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Feel free to read ahead if it’s exciting, but please refrain from spoiling ahead of the appropriate week.
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Maybe I’m just looking too hard for confirmation of my pet theory that present day 紀一 is an unreliable narrator, but when 潔 asks
藤沼さん、あなたにしたって、あの事件の未解決の部分には興味がおありでしょう
the narrator text is
未解決の部分に対する興味。ーそれはもちろん、あると云わざるをえない。
which doesn’t actually say that he is interested, merely that he has to answer ‘yes’…which of course is also what you’d be obliged to say if, for instance, you were the murderer and would much rather leave this all brushed under the carpet…
島田 has a point. It is likely that the deaths are connected. If his theory is right and the murderer was in the room at the time 文江 fell, that clears half the cast on the surface, but that sounds too simple. That’s why I’m actually more suspicious of the people with an “alibi”. My theory is that while the incidents are related, the two of them weren’t killed by the same person. In the case of 文江 I think that the culprit was 正木. It might not have been premeditated. Maybe there is some secret to that room and while 正木 was investigating that 文江 stumbled upon him so he killed her to keep her silent.
For the murder of 正木, maybe it was 紀一 or 由里絵? Or even both. 紀一 at least feels like he is hiding something. Maybe he’s the culprit, maybe he just knows something we’re not supposed to know yet. And 由里絵 sounds entirely too innocent to me to not be suspicious.
Everyone here is suspicious 大石 gets too angry too easily, 三田村 keeps nervously fidgeting, and 森 is being grumpy and silent and weird when asked questions. Therefore I also think it’s 由里絵 who has so far basically avoided saying anything. I like the idea that 正木 killed 文江, but I want to think he killed her for 由里絵, and then 由里絵 killed him (or had 紀一 kill him for her) to cover the tracks? The relationship between 由里絵 and 紀一 is still puzzling, and him covering for her could make sense.
I also think this super mysterious last work is going to come into play somehow, but how I have no idea yet
Still trudging along on this one; on chapter 7, maybe a third of the way through. For whatever reason this book just never ends up on top of my priority list. Honestly it feels pretty slow so far; I’m almost seven chapters in, just under halfway through in terms of chapter count, in and not much has honestly happened. Anyone else feel that way so far? Do Big Events start happening soon?
Oh, yeah, all these timestamped chapters and careful remarking about who went where via what corridor are kind of exhausting to read because I’m absolutely not going to go to the effort to try to cross check them against a theory, but it feels like the author is setting us homework :-/
I am glad it’s not just me. 100% will I not recall any of that but I am happy for people who enjoy this kind of book where - in theory - you could possibly solve it, because all the information is there.
Yeah, you’re correct; 十角館 also took a lot longer than I would’ve liked getting into gear. I guess the biggest difference for me so far is that the “promised” mystery isn’t interesting enough for me to want to push through. With 十角館 I had a Christie-esque “locked island” setup to look forward to, but here, the promised mystery seems to be “why did a man apparently betray a friend and what happened to a painting?” Like, my mind can see the possible routes and twists and turns the author may end up taking, but it’s really tough to get there for me this time of year.
Which is all a long-winded way to say I think I’m going to put this book on break at least until January starts up, then see how I feel. I’m so far behind that I’d have to spend a good two days or so reading only this, and I just want to use my time for other things. I hope the rest continue to enjoy!
大石 gets too angry too easily, 三田村 keeps nervously fidgeting, and 森 is being grumpy and silent and weird when asked questions. Therefore I also think it’s 由里絵 who has so far basically avoided saying anything. I like the idea that 正木 killed 文江, but I want to think he killed her for 由里絵, and then 由里絵 killed him (or had 紀一 kill him for her) to cover the tracks? The relationship between 由里絵 and 紀一 is still puzzling, and him covering for her could make sense.
start happening soon?
I hope the rest continue to enjoy!
Poor Masaki