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Blurb
No English blurb available. Maybe add one?
Specs
Page Count:
198
ISBN:
4061855611
ISBN13:
9784061855618
Where to find help_outline
editAmazon Kindle JP
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Amazon JP
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Kinokuniya JP
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Honto
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Reviews
(3/5)1 rating1 review
pm215says
May 12, 2024
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Four short stories, all with a jewellery theme. The first and third are standalone stories, while the second and fourth feature amateur detective Catherine, a character who has apparently figured in twenty of the author's novels. (She's an American living in Kyoto.) In this book we don't really get much background on Catherine -- the story somewhat assumes you're familiar with the regular characters and focuses on the plot instead. They're fine as mysteries, written fairly straightforwardly and light in tone.
Of the two standalone stories, I didn't like the first one (紫水晶殺人事件). The protagonist was not very likeable, and the story seemed to change its mind about what kind of story it was about halfway through, leaving various plot holes and loose ends from the first half as it jumped through a series of implausible coincidences to finish up with a mawkish and sentimental ending that didn't fit how the characters had previously acted.
The other standalone (呪われたルビー) was much better, being a satisfying "what's going on and who is lying?" kind of mystery.
Language is generally straightforward. The first story is set in Seoul and has some Korean personal and place names.
Overall, three stars - not terrible but not anything I'd really recommend either. I might possibly try one of the author's novel length stories about Catherine, just because "foreigner in Japan" is a potentially interesting backstory for a detective. But there's lots of books out there that probably come before that...