A New Sensory Experience Mystery! "Ikenai" (Must Not) Review Without Spoilers
Hello.
I'm Kenichi, a writer and life coach.
In this article, I will be introducing a book I read.
This time, it's this one!
It is the suspense novel "Ikenai" by Shusuke Michio.
Speaking of Shusuke Michio, his second debut work, "The Summer of the Ubume" (Himawari no Sakanai Natsu), was a million-seller.
He is a talented mystery and detective novelist who has won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award and the Naoki Prize for many other works such as "Shadow," "The Crow's Thumb," and "Moon and Crab."
I love his work too, and I am always surprised and excited by Shusuke Michio's unreliable narration and misdirection. m(_ _)m
This work is also packed with unreliable narration scattered throughout, and I couldn't stop being excited by the new experiential gimmick where you can understand (deduce) the truth through a single photograph at the end of each chapter!
It is highly recommended, so I will write a review without spoilers.
Synopsis without spoilers
You must not be deceived. But you will definitely be deceived, too.
A shocking mystery that returns to the origin of "The Summer of the Ubume" while significantly updating the level of astonishment and perfection!
Chapter 1: "You Must Not Look at the Bow-Throwing Cliff"
A traffic accident that occurred in a tunnel near a famous suicide spot leads to a chain of murders.
Chapter 2: "You Must Not Listen to That Story"
Is the murder scene witnessed by a boy with no friends real? Or fake?
Chapter 3: "You Must Not Notice the Mystery of the Painting"
A female executive of a religious group is found dead. A senior detective guides his junior as they proceed with the investigation, but...
In every chapter, there is a trick where the story completely transforms when you turn the last page...!
A superb technique where the "true truth" hidden in the story emerges when you re-read it after the last page.
Furthermore, when you finish reading the final chapter, "You Must Not Believe in the Peace of the City," a grand gimmick awaits where all the stories so far intertwine, leading you to an even greater "truth."
An experiential mystery novel that will definitely make you want to discuss it once you finish reading, asking, "Did you figure this part out!?"
You must not read it absent-mindedly
This book is an experiential mystery where you can participate in the deduction yourself.
Each chapter is an independent short story, and an incident occurs.
The clues needed to deduce the answer to that incident are presented as a single photograph at the end of each chapter.
If you are absent-minded, you will miss the clues you worked so hard to get, thinking, "Huh? What does this photo mean?" That's what happened to me. lol
What is the meaning of this photo?
Where is the hint?
It is a work that you can enjoy even more by deducing these things.
That said, the message hidden in the photo is relatively simple and easy to solve.
If you don't read it absent-mindedly like I did, you can become a detective too! lol
The unreliable narration is the best!
Unreliable narration is a trick that misleads the reader by devising the expression of the text or using ambiguous descriptions that could be taken either way. It is a trick that uses the reader's preconceptions and assumptions to deceive them.
Man, I was totally tricked (lol).
Oh, so it was that person who did this here! Or, that clue over there was actually about this! There were so many misdirections set up, and for someone like me who loves being deceived, it was the best.
If you enjoy works where you can experience narrative tricks, such as Yukito Ayatsuji's "The Decagon House Murders" or Masaki Shuno's "The Scissors Man," you should definitely give this a read!
Summary
・An experiential mystery where you look at photos and solve the case yourself
・Get swept up in narrative tricks!
・You won't be able to stop turning the pages because you'll be so curious about what happens next!
That is the kind of book it was.
If you like mysteries and suspense, please be sure to check it out.