FINAL WEEK 🦎 黒蜥蜴 🖤

Japanese Reading Book Clubs
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Welcome to the final week of 黒蜥蜴！:lizard: :black_heart:

Home thread for announcements, wiki, etc

We are following the below schedule (page counts may vary based on your medium):

Week Up to Approximate Pages Approx. Percent
Week 1 - June 9 Read through ホテルの客 25 13%
Week 2 - June 16 Read through 暗闇の騎士 34 27%
Week 3 - June 23 Read through 怪老人 32 41%
Week 4 - June 30 Read through 塔上の黒蜥蜴 40 58%
Week 5 - July 7 Read through 水葬礼 35 73%
Week 6 - July 14 Read through 人形異変 31 86%
Week 7 - July 21 Read through うごめく黒蜥蜴 (end) 32 100%

I will generally copy this information over thread to thread each week for ease of finding - you can always expect the schedule at the top of any weekly thread :slight_smile:

:policeman: Law and Order :policewoman:

  • Any reveals, for the current chapters must be behind spoilers or detail curtains. When we get further in you don’t need to hide details that were revealed in previous chapters.
  • Questions on vocab, grammar, nuance, and the like are both welcome and encouraged. If you’re not sure if it’s a spoiler, assume it is and use one of the above options to hide the text.
  • You are encouraged to speculate and guess wildly
  • Be kind about other peoples’ wild guesses :sparkling_heart:
  • Even if you don’t read the chapter(s) in time, you are still encouraged to post in the thread for that reading once you have finished it. I advise not reading ahead in the threads as you may see spoilers.

To gauge participation - a poll!

Are you reading week ７ of 黒蜥蜴?

  • Yes, I’m planning to read along/am reading along this week
  • I’m reading, but not at the same pace as the club
  • I’m just following the discussion :popcorn:
0 voters

Happy sleuthing! :male_detective:

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I’m really sad to have to say good bye to this book and to 明智 and our lady thief. I really enjoyed it, and it stayed strong until the end, when quite a lot of thrillers suffer from disappointing reveals. I didn’t like the pulpy very end, but I guess that’s what people expected then.

Really, really glad we read this as a book club !

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I am sooooo late to finish this despite loving it so much! I’ve been both busy and in a bit of reading slump, but I dragged myself kicking and screaming to read tonight and…it wasn’t hard at all to finish once I started! Oh, 江戸川乱歩, I love your writing :heart_eyes:

Not gonna lie though, when she asked for a kiss at the end I was like, “is there poison on her lips? Is she trying for a last minute tie?!” :rofl:

Likewise delighted to have read it with you all!

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Hahaha my thoughts exactly! :rofl: But it seems he went for the safe route and only kissed her on the forehead.

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You took the words out of my mouth.
But I finally made it! And what a ride. This really feels like it hit all the bases of a good Ranpo story.

So the 早苗 double was Akechi’s doing after all… As things continued, I gradually became convinced it was. Though I still feel bad for her, and wonder if Akechi really expected her to go through so much when he recruited her.
Akechi disguising as 潤一 was a neat idea too, since he’s already wearing a heavy disguise at all times. And someone else being inside the chair was genius… I had considered that Akechi could be hiding elsewhere, but then I couldn’t figure out how he made the chair move like he was really inside it. I do feel like this story oversells the ability of a 猿轡 to silence someone though… I have no experience, but I feel like even a significant one would still allow the person to make enough vocalization to be heard from that closeby.

I thought the same about the poison on her lips too. I think the uncanny mood shift of the ending left me searching for some final twist, which never came. If that was an intentional choice I think it’s brilliant, and so I choose to believe it was :laughing:

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I bet he knew but also knew she didn’t have much choice? And was sure he’d get her out. She also got a happy ending at least, seems she got on well with the other captive!

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