The Inugami Curse: 29 (Detective Kindaichi Mysteries)

this might be my favourite Seishi Yokomizo book so far

Good book

Content was 👍😊

The book was delivered in excellent condition. No issues there. This is primarily a review of the plot.The setup of the book is very good. The translation is excellent. There is, as is usually the case with a detective novel, a host of characters who make suspects. The characters themselves are drawn well, the lead character is unique, the setting is superb. I did not much like the ending, however. For the longest time, it felt as though the lead character remained passively looking on, until the time for the ending came, whereupon he delivers the solution to the case. All the investigation that occurs is of a reactive nature. At no point does the detective seem to actively pursue leads.Having said that, the setting and the uniqueness of the writing style do make me want to give other works of the author a shot.

What an amazing murder mystery…

There is always a pattern. Be it regarding the stars or reading a book, once in a while, you come across something so unique and bright that you forget the rest.The caffeine in The Inugami Curse hits like a double espresso shot, stimulating the lazy nerve after a long and constant reading of serious literature. This doesn’t, in the least, mean that The Inugami Curse is not literature, but, it carries the freshness of a murder mystery that binds the reader in a certain spell....Set in the 1940s, The Inugami Curse sets the mood for a dark and violent chaos, the world is witnessing then. The World War, and the young soldiers surviving the battle- but losing everything, including the future, is portrayed with pain and hope...Yokomizo’s confident brush strokes are clearly visible in the effortlessly and constant twists and turns of the plot, which keep the reader guessing.The characters are a mixed bag of potatoes and one can never tell- right till the very end, what virtues or vice each harbour.The book is fragrant with Japanese culture and landscapes and mindset- which is normally the case with Japanese Literature, and the grotesque murder scenes, add just enough bass to the otherwise serene music...The book will certainly make the reader check more out in the series..

As a reader, I have been fortunate enough to read some exquisite stories, both when it comes to novels, and comic-books and to my dismay it is only recently that I have started appreciating the efforts made by translators to translate a foreign language into English without losing any of the emotional & structural integrity of the story. The Inugami Curse-my second Yokomizo work after The Honjin Murders-reads very differently and much better from it's predecessor and the credit to my mind goes to Yumiko Yamakazi, the translator, whose use of appropriate terminology and colloquialism aged the story very well.As a story itself, the build-up is far superior compared to the climax and revelation. But while the perpetrator isn't exactly a surprise the ultimate conclusion does give one a sense of closure. For certain, this book/plot can be accused of 'lazy writing'. Especially given the concatenation of coincidences involved. But I, for one, will not levy such an accusation upon it, because in the end I wanted to read a story that would be engaging, intriguing and off-beat. Two out of Three is good enough for me.

this seems to be the second or the fifth book in the series and it’s quite good given that book one was a drag but this irked my interest quite well. The translation seems better and the storyline is quite strong without much loopholes though at times we can predict who did what but the cause of it is what makes me continue with the series

I was very happy to find an entirely different take on the closed room murder mystery. my favourite kind of puzzle.

Fascinating. Really enjoyed this, well worth reading.

I am a sucker for a classic mystery. I love the slow character development that gets you hooked on all the characters and makes you fear who’s going to die first. The deeper I get pulled in, the more I dread that first death. Having gone through all the most available classic series, I was intrigued to find the series reprint of a number of Japanese masters including The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo.Set in Japan in the 1940s after the second world war, the mystery begins with the gathering of a clan after the death of the patriarch. When the will is read, the family is shocked to learn the bizarre legacy left to them – bizarre murders follow shortly. These murders are well-paced with just enough detail to keep the reader on their toes guessing what will happen next.The Inugami Curse has all the usual hallmarks of a classic mystery – a closed cast of characters, deep character development, a well-described location, diabolical plotting…but it has one unexpected aspect I would have never guessed – magical realism. The author’s perspective on dread and the horror of murder color the prose with a beautiful (if slightly insane) vibrancy that comes to life at the most unexpected moments. The more I read, the more I fell under the spell of the Yokomizo’s prose. It was, quite simply, a hypnotic read. I could not look away.What was more, I felt a strong connection to the bizarre events of the mystery as well as the characters. When the puzzle is resolved, satisfaction was bittersweet. The human drama described had made it almost impossible to not imagine what happened after the book’s conclusion and how life went on. These are graceful characters who are masterfully arranged to stay with a reader for a long time.I highly recommend this book.

Una herencia y una serie de crímenes en los que la biografía del fallecido y la familia tiene mucho que ver. Mantiene la atención y entretiene. Interesante.

i read it in french some years ago and bought it in english for a gift to an english-speaking friend. this book is excellent and captivating. shipment was quick and timely.