Jan 26, 2023Murder On The Orient ExpressIt's got mystery, it's got murder, it's got train travel, it's got the line
"Hercule Poirot addressed himself to the task of keeping his moustaches out of the soup."
May 19, 2023The 7 Deaths Of Evelyn HardcastleFun & funky pursuit of a killer and pursuit of the killt, whodunnit and also just whatdunandwen, little bit of Christie and a little bit of Groundhog day, and a little bit of (frankly, somewhat cumbersome) sci-fi oddity. That frame though allows for a novel premise and take on the classic dinner-party-and-a-murder that entertains and engrosses.
Jun 24, 2023Inherent ViceWhen it comes down to it, this is basically just Bleeding Edge but with more Genre. Enjoyable enough as a detective mystery, and the counterculture voice is kind of fun - and, as I listened to the audiobook, Ron McLarty's performance of the various Pynchonian songs and lyrical tidbits (that I normally end up skimming over) was a delight. I was generally expecting more, but probably would make a good gateway novel by him.
Jul 27, 2023The Honjin MurdersI was curious what a classic Japanese murder mystery would be and I think actually it is not entirely my cup of tea. There is a sparsity of prose that I recognize and value in other contexts as somewhat emblematic of modern Japanese writing (or what I see in my limited experience as such) - a direct, logical simplicity that I find incredibly satisfying when painting windswept metaphors, but which feels a bit sluggish and awkward when it comes to bloody murder. I guess its got the classic setup and misdirection and a bit of characters that are characters. But its lacking the charm of say Christie. And I think I have discovered that I like my bloody murders charming.