July 15, 2022

Basic plot: There is a game on the internet (殺人ライセンス) which seems to be tied to real life murders and a strange voice is coming from the TV at night. Are these connected? Are the murders just coincidence or something more?

As a note, I listened to the audiobook, I do not own the text.

The grammar used in this book is pretty standard, plain to the point of being somewhat boring actually. I think this book may be more exciting if it's one of the first books you read in Japanese because the ease of it should let you rush through a bit compared to other writing styles, but if you're well seasoned maybe let this one pass.

Vocab wise you will need basic crime vocab and basic internet vocab. It doesn't go particularly wide on either of those. I rated this "about the same" as スマホを落としただけなのに but in pure vocab スマホ definitely edges this one out.

I felt like the plot developed very slowly and found the focus on character dynamics / relationships to be both unnecessary and quite flat. I love airport novels but this one didn't even manage to really maintain my interest - it just took too long to get anywhere and then the destination wasn't worth the wait.

Probably the only real redeeming factor for me with this book was the nostalgia of everything taking place on the early 2000s internet. What a difference 20 years makes!

Gradings:12
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cat graded
on August 2, 2024
similar in difficulty to三姉妹探偵団L27
cat graded
on March 31, 2023
similar in difficulty to花束は毒L29
cat graded
on December 30, 2022
cat graded
on December 27, 2022
similar in difficulty to自殺行き往復切符L27
cat graded
on October 9, 2022
similar in difficulty to変な家L29
cat graded
on July 15, 2022
cat graded
on July 15, 2022
cat graded
on July 15, 2022
cat graded
on July 15, 2022
similar in difficulty to世界から猫が消えたならL28
cat graded
on July 15, 2022
similar in difficulty toスマホを落としただけなのに L28
cat graded
on July 15, 2022
similar in difficulty toかがみの孤城L28
cat graded
on July 15, 2022
harder than時をかける少女L23