I’ve been struggling with reading for a very long time now and this book was my comeback of sorts where I was suddenly able to start once again.
The Honjin Murders is a pulse racing locked room mystery that will have you at the edge of your seat until the last few chapters, trying to guess who the murderer is and how the murder was executed in the first place.
About The Honjin Murders
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo — translated by Louise Heal Kawai — is referred to as one of Japan’s classic murder mysteries. The book is set in 1937 Japan, on the cold winter night of a wedding.
Earlier in the day, rumors run amok in the village about a creepy masked man asking questions about the Ichiyanagi family, raising hackles amongst the villagers.
On the night of the wedding, the guests and family members are awoken by the eerie sounds of a Koto being played. Upon further investigation, the chilling crime scene is discovered — a blood-strewn locked room with the bride and groom dead. And here’s the kicker — the only sign of what could have gone down the fateful wedding night is a samurai sword stuck in snow
Was it a murder-suicide? Was an external instigator involved? Who is the sinister man everyone’s talking about? The answers follow in the rest of the story.
Review
The Honjin Murders starts off very strong. The writing is not your typical murder mystery fare. Here, we have Yokomizo recounting the stories he’d heard of the famed murders during his time in the rural farming village of Okayama Prefecture. While he’s an interesting narrator, he does have the tendency to over-explain the plot at certain moments instead of letting the story flow naturally. His rather lengthy commentary often distracts from the story, unfortunately.
He does do a great job of describing the customs and traditions of early 20th century rural Japan at the offset. This has a payoff towards the end as well when we finally understand the killer’s motive.
In addition to these almost lyrical descriptions, another standout in the book were its characters. From the quiet and strong matriarch Itoko to the frail flower Suzuko, from the murdered Kenzo and Katsuko to the eccentric detective Kindaichi, every character is memorable and no one suffers from being passed on despite being a character-heavy novel.
As much as I love mysteries, I’ve never liked locked room mysteries as much. While the idea of a murder seemingly defying laws of nature until the big reveal at the end sounds great on paper, the execution has never felt quite enough for me. As Kindaichi himself says in the novel, the ones where the reveal is a mechanical solution for the locked room are particularly…boring if I could say so.
The reveal in this book also had a similar reaction from me. As much as it is ingenious, it also falls flat and declares quite a lot of plot points as red herrings. The exhaustive commentary from Yokomizo in the reveal also doesn’t help. Through the novel, he does, however, mention several locked room classics written by authors such as Christie, Doyle, Leroux, and Dickinson Carr. I’ve definitely expanded on my reading list thanks to his commentary, as tiring as I found it.
Overall, The Honjin Murders is a definite page-turner with strong characters and an engrossing plot despite suffering from a reveal that falls flat and some long drawn out commentary from the narrator. I would still recommend this classic to anyone who likes murder mysteries, Japanese crime fiction, and character-driven novels.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Is The Honjin Murders a true story?
Well, the author himself says it is in the beginning of the story which got me curious. I haven’t been able to accurately find which parts were fact and which were fiction. Either the entire story just adopted the journalistic style to make it all the more engrossing or there are in fact some true bits to it.
I will continue my own research, but if you find something, do let me know in the comments!
Happy reading!
Wait., you like murder mysteries? How do i NOT know this about you?
I’m so glad this book brought you back! Though I’m sorry it fell a little flat for you. Love your review as always 😘
…it’s the one genre I’ve probably read the most of?? But haha yes, it only took me a year but the wretched slump is behind me (I think)!