Hi friends! So today I'm going to be doing a review on "The Noh Mask Murder" by Akimitsu Takagi. This review is going to be short and sweet (like the title suggests) and spoiler free (however there will be the Goodreads synopsis in this and sometimes it can contain spoilers so please keep that in mind!)
"A bewildering locked - room murder occurs as an amateur crime writer investigates strange events in the Chizurui mansion in this prizewinning classic Japanese mystery.
This ingeniously constructed masterpiece, written by one of Japan's most celebrated crime writers and translated into English for the first time, is perfect for locked - room mystery fans who can't resist a breath-taking conclusion.
In the Chizurui family mansion, a haunting presence casts a shadow over its residents. By night, an eerie figure, clad in a sinister Hannya mask is seen roaming around the house. An amateur murder mystery writer, Akimitsu Takagi, is sent to investigate - but his investigation takes a harrowing turn as tragedy strikes the Chizurui family.
Within the confines of a locked study, the head of the family is found dead, with only an ominous Hannya mask lying on the floor by his side and the lingering scent of jasmine in the air as clues to his mysterious murder.
As Takagi delves deeper into the perplexing case, he discovers a tangled web of secrets and grudges. Can he discover the link between the family and the curse of the Hannya mask? Who was the person who called the undertaker and asked for three coffins on the night of the murder? And do those three coffins mean the curse of the Hannya mask is about to strike again?
The Noh Mask Murder's legendary ending offers locked - room mystery fans the perfect coda to an ingeniously constructed mystery."
I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.
So the reason I wanted to read this book is because I was scrolling through the "read now" section of netgalley and the cover caught my eye. I am so glad that I was able to get a hold of this book because it genuinely was such an interesting read. The start of the book is a little slow because it is basically describing how the characters come to be together in the same house and explains in detail about Noh, which for me who knows nothing about Noh was really cool to read and learn more about, but soon picks up as we move through the book. I didn't realise until after I read this that this was originally written in 1950 (according to goodreads) and has only just been translated in English. I will say if you're going to read this it truly does read like a book that was written in the 50s and the way that things were handled back then. Most of the book is written in the form of Koichi's journal and very much keeps you gripped in chapter after chapter. I really enjoyed that Takagi placed himself in the novel as being the person who investigates the case and how smartly his character is written. This book is also filled with twists and turns at the end and I definitely would recommend this to anyone who loves their mystery/thriller books.
My Favourite Characters:
I'm not going to lie friends. I don't really have a favourite character in this book. So many of the characters are written to be cruel/unjust and it was just really hard to feel attached to any of them. That isn't to say the characters aren't written well. The author actually did an incredible job at writing them, I just didn't love any of them.
My Least Favourite Characters:
- Rintaro: Rintaro is a literal ass throughout the book and I actually wish we got less of him. The author did a very good job at writing him to be hated though.
I gave this book a 4/5 star rating on goodreads.
This book is going to be released 4th June 2024!
What did you think of this book? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Do you have any books you'd recommend for me to read and do a review on? Please let me know down in the comments below!
Have a wonderful day!
Love, Doe!
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