The Village of Eight Graves

Having the right Boswell can make all the difference. The few Sherlock Holmes stories not narrated by Dr. John Watson aren’t nearly as good. I think that’s the problem with The Village of Eight Graves.

I absolutely adored Yokomizo Seishi’s The Honjin Murders, the first in this series featuring disheveled young genius Kosuke Kindaichi. In that one, Kosuke’s strait-laced pal narrates the book. He’s a wonderful scribe! In The Village of Eight Graves, the story is told by the nervous nebbish, Tatsuya Terada, the dimwitted heir to the troubled but powerful Tajimi family. Tatsuya told us so often about being “chilled” by this or that event that I’m surprised he didn’t turn into a refrigerator! It also doesn’t help that show more Kosuke pops up only intermittently and doesn’t really solve the case; the murderer is revealed through circumstance. Frankly, it’s a miracle I finished the book.

I’ll be reading the next book in this series, due for re-release next month, but I’ll be sure to check it out of the library rather than buy it. Here’s hoping that we get a better Boswell. show less

I love this series!

It is a slightly familiar format, and one the author Seishi Yolomizo explores well - deep, dark family secrets, which when brought into open, give birth to jealousy, greed and ultimately ... murder. And here we have all those elements: a family saga of love and hate, revenge and redemption; many suspects but always one whom you are least likely to suspect; a suspenseful mystery, tied together by a long narrative that conveys the essence of the story, location and characters to perfection.

I love the character of Kosuke Kindaichi - a Japanese Columbo if you are wanting a comparison. Kindaichi is portrayed as being slightly eccentric, wearing a robe and trousers that have seen better days, as well as having bad dandruff. show more He also gets easily stressed and excitable, which brings on his stuttering. And yet beneath all of the yokel-like exterior, is an exceedingly clever detective. It goes to show that you should never judge a book by its cover (though Yokomizo's are fabulous!).

I cannot but suggest the reader delve into these mysteries for themselves. show less

I enjoyed this twisty and occasionally disturbing mystery, set in a rural Japanese village about 25 years after the end of the Second World War. Detective Kosuke Kindaichi is investigating a string of mysterious poisonings in Eight Graves hat are said to be the sacrifices demanded by the eight samurai whose graves name the village. The book was on the long side, but I was compelled to finish it in a day. I was able to predict some elements of the story (if someone says “Come meet me tomorrow, I have important information to tell you,” it is nearly certain that that person will be killed), but overall this kept me guessing and I really liked it. Looking forward to more Kindaichi adventures!

The interesting thing about this series is that the each book has a different narrator. Now that could go two ways, it could make the series more interesting, or you could get a duff narrator and I'm afreaid, in this instacnce, the second is true. This is narrated by Tatsuya Terada, who is far too timid and prone to extremes of fear to make for a good narrator. Everything seems to chill him to the bone, or make him shiver and shake, but he rarely seems to engage his brain before doing something stupid. I found him more than a little irritating.
The story is set in village, called Eight Graves, and it has a dark past. It's name comes form the murder of a Samouri and his companions, and 26 years ago the head of the Tajimi family went on a show more rampage and killed 32 people. At the time of the story, Tatsuya is sought by his father's family, to go to take on the inheritance of the family, as the head of the family is ill and have fallen out with a cousin who would tale over. The village is where all the action takes place. Before Tatsuya even reaches the village, his grandfather is poisioned and he has a threatening note telling him if he goes to the village there will be bloodshed. And there duly is. Quite a lot of it. It almost becomes a case of who's going to be bumped off next. There are secret tunnels that are not at all secret, a hidden treasure, and a lot of subterfuge. This is all worked out at the end when the survivors all sit down and chat it all out. It all feels quite unsatisfactory.
This is the 3rd in the translated series, the first one seemed much better, so this might be as far as I go. show less

Tatsuyada, whose mother died when he was 7 and who was brought up by his stepfather, discovers that he is a member of a rich family. Now his bio-family want him to come and claim his rightful position as the heir.

Secret passages, a hidden treasure, and a family curse all have a part to play in this intriguing mystery. This book reads more like a 19th century novel than the author's other books I've read, but I don't know if that's because of the change to first person POV, a reflection of a different style in the Japanese, or due to the different translator.

'There must be a story there, they'll think. And indeed, a story there is - and a strange one.'

The third of prolific Japanese author's Seishi Yokomizo's detective series to get an English translation (although, bizarrely, this is actually the 4th in the original series and is being published after the 6th in the series, The Inugami Clan - go figure!). Fans of fiendish puzzles, strange goings-on and clues a-plenty will relish this.

The story is told in the first-person by Tatsuya, who is told that he is to inherit an estate from a family he never knew. His father had gone on a killing rampage some 26 years earlier, and suddenly, now that Tatsuya has been contacted by a lawyer, more people start to die. When he finally arrives at the show more village that has the name of Eight Graves things get worse and, as the body count increases Tatsuya himself becomes a suspect. Enter the shabby, scruffy detective Kosuke Kindaichi - will he be able to work out just who is killing of the other members of the family?

The first-person narrative voice makes this a slightly different take on events from, say, the other two books previously published in English. The character of Kindaichi is seen only through the eyes of Tatsuya, and really isn't in the book all that much, so it is much more of a feeling of being in the midst of events rather than them being seen from a distance. The clues are there (although I'm such a dolt I can never work out what's going on), but the book is a wonderfully atmospheric and eventful ride and will ensure that you don't want to put the book down until you finish.

4 stars for fans of well-written and well-plotted crime fiction. show less

Seishi Yokomizo is one of the most re-known murder mystery writers in Japan, famous for his character Kosuke Kindaichi. I read this due to a recommendation from a dear Japanese friend of mine who is well versed in all Japanese literature (a great asset to have!). And it was just as fun to read as I expected.

This particular book is about Tatsuya, who has been asked to come back to the village from his childhood, the Village of Eight Tombs, to claim an inheritance. However, this is a village that his mother had escaped in his youth due to a frightful attack and this is now a village that, he has been warned, he should not return to lest something horrible happen. And horrible things do happen as a series of murders follow him as soon as show more he learns about his inheritance.

All in all a fun read with some actually interesting notes on the differences between village versus city mentality and lifestyle.

My only huh? moment was the character Kosuke Kindaichi. He actually rarely makes an appearance in the book and isn't even needed to solve the mystery. From this one book alone I can't tell if he's supposed to be a spoof character of if he's supposed to be a highly respected character. I'd have to read another (and I will) to see if it's the same thing. But really interesting that he really doesn't play a big role at all. In fact, the police are pretty much worthless in this book. Interesting.

Fun read, nevertheless! show less