Book Within a Book

 

 

A man is murdered, shot dead with a crossbow bolt through his neck, in an upscale gated community and all his neighbours have a motive (surprise, surprise). The man in question was loud, uncouth and had managed to tick off almost everyone in the community including the dog. The police call in Daniel Hawthorne to help them solve the murder.

Anthony Horowitz excels in the book-within-a-book format. While I really enjoyed Magpie Murders, this one didn’t have the same feel. I found real-life Anthony’s intrusion into the fictional verse a bit tiresome especially at times when I really wanted to get on with the story and find out who the killer was. In spite of the tiny flaws, it was an enjoyable read and the cast of characters were quite fascinating – from the grandmaster to the little old ladies who ran a crime bookstore. Not to mention Daniel Hawthorne himself.

If you like cozy mysteries that blend fiction with fact, this one is for you.

A Puzzle of a Book

The Final Curtain is an absolute puzzle of a book by my favourite Japanese author, Keigo Higashino.

A woman is murdered in Tokyo and the police find similarities between her death and the mysterious demise of a woman nearly a decade back – Detective Kyochiro Kaga’s estranged mother. Now, it is up to Detective Kaga to join the dots and unravel the mystery.

The novel had plenty of twists and turns in true Higashino fashion with a pacy plot to keep you guessing right till the end. I found some similarities between this and the plot of The Devotion of Suspect X. When you read it, you should know what I’m referring to – no spoilers here. Kaga is an intriguing character and I like the relationship he shares with his cousin, Detective Matsumiya. The translation has a huge role to play in these books and this one was easy on the eyes, not clunky and unwieldy.