Play by the rules

Dear Readers,

It's been a while and I am finally back, reading!  The book that I've picked is Higashino Keigo's "Meitantei no Okite／名探偵の掟" (Rules of a Detective/名偵探的守則.)

WHAT??? Another book by that author? Is this Higashino Mystery Book Club or Two Weeks A Book?

If that's your thoughts exactly, I’m really sorry! But "Meitantei no Okite" is really not your ordinary Japanese detective novel. It is a mockery of the genre/system clichés that it belongs to. A very ironic/sarcastic book!

Genre, is the classification of type when it comes to literature, television or films. It gives rise to such groups as the romance novel, the western, the gangster movie, film noir and so forth. (Sage Dictionary of Cultural Studies)

Anyway, there is a certain pattern or rule in Japanese detective literature and film/tv. If you think that only Korean dramas follow a certain format, you might find this book interesting.

Rule no.1
The investigators are always a combination of a police officer and detective. This detective is not from the police force, he can be a private detective, or someone related to the police officer.

Rule no.2
The police officer can never outsmart the detective. It is the officer's job to go to the wrong direction and suspect the wrong person. The detective is ALWAYS smarter than the officer.

Rule no.3
Just before closing the case, the detective will gather everybody involved in the case to gather at a crime scene and then, only will explain his deduction.


Ring a bell? Kindaichi, Detective Conan and many other Japanese detective series

Some cliché mentioned in the book includes

Cliche 1: Sealed room murder.
A gag that has been overly repeated and is still being used today. There is no such thing as a lock room, it ALWAYS ends up as a trick.

Cliche 2: Who did it?
A murder took place in a house/hotel. "The murderer is someone among us!" And it's always the most unexpected person who did it.

Cliche 3: Now its the time for a murder!
A heavy snow storm/ rain/ typhoon/ hurricane that prevents people from leaving and entering a certain area. Communication is cut off completely.. and the detective or police officer is coincidentally there!

Cliche 4: The dying message
The victim struggled really hard to write his/her last message. Usually it comes in some sort of code form. But...isn't it easier if the victim wrote the murderer's name instead?

Oh ya, then there won't be any chance for the detective to show his/her skills.

Well, if you're looking for some mockery of this genre to read, I highly recommend this book! Well, there's a TV series adaptation too..but meh, nothing beats the book.

Can You See it?

The Murder in Mansion Masquerade

In a Mansion Covered with Snow

These two books are both written by Keigo Higashino, one of the greatest Japanese mystery novelist in my opinion. The reason I chose to write them together is simple, I finished both of them last week, and they have similar settings - the typical "Closed Circle" murder case where a group of people were trapped in a mansion or a place isolated to the outside world and murders happened, murderer usually among these people and they have to solve the case and save themselves. 

As this is a very popular setting in mystery crime novel, I am very curious how Higashino would handle it, since his stories never fail to surprise me! I have read plenty of his book, but not one time I could guess the ending correctly, so whenever I read his books now, even I feel like I know the answer, I will just tell myself it's Keigo Higashino, it is never that simple! And every single time, he tricked me, including in these two books. 

If I have to choose one between these two, I will go for The Murder in Mansion Masquerade, simply because it has more human touch to it, and the trick is quite unexpected. Throughout the story, Higashino trying to make reader believe one of the character is the killer, but when the ending comes, it was something that I didn't expect at all, not even slightly suspicious (isn't that the magic of Higashino). He is always so good at pointing you to the other direction.

After Mansion Masquerade, I immediately read the second book, thinking that from the first book, I might be able to find some similarities and maybe could see the answer this time. I wasn't completely wrong.  For the first time, I got some little parts correct,  but still can't get the big picture right. 

I guess this is why Higashino's books are so fascinating. Although he had published many books, each book are still very unique that they surprise readers every single time. So you will go and buy another of his book, take on the challenge, lose again, and a new one, and a new one...  

It Started With A Murder

If there's someone who can make me forget about playing Tetris and stay up really late to read, that person has got to be Keigo Higashino. Damn, I wish he wrote my text books.

Higashino is a Japanese author famed for his mystery novels. His writing style is clean, simple and he doesn't involves too many characters. I have no idea how he does this but I've read at least 20 of his works and yet he surprises me every single time. There may be a some overlapping themes (femme fatale, dishonesty, revenge) but his approach differs from each book. From a scientific narrative to a melo-drama David Lynch-esque complexity.. you name it.

Anyway, for my third book, I've picked "The Case of 11 Letters" and did I mentioned that Higashino never fails to impress?

A series of suspicious deaths, starting with that of her boyfriend Kawazu Masayuki, prompts mystery novelist Yuki Rikako to investigate. In their last meeting, he tells her he thinks someone may be targeting him. When she asks why he feels threatened, he’s very noncommittal. And one by one, people who are somewhat linked to her boyfriend are being murdered.

As she digs deeper, she discovers that all the victims were once passengers on the same cruise ship a year ago and involved in an accident that left one man dead. What happened on the cruise ship? Was the man murdered or was it an accident? Is someone seeking for revenge?

If I have to pick something about this story, I feel that the last murder was a little out of place/ coherence feels off. Turns out that this murder has got to do with the big reveal. I kind of saw this coming but Higashino being Higashino, adds a little twist. This little twist is not so much about 'who did it' or 'how did it happened' but it is something that every mystery novel should have.