Norwegian Wood

It’s no secret that I’m interested in Japanese entertainment, as well as the language itself, but most of my interest is limited to mysteries. I’ve only recently started watching more anime and live-action Japanese shows to improve my listening, but I still had a huge gap in my knowledge of Japanese literature in the shape

Record of a Spaceborn Few

If I had to describe Record of a Spaceborn Few in one word, I’d say polarizing. Among people I know, my brother’s roommate calls it her favorite of the books in Becky Chamber’s Wayfarers series, while my dad had the opposite opinion (but still thinks it’s good). However, Goodreads reviewers are much more negative, some

The Caretaker

I always love hearing about authors’ creative processes, especially if I get the chance to hear about them unfiltered. It’s interesting how many ways there are to construct a story. Some people need to have every detail written down first, while others (like me) stumble blindly through and somehow connect the dots at the other

The Christmas Miracle Crimes

I’ve never understood the interest in seasonal mysteries. Christmas is a time of birth and hope (or generosity and compassion in secular circles). Taking the atmosphere and shoving in a murder always felt incongruous to me, but people sure like to attempt it. However, thanks to today’s book, I can kind of see the appeal.

Winterset Hollow

Nature is scary. Have you ever really been out there? It gets dark really fast, and there’s trees everywhere, and coyotes that will eat you and forest people that will beat you up. We expect to at least understand what’s happening in cities, so many of the thrillers set there are psychological. But once you

The Devotion of Suspect X

I really like this book. I could possibly just end it there. Something about this book goes beyond mysteries and crime fiction for me. Reading it feels like being submerged in a dream-like world, yet it’s completely bounded in reality. Indeed, the characters are some of the realest I’ve encountered in a long while. I

The Night Manager

Sometimes it can be interesting to read outside of your typical wheelhouse. You might learn something about storytelling and construction, but you might also remember why you don’t step out of your comfort zone that often. With all those risks, I usually only try it when I find a random book at a little library,

The Author is Dead

I’ve been on a bit of a self-published mystery kick lately. It’s hard for me to say why. Maybe because they feel a bit more honest than traditionally published books—like I’m getting an unfiltered look at the author’s soul, with the good and the bad. Maybe it’s that they tend to be more economic with

The Files of Young Kindaichi (2022)

I love goofy adaptations of stories—things that make you think, why on earth did they bother making this? I played a Switch version of Christie’s ABC Murders in lieu of reading the book, and I suspect it improved my experience, and I discovered Hajime Kindaichi through a random Hulu show with a kickass opening cinematic,

Gray Gaynes: Gray Tones & Gray Area

Recently, more and more authors are turning to self-publishing. Whether this is effective is not a conversation I’m qualified to have, but it has opened the door to more classically-oriented (i.e. “good”) mystery novels that publishing houses tend to ignore. However, in many cases these novels are rife with editing boo-boos and questionable characterization, so