The Devil’s Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo

The Devil’s Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo

The Devil’s Flute Murders is set in 1947, as Japan continues its slow recovery from WWII. A young woman, Mineko, asks Kindaichi for help. Mineko's father, Viscount Tsubaki, was found dead, apparently of suicide, but it seems that his ghost is haunting their family, especially her mother Akiko. It turns into a complex case with multiple murders, questions of ghostly visitation, a family history that must be explored, and many family members, friends, and servants living on the estate grounds. It's an atmospheric mystery, with the potential ghost, spooky music, even bad weather all playing into the feeling. The book is also full of period detail. Following the war, Japan is dealing with a lot, including planned blackouts, crowded trains with hard to obtain tickets, food shortages, and bombed and lost homes, some of which contribute to the plot. I listened to the audio. The narrator did a good job with the pronunciations and accents, as far as I could tell, and...
Read More
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo

The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo

The Honjin Murders, set in 1937 in a rural Japanese village, is told by an unnamed narrator who is telling what he learned from the people close to the crime. The eldest son of a wealthy family was marrying a beautiful, talented, but lower-class, woman. But on the wedding night, the family heard terrible screams coming from the bedroom of the newlywed couple, the door and the windows were locked, and the couple was found stabbed to death. Detective Kindaichi was summoned by the bride's uncle, to investigate the double murders. While the characters are not well-developed, we get a definite feel for the culture and traditions of the time. The plot was intricate and had several twists. The narrator plays fair with us, even going so far as to point at what is significant and what can be ignored. I can't say I love a good locked-room mystery. The murder method can get a little overly complicated, which quite honestly was...
Read More