An OK locked-room (sort of) mystery set in Japan. As usual in these Japanese books I had some confusion keeping the characters straight in my mind (my deficit, not the author's.) A cast of characters is provided, which helped. (And the origin of some Japanese given names was interesting.)
The explanation of how the murders occur was clever (and supported by many illustrations,) but I just found the whole experience lacking. The "locked-room lecture" given by the brother of the detective (and why were his siblings allowed so much leeway?) was a bit boring, especially to someone familiar with Carr's The Three Coffins and other Golden Age mysteries with impossible crimes outlined.
Not a total failure and breezily written (or translated).
The explanation of how the murders occur was clever (and supported by many illustrations,) but I just found the whole experience lacking. The "locked-room lecture" given by the brother of the detective (and why were his siblings allowed so much leeway?) was a bit boring, especially to someone familiar with Carr's The Three Coffins and other Golden Age mysteries with impossible crimes outlined.
Not a total failure and breezily written (or translated).
