Welp, guess I got it. It really was just that moment with the badge that made me suspect a cop. Plus there weren’t really any viable suspects in the non-police character pool (which I think actually goes to show how this murder was probably more normal/reasonable, being a nondescript stabbing in a public place rather than an overly complicated murder in an isolated building with an unlikely design).
I still don’t really understand the train stuff. I kinda wish we had gotten a full time table for the relevant routes/times. Why did he have to go 3 stations past Miyoshi and then double back? And (if I was reading it right) did he really get off at Miyoshi, commit the murder, and get back on the same train?
I’m glad they had Ikeda call back Miyako on the phone, but I don’t think they ever mentioned that Ikeda called her back before… I also still don’t fully get the book disappearance point. Was the question how they got rid of the book at the train station, or just generally? Cuz the former would make sense, but they didn’t mention any mailbox at the train station or anything, but if you just need to destroy a book there are so many better ways to dispose of it than just mailing it.
Also for his whole deduction about the culprit’s job and whatnot I was just thinking to myself “or what if the killer is an unemployed guy with nothing better to do”
Anyway, I guess the moral of this book is never commit more than one crime at a time. They could’ve gotten away with the rape if Ikeda didn’t steal the stupid book. (Or vice versa, depending on your priorities.)
Also, Tomoko needs to do better. I’m just saying, if it was me, and I was having an intimate birthday dinner with my husband, and then my husband’s friend (that he’s known for, what? 2, 3 weeks?) shows up without warning, and then my husband started crying tears of joy, they’d both be kicked to the curb.
All in all I thought it was a good mystery. Quite the intricate setup, with many players and killed suspects so I was kept on my toes to keep track of them all. I thought the showdown in the end was entertaining, a bit Columbo-style, so I liked that. Although I thought our private detective was a bit too smart and perfect, but maybe that’s what this kind of series needs. Just like Columbo
I’m not 100% sure either, but either the direct train would have been there too early, or he wanted to hide that he came from Hiroshima. I guess the first one was the more important reason though.
Didn’t he get on the train that came from Hiroshima, ended at Miyoshi and then returned back to Hiroshima?
Also given that your suspicion turned out to be spot-on would you mind to blur your posts and mark them as speculation regarding the ending @BadPlayer@downtimes ? I don’t know how many other people will ever read this book, but just in case…
Anyway, my opinion: I enjoyed it, but then I already knew I liked this series in general. The author says in the afterword that he didn’t write it intending Asami to become a series character, and I think it shows. The book is more of a two-parter between Nogami and Asami than one focused on Asami, and I feel like Nogami got more screen time overall. Some of the aspects of Asami’s character that become more developed later are not really present here, but some are here already.
Regarding trains:
He gets on a train from Hiroshima that goes through and past Miyoshi, eventually getting off three stations later. At that point there’s a 3 minute window for him to get the train back towards Hiroshima. This train stops in Miyoshi for just under 20 minutes, which is when he can commit the murder and get back on the same train, eventually leaving it in Hiroshima. The idea is to mislead about where he might have come from; also you don’t want to attract attention by hanging around some station for long. This does seem to be one of those “only works in Japan” criminal plans that relies on trains being exactly on time and 3 minute changes of train being possible to make reliably…
Nope! At least now I know to complain to Bookwalker rather than Uchida…
If the train chilled at Miyoshi a bit then it seems possible to get off the train, kill Miyako, and get back on, but still seems kinda risky, cuz anyone could arrive at the overpass during the window the train is chilling at the platform! It also doesn’t seem like there wasn’t any reason he couldn’t get off at Miyoshi instead of going 3 steps further and doubling back, but I guess he figured loitering at Miyoshi station would be riskier than what he did.
I was shocked how accurate our predictions turned out to be. Together with Asamis “guesses” that basically turned out to all be on the mark, the whole “I’ll tell you what really happened” at the end didn’t feel like any kind of revelation at all
Nonetheless, I did enjoy the process of how he pinned the crime on Kiriyama. I especially highlighted the fingerprints on the sticky side of the clear tape. That one was a really nice touch for me.
I didn’t find that part too egregious. It was raining like shit and Asami turned up uninvited. Not like it was Nogamis fault in this case. Nogami had much worse behavior throughout the book if you ask me ^^. Tomoko seemed to also enjoy the company of Asami, so giving him something to eat and a pair of clean clothes, even on a birthday, doesn’t feel too out of place to me.
No, my digital Kindle edition neither had this timetable nor the very useful map from day 2 that someone posted. Digital seems truly inferior for this book.
Also, no afterword in my edition
That was totally how I felt about the book as well. It didn’t feel like Asami was the main character. It felt more like 野上s story to me.
I had the exact same uncertain feeling about that explanation as you two. Was planning on rereading that part but pm215 cleared it up. No need anymore
I do have in my notes for this chapter: “Plan wouldn’t work in Germany with how unreliable our trains are, you’d arrive way too late and wouldn’t have time to commit any murders”
General Thoughts
The book was quite good. There were some rough parts, but overall it was an enjoyable read. The book was also quite short, to be finished in 7 weeks, and didn’t feel like it dragged too long unnecessarily.
I liked Asamis slight rich playboy like character. I liked that the book had a big cast of characters. The 8 years ago crime, and how it was handled, didn’t work that well for me. Nogami had some rough edges sometimes as well. Some of the 後鳥羽 parts felt a little to elaborate for how minor a role it all plays in the book.
Roughly a 7/10?
I finally finished this, week’s late. I admit I kind of had to force myself to finish this book and when I thought I was done and then saw エピローグ I kinda groaned in annoyance
It got really obvious it was Kiriyama and I don’t like Asami much at all so sitting through his tedious showman explanation was a bit much. Unfortunately I don’t think this is my type of mystery nor a writing style I really resonate with. It was fine, but not enough for me to stomach the train tables nor the way the author writes about women
so I was kept on my toes to keep track of them all. I thought the showdown in the end was entertaining, a bit Columbo-style, so I liked that. Although I thought our private detective was a bit too smart and perfect, but maybe that’s what this kind of series needs. Just like Columbo 
.
