Reviews

Die Aosawa-Morde by Riku Onda

foxglove_honey's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

johenderson's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Odd vibes really not what I expected 

aliireads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The book is interesting . It’s kind of hard to follow the format bc it’s interview style w/o questions, but once you get the flow it is better. The ending is kind of unsatisfying. The book has some spooky surprising parts. I would not recommend 

the_sunken_library's review against another edition

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2.0

Utterly frustrating with an overly ambiguous ending.

It's made clear from the get go who the mastermind of the mass murders is and each page pushed me further into frustration.

The story is pieced together from interviews, excerpts and flashbacks which I throughly enjoyed. But so many of the characters seemed uninterested in the mystery they were entangled in. They all seemed to have come the same agreement - that the enigmatic, beautiful, goddess like survivor of a mass poisoning was involved but either were uninterested in proving it or accepted that such a feat was impossible. Makes you wonder why a book was written about it and then another journalist subsequently investigated it. Nobody seemed to want to punish Hisako, just get her to admit her guilt, to be an "observer" that saw the real her - not the author, not the journalist and not the detectives.

Utter madness.

I get that some mysteries can never be truly solved and the reality is, often people get away with things and the truth is never revealed to a satisfactory level. However, that's not what I want in a book that's billed as a murder mystery.

So many aspects of this story were never explained and made no sense. Too many. I rushed at the end thinking something, anything!, would finally be revealed but no. It ends on yet another mystery. I don't mind an ambiguous ending. But so many loose ends - it feels lazy to me. Perhaps it's deliberate. Giving a stage to small facts to make them feel significant when really they aren't. We always expect the small details to reveal the bigger picture and here they don't. They hint, they suggest but never explain fully.

There is a moment near the end, where its suggested Hisako is innocent - or more innocent that initially suggested - and that its just the human need/desire for a cunning, wicked protagonist with well made, easy to follow plans to have done something so heinous. In order for the public, the audience, to accept what has happened.

Perhaps that's what this book is really about. A human desire to complicate and explain things when actually, the truth is usually murky and inexplicable and hardly ever revealed to its fullest extent. Perhaps. Still, if it is, it's still not for me.

thetruthatallhazards's review against another edition

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Interesting concept but a little slow-paced for me. Might try it again another time.

nnendi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

remigves's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

juliana2's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

ryder_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sare1125's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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