I really like Yamada's writing style. I wish I could read it in the native Japanese (one day). Enjoyed this installation!

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 — with titles. In a way, it reads like a collection of very short stories about some murders in the area that follow each other in that moment in time. They don’t blend in a typical mystery thriller way. It was an intriguing manner to tell the story. It was not the standard mystery thriller and I found that to be engaging. The ending has a little twist that I wasn’t expecting and it was quite thrilling. Even though I did not particularly connect with the characters, I appreciated this novel.