Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd – Carol's Notebook

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...

Some authors manage to pack more atmosphere and tension and characters into less than 200 pages than others ever manage to, even in books twice as long. Lindsay has done just that in Picnic at Hanging Rock. Girls at a boarding school go out for a picnic, as the title states, at Hanging Rock. Hanging Rock is a former volcano in central Victoria, Australia. The setting plays a huge part in the story, casts its shadow over the whole book. Hanging Rock After lunch, four of the girls go climbing in the rocks, followed eventually by one of the teachers. One of the girls runs back to the picnic area in terror, but with no memory of what happened. The rest of the girls and the teacher are never seen again. The rest of the story tells us what happens after. The ripples from the disappearances fan out, bringing terrible endings for some people and happily ever afters for others. There are a...

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay