The Meiji Guillotine Murders

I received a review copy of this book from Pushkin Press via Edelweiss for which my thanks. Set in the Meiji era (1868–1912), the period commencing from the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, The Meiji Guillotine Murders by Futaro Yamada, originally published in 1979 and in this translation by Brayan Kar......more

I got hopelessly lost throughout this whole book and it's only the last chapter that makes the whole make sense. Therefore my advice to anyone reading this book is to take each murder on its own merits and wait till the end for your reward. I'm the world's worst detective so I usually give up hope o......more

Book 7 January in Japan 2024 Alright in all honesty, that last chapter what actually saved this book for me. I was befuddled by the seemingly incoherent plotline or rather aptly said different cases that make up the storyline which caught me off guard. But the last chapter tied everything and it all......more

It wasn’t exactly what I was anticipating, but it was still an enjoyable novel to read. The historical and political aspects of the plot are way more present that I thought they would be, but it gave a deep and interesting context to the murders. They are told through little tale-like chapters — wit......more

A one-of-a-kind book, surely. And because of the nature of the story, it’s highly unlikely that this will be adapted to the small screen even though it’s perfect for a mini-series. For the first few chapters, other than an immersive historical set-up and neat murder tricks, like me, you’d perhaps fin......more