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Puppet Master #5
模倣犯 5
＊本タイトルは、差し替え修正済みです。(2020年1月15日更新)
真犯人Xは生きている――。網川は、高井は栗橋の共犯者ではなく、むしろ巻き込まれた被害者だと主張して、「栗橋主犯・高井従犯」説に拠る滋子に反論し、一躍マスコミの寵児となった。由美子はそんな網川に精神的に依存し、兄の無実を信じ共闘していたが、その希望が潰えた時、身を投げた――。真犯人は一体誰なのか? あらゆる邪悪な欲望を映し出した犯罪劇、深い余韻を残して遂に閉幕!
真犯人Xは生きている――。網川は、高井は栗橋の共犯者ではなく、むしろ巻き込まれた被害者だと主張して、「栗橋主犯・高井従犯」説に拠る滋子に反論し、一躍マスコミの寵児となった。由美子はそんな網川に精神的に依存し、兄の無実を信じ共闘していたが、その希望が潰えた時、身を投げた――。真犯人は一体誰なのか? あらゆる邪悪な欲望を映し出した犯罪劇、深い余韻を残して遂に閉幕!
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Published December 27, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 22, 2020
FOUR STARS: I will probably read this again, although right now the thought is hard to stomach.
Miyabe does a lot in this book, and arguably that's to be expected -- it's what, 1000 pages in total and something like three volumes in the original language? So there's a lot to chew over here: the treatment of crime in Japan, the treatment of women, the nature of loss and violence, and so on, and so on. Vol 1 is an absolute stunner, with Miyabe putting her money where her mouth is and managing to build a compelling, horrific story that focuses on the victims of the crime, instead of its perpetrator.
But then Vol 2 and Vol 3 shift entirely to the perspectives of the killer and... and that is just not a pleasant place to be. Nor is it half as interesting. Vol 4 and 5 go back to assorted POV characters, sometimes including the killer (the latter sections being the weakest) but there's another switch: from social commentary and character-driven story to more plot-driven, as if Miyabe had trouble reconciling her keen eye as an observer of humanity with her knack for potboilers. Usually I'm much more comfortable with how she combines the two, but I think with Puppet Master the nerves she's hitting are a little too raw, a little too immediate, to feel like they belong in the same story as this book's ending. The two main characters of Vol 1 got the best endings, but everything and everyone else felt... a bit too pat? Almost as if Miyabe needed a whole new volume to really give the scope of all those stories justice, but she'd exhausted herself (understandable) and wanted to bring things to an end.
Still, there's so much here, and I have to admire that. Probably even more than I'm aware of given my ignorance of how violent crimes are treated in Japan's popular media, but there are still chilling and relevant observations about the expectations surrounding horrific violence, and how they affect even the most ordinary lives.
Miyabe does a lot in this book, and arguably that's to be expected -- it's what, 1000 pages in total and something like three volumes in the original language? So there's a lot to chew over here: the treatment of crime in Japan, the treatment of women, the nature of loss and violence, and so on, and so on. Vol 1 is an absolute stunner, with Miyabe putting her money where her mouth is and managing to build a compelling, horrific story that focuses on the victims of the crime, instead of its perpetrator.
But then Vol 2 and Vol 3 shift entirely to the perspectives of the killer and... and that is just not a pleasant place to be. Nor is it half as interesting. Vol 4 and 5 go back to assorted POV characters, sometimes including the killer (the latter sections being the weakest) but there's another switch: from social commentary and character-driven story to more plot-driven, as if Miyabe had trouble reconciling her keen eye as an observer of humanity with her knack for potboilers. Usually I'm much more comfortable with how she combines the two, but I think with Puppet Master the nerves she's hitting are a little too raw, a little too immediate, to feel like they belong in the same story as this book's ending. The two main characters of Vol 1 got the best endings, but everything and everyone else felt... a bit too pat? Almost as if Miyabe needed a whole new volume to really give the scope of all those stories justice, but she'd exhausted herself (understandable) and wanted to bring things to an end.
Still, there's so much here, and I have to admire that. Probably even more than I'm aware of given my ignorance of how violent crimes are treated in Japan's popular media, but there are still chilling and relevant observations about the expectations surrounding horrific violence, and how they affect even the most ordinary lives.
March 27, 2023
A great end to a superb series.
January 6, 2026
Best series I've ever read
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews