicious uncle calls for his protégé, young detective Kosuke Kindaichi.
The book was a great read. It has been translated in English in quite an adequate style by Louise Heal Kawai. We can feel the contagious enthusiasm of the young detective jump from the pages, and share the bafflement of the police and other protagonists while he unravels the intricate mystery.
The story is narrated after the fact by an « author of detective novels », allowing Yokomizo Seishi to introduce us to his own influences from occidental and Japanese mystery authors.
This is a book that will be enjoyed both by Agatha Christie lovers, and fans of mystery manga and anime such as those I’ve referenced above. I hope Pushkin Press will continue their effort in adapting all further entries in the series.
Thanks to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for this unbiased review.
October 19, 2020
A classic of the honkaku genre, 'The Honjin Murders' is the first of Yokomizo's mysteries to feature the perennially scruffy but ingenious investigator, Kindaichi Kōsuke. While Yokomizo wrote 76 stories featuring the intrepid detective, only two have been translated into English to date (the second is The Inugami Curse).
In this novel, Kindaichi makes an appearance fairly late in the story, well after an unnamed narrator (clearly a man of a certain age and some importance) establishes the characters, setting, and plot. The initial framing is a bit slow but it does establish the setting well and once Kindaichi arrives on the scene the story picks up momentum and emotional weight.
This is an exceptionally tightly focused mystery, its private wedding plot narrowing the potential murderers down to a small circle. As with most locked-room type stories the puzzlement is not so much who or why as how, and Yokomizo does not disappoint in the complexity with which he concocts the actual (truly heinous) crime. But what impressed me most in the book was how surprisingly metafictional and modern much of discussion between characters is: in Chapter 10, "A Conversation About Detective Novels", Kindaichi and Ichiyanagi Saburo (an avowed fan of detective stories) engage in an argument on locked-room mysteries as a genre that is really quite remarkable and delightfully sly. This sort of slightly jaded side-eye at the conventions of classic mystery stories continues throughout much of the book and gives it a uniquely piquant, intellectually stimulating feel, a welcome counterpoint to the genuine ugliness of the crime at its center.
This should be a must read for anyone interested in the development of the detective story, in locked-room mysteries, or just good crime fiction. I hope Pushkin Press publishes more translations of Yokomizo's work. I'll certainly buy and read them.
In this novel, Kindaichi makes an appearance fairly late in the story, well after an unnamed narrator (clearly a man of a certain age and some importance) establishes the characters, setting, and plot. The initial framing is a bit slow but it does establish the setting well and once Kindaichi arrives on the scene the story picks up momentum and emotional weight.
This is an exceptionally tightly focused mystery, its private wedding plot narrowing the potential murderers down to a small circle. As with most locked-room type stories the puzzlement is not so much who or why as how, and Yokomizo does not disappoint in the complexity with which he concocts the actual (truly heinous) crime. But what impressed me most in the book was how surprisingly metafictional and modern much of discussion between characters is: in Chapter 10, "A Conversation About Detective Novels", Kindaichi and Ichiyanagi Saburo (an avowed fan of detective stories) engage in an argument on locked-room mysteries as a genre that is really quite remarkable and delightfully sly. This sort of slightly jaded side-eye at the conventions of classic mystery stories continues throughout much of the book and gives it a uniquely piquant, intellectually stimulating feel, a welcome counterpoint to the genuine ugliness of the crime at its center.
This should be a must read for anyone interested in the development of the detective story, in locked-room mysteries, or just good crime fiction. I hope Pushkin Press publishes more translations of Yokomizo's work. I'll certainly buy and read them.
January 6, 2025
A terrible scream wakes the house and sound of Koto strings being plucked - bride and groom dead in a locked room the day after their wedding.
And so it begins one of Japan finest detective series and the introduction of the reader to detective Kosuke Kindaichi .
Kindaichi is a mixture of Monk, Columbo and Poirot- the archetypal detective who people misjudge and make the wrong assumptions about as for Kindaichi it’s his messy hair and his stutter (!)
Back to the story wrote by famous Japanese author Seishi Yokomizo in 1946 ,but not translated into English until the 70’s, the story begins with a murder of couple on their wedding night within a locked room but this is deeper than the locked room this is about secrets, pride and intrigue.
There is humour and despite this being by 2024 a well worked trope it is still fascinating. I really enjoyed the first half of the book and felt let down by the conclusion though it was clever and rationale was understandable.
This was my first Japanese novel- I am reading two more Japanese authors in the next two months. As I am not aware in great depth of Japanese customs, history or society I found myself referencing Google searches and Japanese friends. This said I enjoyed the novel and learned more about Japanese culture of the time.
And so it begins one of Japan finest detective series and the introduction of the reader to detective Kosuke Kindaichi .
Kindaichi is a mixture of Monk, Columbo and Poirot- the archetypal detective who people misjudge and make the wrong assumptions about as for Kindaichi it’s his messy hair and his stutter (!)
Back to the story wrote by famous Japanese author Seishi Yokomizo in 1946 ,but not translated into English until the 70’s, the story begins with a murder of couple on their wedding night within a locked room but this is deeper than the locked room this is about secrets, pride and intrigue.
There is humour and despite this being by 2024 a well worked trope it is still fascinating. I really enjoyed the first half of the book and felt let down by the conclusion though it was clever and rationale was understandable.
This was my first Japanese novel- I am reading two more Japanese authors in the next two months. As I am not aware in great depth of Japanese customs, history or society I found myself referencing Google searches and Japanese friends. This said I enjoyed the novel and learned more about Japanese culture of the time.
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