July 30, 2023

(Review date: April 2011)

In the prologue we see a hired killer enter an apartment to kill a man. To the killer's surprise, the dead man was keeping a ten year old girl prisoner in his bathroom. The hitman knows that he should kill this witness, but spares her instead. In return the girl refuses to tell the police anything about the man who killed her captor.

The book proper starts years later. The girl, Yuki, is now 17 and in high school; she follows Akagawa's usual pattern of young assertive female lead characters. In a chance encounter she meets again the hitman who saved her when she was younger. This is the start of a series of steadily more alarming events that engulf Yuki and her family...

I've always found Akagawa an easy read. The language is fairly simple and the books have a lot of dialogue. They're probably best avoided if you demand deep characterisation from your reading, but since their main attraction is the plot, you still get most of the enjoyment out of them without having to look up every word you don't know.

There is a definite pattern to the Akagawa books I've read: feisty female lead, emphasis on a murder or suspense plot, occupying a sweet spot between overly cosy and blood-drenched. This would probably get dull if you read too many at a stretch, but as an occasional light read I find Akagawa hard to beat.

Gradings:19
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pm215 graded
on May 7, 2024
similar in difficulty to午前0時の忘れものL28
pm215 graded
on May 7, 2024
similar in difficulty to雨の夜、夜行列車にL28
pm215 graded
on May 7, 2024
similar in difficulty to秘密のひとときL28
pm215 graded
on March 15, 2024
easier than黒い森の記憶L30
pm215 graded
on September 11, 2023
similar in difficulty to魔女たちのたそがれL28
pm215 graded
on September 11, 2023
similar in difficulty to恋占いL28
pm215 graded
on September 11, 2023
similar in difficulty to赤いこうもり傘L28
pm215 graded
on August 30, 2023
easier thanジュージューL29
pm215 graded
on August 22, 2023
easier than日光殺人事件L30
pm215 graded
on August 22, 2023
similar in difficulty to雪に消えた悪魔L28
pm215 graded
on August 22, 2023
similar in difficulty to寝台車の悪魔L28
pm215 graded
on July 30, 2023
easier thanR.P.G.L30
pm215 graded
on July 30, 2023
easier than鼠、江戸を疾るL30
pm215 graded
on July 30, 2023
pm215 graded
on July 30, 2023
pm215 graded
on July 30, 2023
similar in difficulty toキッチンL30
pm215 graded
on July 30, 2023
similar in difficulty toスパイ失業L28
pm215 graded
on July 30, 2023
pm215 graded
on July 30, 2023
easier than狐笛のかなたL30