The Village of Eight Graves

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Seishi Yokomizo: The Village of Eight Graves (Paperback, 2021, Pushkin Press, Limited)

Paperback, 349 pages

English language

Published Jan. 3, 2021 by Pushkin Press, Limited.

ISBN:
978-1-78227-745-3
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5 stars (1 review)

Nestled deep in the mist-shrouded mountains, The Village of Eight Graves takes its name from a bloody legend: in the Sixteenth Century eight samurais, who had taken refuge there along with a secret treasure, were murdered by the inhabitants, bringing a terrible curse down upon their village.

Centuries later a mysterious young man named Tatsuya arrives in town, bringing a spate of deadly poisonings in his wake. The inimitably scruffy and brilliant Kosuke Kindaichi investigates.

2 editions

Delightful.

5 stars

I genuinely enjoy Yokomizo's novels. Even in translation, they are well done and engaging. It's hard to not applaud that.

The thing I liked about this one, even with the detective of Kindaichi Kosuke being part of it, is that it was less from his perspective (or involved him less) while still making it clear that he was an important part of the story. He was solving the many crimes alongside the protagonist, who wasn't entirely setting out to solve the crime (as he recounts).

I also really liked that this is written in such a way that it's like a mystery memoir from the perspective of one of the suspects. Being from his perspective, it creates a lot of chaos about who you trust and who you don't. This makes it a bit more interesting because you're trying to empathise with him while also scrutinising him and what he …