The first pages of the book include a beautiful, descriptive map of the island and a full list of members of the families and other supporting players. In the prologue, this is used as a way to explain why it is so difficult for an outsider to solve a crime on the island: the islanders are fiercely protective of their own. Also, I'm a huge fan of the manga series Young Kindaichi which was inspired by the book series by Seishi Yokomizo here. And it took a really long time (I listened to the Audible version, which is well done) for Kosuke to explain it all. In 2022 she translated the international bestseller The Cat Who Saved Books, and in 2023 Hideo Yokoyama's The North Light.

Although I was right to suspect that *one* character, the motive and the motivation for the killings did boggle my mind.In addition to certain standard Google cookies, reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis. Chimata, with his dying breath, urged Kosuke to visit the island himself and told him that his three sisters are now in mortal danger. We have soldiers being demobbed, families listening to the radio each evening, keenly awaiting repatriation news, people finding themselves not having progressed in their work (like Kindaichi’s old friend Inspector Isokawa who remains an Inspector), remains of airbases and wartime infrastructure, now fallen into disuse, and underwater mines still going off from time to time. These novels and films give contemporary audiences a sense of the darker mood that had dispersed into the American psyche during the Depression (and eventually the postwar era). Nhưng điều còn khiến mình bất ngờ hơn (hay là uất ức hơn), chính là nguyên do dẫn đến các vụ án mạng này.

The scruffy detective is determined to get to the bottom of this mysterious prophecy, and to protect the three women if he can. If fans of Agatha Christie haven't yet discovered Seishi Yokomizo, they have a treat waiting for them. But when you reach the all-important scene in a whodunnit where the detective reveals all and afterwards you still have absolutely no idea why the crime happened, something is wrong. There are lots of Japanese references such as traditional classic stage plays, haiku poetry, and significant myth or legend that act as puzzles in the crimes committed.Plus, it's part of the fans' in-joke that Hell Gate Isle is one of the perfect examples of how the great Detective Kindaichi could *only* manage to solve the cases *after* every single victim got killed. As a classic crime novel, it has all the necessary ingredients, but there was something about the way they were blended together which left me cold which was a shame as I had previously enjoyed The Inugami Curse and had hoped for more of the same. The crime heinous, smart and technical, but what makes Yokomizo works interesting is the subject matter of each parts that the book was written at its period of time, integrating with the culture and the honour of each families that is instilled as well.

While Chimata-san belonged to the main Kito family, there is also a branch family with which the main family have been at odds, and which stands to gain by any death in the main family. Kindaichi perceives them as gorgons, not least because ‘they’d been more concerned with their hairstyles […] than by their own brother’s death. I don’t think I had any preconceptions of what these sisters would be like, yet I was actually quite surprised by how unpleasant they were. El misterio tal vez no sea tan sorprendente o descabellado (según la opinión que cada uno tenga) como lo que Agatha Christie acostumbraba a escribir, pero el ritmo es rápido y hay una tensión creciente a medida que aumentan los cadaveres.Mostly, we got in-depth thought from Kindaichi but also other supporting characters were given their thoughts and views which makes it interesting to see from a different point of view. The Publisher Says: Kosuke Kindaichi arrives on the remote Gokumon Island bearing tragic news—the son of one of the island’s most important families has died, on a troop transport ship bringing him back home after the Second World War. There were what seemed like clues (and which were those, but differently than I interpreted), and at one point past the 60 per cent mark, I was sure I’d picked up a strong hint and worked out the solution, but boy, was I wrong. Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo, first published in 1971 is the fourth of Yokomizo’s mysteries to be published in translation by Pushkin Press under their Pushkin Vertigo imprint, from the series featuring his detective Kindaichi Kosuke, which has 77 books.

Anyway, this is why I say I'm probably done with this series, because this book is widely regarded as one of the author's best. The family we met in this book are some of the interesting characters yet they were not completely fleshed out which kind of disappointed me a bit because I would love to know them more especially Sanae, however for the book, I kind of understand why. The writing style was rather description heavy for periods, which is a drawback for me and the sleuth, Kindaichi, was quite frustrating in his reluctance to tell people about his mission (even when the bodies kept dropping).there's a sort of "well, they were just women, after all" lackadaisicalness to the proceedings that truly got up my nose. And after two of them are murdered, keeping a close eye on the remaining one instead of letting her fuck around and do whatever she wants while you focus on talking to all the men in the book including "the lunatic" and ignore the primary reason you are there?