The Village of Eight Graves
Seishi Yokomizo
Translated into English for the first time the narrative is a wholly original take on The Hound of the Baskervilles and is part of Japan’s most popular murder mystery series, a set of fiendish classics featuring the Columbo-like sleuth & private investigator Kosuke Kindaichi.
Nestled deep in the mist-shrouded mountains, The Village of Eight Graves takes its name from a bloody legend: in the Sixteenth Century eight samurais, who had taken refuge there along with a secret treasure, were murdered by the inhabitants, bringing a terrible curse down upon their village.
The book is a delight, twisting and turning in Gothic wonder in your mind, the plot a writhing handful of teasing hissing threads, bringing to life place and character with deft prose and the narrative grips from the off. I really enjoyed the grip of the tension and adored the slow and relentless discovery of the awful truth by the fun detective Kindaichi, mixed in with strange and foreign cultural ideas of curse, fate, forbidden love. This rich murder mystery with a tucked in romance folded fan-like between the shade and blood, will keep you enthralled until the very last page.
Out now £8.99 to order see the publishers website here