The Honjin Murders (本陣殺人事件)
Decide its fate
The record
Time
An eveningA season192 pages, about 4 hours: two-thirds the length of a typical book on the shelf.
Getting in
Walk right inSteep climbOne reader reports early difficulty getting into the story because of the narrator’s matter-of-fact tone.
What it gives
Plot and actionIdeas to live byIn 11 reviews from critics and book blogs, 10 credit the plot and 3 credit the ideas or a change in how they live.
One of a kind
Others do thisNothing else doesOne mystery blog sets it beside Gaston Leroux’s The Mystery of the Yellow Room, and two others name Leroux and Agatha Christie.
The case for it
on Kindaichi’s manner
“his unkempt hair and apparently distracted manner, he’s more a cross between Poirot and Columbo.”
Unsigned review · Kirkus Reviews, 2026 on the spider lilies
“The ground was carpeted in those deep red spider lilies sometimes known as equinox flowers.”
a book blog on the narrator
“the breezy, wry voice of the narrator to guide us”
Sarah Gilmartin · The Irish Times, 2019 on the construction
“a compact, tightly-woven crime mystery, which, while paying a direct tribute to other crime masterworks”
a book blog
The case against
on the characters
“they remain two-dimensional ciphers, with what little there is to their characters”
M.A. Orthofer · The Complete Review, 2020 on the narration
“the impersonal voice didn’t encourage us to take anyone’s side.”
a book blog on the length
“One of the biggest problems is that this book is too short.”
four stars · a book blog on the commentary
“he does have the tendency to over-explain the plot at certain moments”
three stars · a book blog
