[DeepL Translation - needs review] The main character is that Mr. Kurihara!
This is the culmination of the Ameana "Strange" series, following "Strange House" and "Strange Pictures"!
In 2015, Kurihara, a college student, learns a surprising fact.
His grandmother died a suspicious death clutching an unidentified old map.
The map depicted seven yokai (monsters).
What on earth are these? Why did the grandmother have such a thing in her possession at the time of her death?
In order to find out th...
Conforms to a more regular novel structure than the other books by the author for both good and ill effect. The main character has an arc, something unheard of in these stories, and personal investment in the mystery beyond curiosity! Revolutionary. However this aspect is not so strong that it carries the story on its own, so once the mysteries are resolved there is a last 10 percent or so where I lost most of my interest.
The mystery also just wasn't as juicy as others, I felt like the stuff I was more interested in ended up being more minor parts and underwhelming, while the focus being more of a regular murder mystery. I also found it was a bit overexplained / over fore-shadowed after the midway point so it was a bit slow.
Still decent, but it just all around feels more generic and doesn't do anything really exceptional.
Jp wise: Definitely the hardest of the bunch but not by that much. Less dialogue focused than the other books. Still approachable. Some specialized vocab that's not likely to come up often.