Currently through halfway of this week’s portion. I must say I really enjoy this book so far, maybe the most out of the 5 volumes we’ve read together in this book club Can’t pinpoint why though.
Also really enjoying this one so far, it’s been a really nice balance of mystery + a lot of fun/funny character interactions.
This chapter - I really enjoyed Moe really getting to play detective and try out some subterfuge which she did very successfully I think! The exchange between Saikawa and Moe in the final part where Moe is wondering how Saikawa has figured out her theory and he’s like “it’s written on your face” and then she replies [そんなに沢山のこと、顔には書けません。私の顔、黒板じゃないんですから] I for some reason found hilarious
Re the mystery itself, I still have zero ideas but it’s a fun time.
The thing that bothers me the most this volume isn’t how much 犀川 smokes - it’s how 萌絵 seems to get away with whatever she wants just because. And all the much older than her policemen just stand around, flustered and red in the face.
Anyway, aside from that I’ve been liking the story so far. There’s a number of interesting people and circumstances and I can’t wait to find out more.
Though I feel it is a bit of a shame there had to be a second murder. I suppose it’s necessary so they can have some actual evidence to help solve the mystery from a generation before, but still… I’d have like a tamer mystery just for a bit of a change of pace. Also to help with the suspension of disbelief of these 2 stumbling into murder cases for 10 volumes straight, at what seems to be a biannual pace.
Anyway, with that I’m caught up to the current week as well! I’ll try to stay on top of it this time.
I’m annoying myself because I didn’t highlight it and so can’t find it now but wasn’t there a bit where Moe is thinking about how much she loves murder mysteries but she mostly only gets to experience them through novels? I think I remember commenting to my boyfriend while reading it being like “she has definitely stumbled into more murders in just the past couple of years than the average architecture student!”
Re 萌絵 getting away with things, I’m kind of in two minds about it. On the one hand, she can be very unlikeable in how obviously she uses people like 鵜飼 and I agree that the reaction of most male characters to her can be pretty farcical. On the other, I do like that she is having a far more active role in the story so far than in some of the previous novels. I think how I feel about it in the end will probably depend on whether her actions eventually come back to bite her or if she ‘gets away’ with manipulating people for the entire novel.
I’m also happy to see Moe taking a more central role in this book and I really really hope she gets to solve the mystery (「必ずこの謎を解いてみせる」 you go girl!)
But I don’t really approve of her methods either
Can’t pinpoint why though.
