Death on Gokumon Island (Detective Kindaichi Mysteries)

by Seishi Yokomizo

Other authorsLouise Heal Kawai (Translator)
Paperback, 2022

Call number

MYST YOK

Collection

Genres

Publication

Pushkin Vertigo (2022), 320 pages

Description

A locked room murder mystery. Loosely inspired by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, the brilliant Gokumon Island is perhaps the most highly regarded of all the great Seishi Yokomizo's classic Japanese mysteries. Detective Kosuke Kindaichi arrives on the remote Gokumon Island bearing tragic news--the son of one of the island's most important families has died, on a troop transport ship bringing him back home after the Second World War. But Kindaichi has not come merely as a messenger--with his last words, the dying man warned that his three step-sisters' lives would now be in danger. The scruffy detective is determined to get to the bottom of this mysterious prophesy, and to protect the three women if he can. As Kindaichi attempts to unravel the island's secrets, a series of gruesome murders begins. He investigates, but soon finds himself in mortal danger from both the unknown killer and the clannish locals, who resent this outsider meddling in their affairs.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Helenliz
I didn;t enjoy this as much as the first in the series. Set some years, later, the story is set on Gokumon Island, as soldiers return home after WW2. Kosuke Kindaichi comes to the island after one of his comrades dies on the return home, asking Kosuke to go to the island and protect his 3 sisters
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as they will be murdered. And, in turn, they are. Kosuke follows a range of clues and trails to find the solution but only after the 3 girls have died. There's lots of too-ing and fro-ing across the island, a map would have been a useful addition had I read this in print. I think I enjoyed this less as this was narrated by an omnipresent narrator, whereas the first book was narrated by one of the people involved, that felt more immediate, this felt more remote. The ending turns out to be somewhat depressing, in that it never need to have happened at all.
In audio the vocal tics of Kosuke get somewhat annoying.
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Pages

320

ISBN

1782277412 / 9781782277415
Page: 0.6417 seconds