May 31, 2023

This is a hugely entertaining (meta-)mystery for mystery lovers. Twists and mystery trivia abound. The book is full of all the classic mystery cliches, but in a good way: it's conscious of the fact, and does so very deliberately. Many of the characters are mystery buffs themselves, and keep discussing authors, books, locked room tricks and great detectives, even as they themselves are in the middle of a murder mystery.

I half-guessed two of the major twists, but this didn't diminish my enjoyment in the slightest. The book is good fun. Don't expect great literature, but you can definitely expect to be entertained. This is a classic mystery, and at the same time a love song to classic mysteries.

Language-wise it wasn't difficult. There was some specialized vocabulary and many author names and book titles, but there is also a lot of dialogue, and things tend to get repeated and (over)explained. If I have a minor quibble with the book, it's that there's some needless repetition (not to the point of getting boring or annoying) without which the book could easily have been shorter without removing anything. But even at 500 pages, it still goes by fast.

Gradings:13
0
favorite_border
omk3 graded
on March 24, 2025
omk3 graded
on February 25, 2024
similar in difficulty to地獄堂霊界通信 1L33
omk3 graded
on January 26, 2024
harder than傲慢と善良L35
omk3 graded
on January 8, 2024
similar in difficulty toきつねのはなしL32
omk3 graded
on December 28, 2023
similar in difficulty to月の裏側L33
omk3 graded
on October 12, 2023
omk3 graded
on July 1, 2023
similar in difficulty to震える天秤L33
omk3 graded
on May 31, 2023
omk3 graded
on May 31, 2023
similar in difficulty to十角館の殺人L34
omk3 graded
on May 31, 2023
easier than狐火の辻L35
omk3 graded
on May 31, 2023
easier than告白L34
omk3 graded
on May 31, 2023
omk3 graded
on May 31, 2023
easier thanパレードL32