This is a real 'locked-room murder mystery' that young private detective Kosuke Kindaichi is determined to solve.
During the wedding night, the head of the Ichiyanagis and his bride are brutally killed. When they were found in the morning, no traces were found in the fresh snow around the building, all the shutters were closed and the door was locked from the inside. How could the murderer have escaped? What happened? This mystery is written with many twists and turns. On the one hand, the reader thinks he is on the trail of the murderer, but soon realises that he is looking in the wrong direction.
It was a very exciting and amusing read. ( )

An uneasy feeling remains after reading The Hojin Murders. Does it have to do with the lock? Does it have to do with the fact that throughout the book it is said that this or that would later prove to be important in this case? That names and places are mentioned with only the initial letter? I can't bring it home. Even though I enjoyed this book, the characters, Japanese words and customs, I would like to give the author a few words of praise. The positive point is that he is able to mislead you about who or what and how. Just like Agatha Christie, but a bit more flawed because after a while it became clear to me that the supposed murderer could almost be removed from the list after the first few pages. It's not bad, it's not special. But I look forward to another title from this author. If only to know whether he has refined his writing style over the years. ( )

Schon vor der Hochzeit des ältesten Sohnes der bekannten Ichiyanagi-Familie gehen in Okamura Gerüchte um, denn jemand zieht Erkundigungen über die Ichiyanagis ein. Aber auch in der Hochzeitsnacht passieren merkwürdige Dinge. Erst gibt es einen Schrei, dann folgt eine unheimliche Melodie und ein blutiges Schwert steckt im Schnee im Hof des Hauses. Das Brautpaar wurde im von innen verschlossenem Schlafzimmer ermordet. Ein Fall für den privaten Ermittler Kosuke Kindaichi.
Es ist ein mysteriöser Fall, mit dem es Kosuke Kindaichi hier zu tun bekommt. Anfangs geht es recht behäbig los. Das ist auch ganz gut, denn man muss sich an die Vielzahl der fremden Namen gewöhnen. Der Erzählstil ist ungewöhnlich. Ich mag es, beim Lesen in fremde Kulturen einzutauchen. Die japanische Kultur lernt man hier ein Stück weit kennen, während man die Ermittlungen verfolgt.
Kosuke Kindaichi ist ein wenig chaotisch, aber ein cleverer Ermittler, der seinen Grips bemüht und gut kombiniert. Doch er weiß um seine Fähigkeiten und kommt daher ziemlich arrogant rüber.
Immer wieder gibt es Wendungen, die einen nie sicher sein lassen, ob man auf der richtigen Spur ist. Die Auflösung kam mir dann ein wenig zu schnell.
Wer Kriminalromane im Stil von Agatha Christie, Hercule Pierot oder Sherlock Holmes mag, dem wird auch dieser unterhaltsame Krimi gefallen. ( )

Conveluted crime story ( )

This book gets points for being somewhat of a page-turner and for its depiction of early Showa Era village life. However, the story did not age well, and the solution is unrealistically complicated. Moreover, all the surviving characters seem unaffected by the murders and spend all their time cheerfully trying to figure out the solution, like they're playing a game or acting out an Agatha Christie re-enactment. I half enjoyed this book. ( )