tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post7999337971337209504..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: The Tokyo Zodiac Murders (1981) by Soji ShimadaTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-86109912956379266402019-08-02T12:37:24.009+02:002019-08-02T12:37:24.009+02:00You're being a little blasphemous, but you mak...You're being a little blasphemous, but you make a valid point about the locked room and false solution, because the book has always been billed as a classic impossible crime. Technically, it would have been better if Shimada had found a way to swap around the false and true explanation to the locked room murder, but that would have been a tricky thing to do with the overall solution in mind. <br /><br /><i>Murder in the Crooked House</i> is a much more conventional detective story, especially when compared to <i>The Tokyo Zodiac Murders</i>, with a genuinely original locked room-trick. You'll probably like it a lot more. <br /><br />However, you can get a newfound appreciation for <i>The Tokyo Zodiac Murders</i> by the simply reading <i>The Mummy's Curse</i> from the Kindaichi series. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-15208556053848794002019-07-31T05:18:43.342+02:002019-07-31T05:18:43.342+02:00SPOILERS IN THIS COMMENT
Is is blasphemy if I adm...SPOILERS IN THIS COMMENT<br /><br />Is is blasphemy if I admit I didn't care much for this when I read it? The translation came off as stilted and the pacing in the second half is poor. Once we get the time limit set up Mitarai spends the rest of the book bumbling around before the reveal. That's an issue with these stories that look at older mysteries, I feel, especially here where all of the investigation doesn't really accomplish anything beyond giving out red herrings.<br /><br />I think my issue was that I thought that the locked room would play more of a role in the plot and have a more interesting solution. The false one had more creativity to it, I felt. I think that the central trick in the book is good, but sadly I spoiled it by accident so it lacked the needed oomph. And the killer felt...thrown in, I guess. They needed to make more of an appearance earlier, I feel.<br /><br />That being said I'm still looking forward to Murder in the Slanted Mansion. Shimada looks like he has imagination and ingenuity in spades from what I've read about him on Ho-Ling's blog, and I'm happy to give him another chance (also "The Executive Who Lost His Mind" was ridiculous in all the best ways, so that helps.)The Dark Onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03453733187338447742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-19312446000280007232019-01-29T22:52:44.822+01:002019-01-29T22:52:44.822+01:00Gore doesn't bother me at all and a dismembere...Gore doesn't bother me at all and a dismembered body usually serves a purpose in Japanese detective story (i.e. corpse-puzzles). They came up with some completely new and original locked room-tricks by playing around with severed body parts. <br />TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-23622672678512416792019-01-29T19:12:50.016+01:002019-01-29T19:12:50.016+01:00I've pre-ordered The Murder in the Crooked Hou...I've pre-ordered The Murder in the Crooked House - it comes out June 25th in the US. This one sounds fascinating. It doesn't sound like you were put off by the gore.JamesSByrnsidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03436891505091962907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-74528539755693815502019-01-29T12:07:22.319+01:002019-01-29T12:07:22.319+01:00This review was written last year and the schedule...This review was written last year and the scheduled release date then still was January, 31th. <br /><br />Well, I just checked and there appears to be two different release dates: UK (January) and US (June). So we'll have to wait and see. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-35892897867527863742019-01-29T11:32:11.715+01:002019-01-29T11:32:11.715+01:00I thought the date was moved from January to July ...I thought the date was moved from January to July for the secondo one.<br /><br />Thanks for the notification! I purchased it yesterday (Along with Higashino's latest) and voilla it's already on the way! Yannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03715425465328002763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-17247269957423225052019-01-28T18:26:08.237+01:002019-01-28T18:26:08.237+01:00Well, it kinda gives away the whole crux of the ce...Well, it kinda gives away the whole crux of the central puzzle of the plot. So perhaps that's why nobody ever mentions it. ;) TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-69967791795682244942019-01-28T18:24:38.369+01:002019-01-28T18:24:38.369+01:00"I was very lucky to have read this novel bef..."<i>I was very lucky to have read this novel before reading "the Kindaichi version". </i>"<br /><br />Same here! I would have been so pissed had I read <i>The Mummy's Curse</i> before <i>The Tokyo Zodiac Murders</i>. Kanari always cribbed ideas left and right for his plots, but <i>The Mummy's Curse</i> was borderline plagiarism. Basically an abridged version of Shimada's plot. <br /><br />This is why I'm afraid that, one day, an incredible Japanese mystery will get translated only to discover Kanari had "borrowed" from it for <i>House of Wax</i>. <br /><br />"<i>...in fact, i was introduced to Conan and Kindaichi by him</i>"<br /><br />Now that's what I call good guidance from an older brother! TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-35074089784386742752019-01-28T13:18:35.918+01:002019-01-28T13:18:35.918+01:00I was very lucky to have read this novel before re...I was very lucky to have read this novel before reading "the Kindaichi version". I remember I was so impressed by this novel, my first thought was to bring it to my brother who's also like to read detective stories (in fact, i was introduced to Conan and Kindaichi by him). <br /><br />His reaction when I urged him to read this novel was, unfortunately, not to my expectation. It was underwhelming. <br /><br />Looking back at that moment, probably the cover of the Indonesian version gave the solution away to him (i'm not kidding, if Mitarai saw the cover, he may reached the solution there and then). And knowing that my brother read Kindaichi, maybe that reminded him of "the Kindaichi version" with the same solution as the cover suggests.<br /><br />Although, I was not impressed by the novel's locked room problem, this is clearly one of my favorite detective novel. Irfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11333180779321570132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-41991776772900897542019-01-28T13:10:13.995+01:002019-01-28T13:10:13.995+01:00Though no one ever mentions it this mystery novel ...Though no one ever mentions it this mystery novel is inspired by a logic puzzle I remember from my elementary school days. It involves making several geometric shapes using pieces. But it’s not a Tangram puzzle because in this one you start out with a certain number of shapes and the puzzle is to create the same number plus one more. I wish I could remember the book in which it appears. J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.com