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Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto
Tokyo Express presents its readers with an intriguing set-up that is somewhat let-down by the story giving away too much too soon. The premise made me think that this would be a whodunnit with some noir undertones, but it soon became apparent that the mystery driving the narrative was more of the whydunnit variety. There…
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The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
yawn The Decagon House Murders is a pale imitation of the novel it is trying to pay homage to. While by no means a terrible read, I found it to be boring and ultimately deeply underwhelming. As the self-proclaimed whodunnit enthusiast that I am, I was looking forward to reading this, especially as it promised…
1980s, 2 STARS, 20th century, 3rd pov, Adult, amateur detective, CRIME, golden age detective fiction, ISLAND, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, male authors, men who do not seem to know how to write women, MURDER, murder mystery, MYSTERY, published in 1987, read in 2022, revenge, SUSPENSE, The Decagon House Murders, THRILLER, whodunnit, Yukito Ayatsuji -
Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf
“But life, like Scrabble, is like that—you get the rack you get, and you just have to figure out how to make do.” Queen of the Tiles is an entertaining mystery romp that belongs to that subgenre of YA books that combines a whodunnit type of storyline with the kind of teen dynamics at play…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, anxiety, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Contemporary, female authors, friendships, games, gossip & scandals, GRIEF, Hanna Alkaf, lgbtq+ side, light reads, Malaysia, Malaysian author, murder mystery, Muslim rep, My reviews, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, non-binary side characters, published in 2022, Queen of the Tiles, read in 2022, reading, trauma, whodunnit, YOUNG ADULT -
Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan
Midnight at Malabar House presents its readers with a fairly promising start to a new sleuthing series. As you may or may not know I am a big fan of whodunnits and golden detective fiction and ever since finishing Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries I have been on the lookout for a historical mystery with a…
1940s, 1950s, 20th century, 3.25 stars, 3rd pov, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, colonialism, CRIME, DETECTIVE, HISTORICAL FICTION, India, male authors, Midnight at Malabar House, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, police investigation, published in 2020, read in 2022, reading, Vaseem Khan, whodunnit -
The Maid by Nita Prose
edit: after some reflection i have decided to lower my rating as i am frustrated by the way autistic-coded Nina is presented as so exaggeratedly ‘quirky’ & ‘naive’, someone who we will inevitably find ‘endearing’ The Maid could have been a solid escapist read. This is less of a cozy whodunnit than a ‘trying hard too hard…
1st pov, 2 STARS, Adult, arc, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, bullying, canadian author, Contemporary, cozy mystery, CRIME, female authors, friendships, grandmothers, hotel, HUMOR, light reads, loneliness, maids, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, netgalley, Neurodiversity, Nita Prose, read in 2022, reading, SUSPENSE, The Maid, unnamed country, whodunnit, work culture -
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
Originally published in 1946 The Honjin Murders is a locked-room murder mystery. Throughout the course of the novel, the author pays homage to Golden Age detective novels, by alluding directly to authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie and their works and by being quite self-aware when it comes to the conventions that…
1930S, 2 STARS, Adult, aristocracy, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CRIME, DETECTIVE, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, golden age detective fiction, heavy on telling, HISTORICAL FICTION, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, locked-room mystery, male authors, manor/big house, My reviews, MYSTERY, published in 1946, read in 2021, reading, TRANSLATED FICTION, wedding drama, whodunnit -
Pretty as a Picture by Elizabeth Little
“Action, cut, action, cut, action, cut, action, cut. These aren’t commands, not for me. They’re more like everyday punctuation. A capital letter. A period. An indication that I should pay attention to what’s going on in the middle.” Pretty as a Picture tells a slow-burn type of suspenseful story, one that I would definitely recommend…
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The Survivors by Jane Harper
Alas, figuring out the murderer’s identity in the first 15% made this book kind of a drag. Having highly enjoyed Jane Harper’s The Lost Man, The Survivors felt by comparison vaguely uninspired. While the setting is just as atmospheric and vividly rendered as the ones in Harper’s other novels, the characters and mystery were very…
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Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie — book review
Death on the Nile is one of Agatha Christie’s most ingenious mysteries. While Christie has definitely penned more ‘twisty’ whoddunits, the shifting dynamics between the book’s various players make for a suspenseful story. With the exception of our wonderfully punctilious Poirot, Death on the Nile is almost entirely populated by unlikable characters (who are either…
1930S, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, AGATHA CHRISTIE, BOOK REVIEW, British author, british classics, CLASSICS, CRIME, Death on the Nile, DETECTIVE, egypt, england, favourite authors, female authors, golden age detective fiction, hercule poirot, HISTORICAL FICTION, light reads, MURDER, murder investigation, murder mystery, MYSTERY, published in 1937, QUEEN OF CRIME, re-reads, read in 2020, REVIEW, rich people, whodunnit -
The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi — book review
The Eighth Detective is not quite the “thrilling, wildly inventive nesting doll of a mystery” it’d be promised to be. I approached this novel hoping for something in the realms of Anthony Horowitz. Sadly, The Eighth Detective seems closer to The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, in that both novels are hellbent on ‘confusing’ the…
2 STARS, Adult, Alex Pavesi, arc, books about books, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, Contemporary, CRIME, DETECTIVE, golden age detective fiction, male authors, murder mystery, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, netgalley, published in 2020, read in 2020, short stories, story within a story, SUSPENSE, The Eighth Detective, unnamed country, whodunnit
luce [is reading] 