Telling Tales

Ten years ago, 15-year-old Abigail Mantel was murdered in the small town of Elvet. Jeanie Long, Abigail’s father’s girlfriend, was arrested for the murder. But Jeanie always claimed she was innocent. After ten years in jail, Jeanie commits suicide—but evidence exonerating her is discovered shortly afterwards. Vera Stanhope is assigned to the case to figure out what went wrong in the initial investigation, but with the murder happening so long ago, how much of what Vera hears is the truth, how much is people misremembering—and how much is people telling tales so they can cope with sending an innocent woman to jail?

The First Hardship of Nagomu Ichiyanagi - The Rain-Lattice Mansion / 雨格子の館 一柳和、最初の受難

An isolated house in the rain... A series of gruesome, themed murders... And a wimpy kid who has to solve them all.

These are the elements that make up Nagomu Ichiyanagi.

Remnant: From the Ashes

Should this game have been called "Phoenix," or would that have been a bit too on-the-nose? Maybe, maybe not, since it wasn't clear what remnants or ashes had to do with anything in the game.

If Remnant: From the Ashes needed to be condensed down to one phrase, it'd be "procedurally generated shooter Souls-like," which I think does a pretty good job of covering the game's essential and unique features. I see it as a combination of two twists on the traditional Souls-like formula: the first is making it a shooter and the second is making it semi-random. These are neat ideas with decent execution, but also a few issues.

The Japanese Clock Mansion Murders / 和時計の館の殺人

Tick... tock... tick... tock...

Attorney Shunsaku Morie is a simple man. He just wants to go to his client, do his job, and go home. Nothing fancy. But when his job involves reading the will of a wealthy, eccentric hermit in the deceased's mansion filled with a collection of antique clocks, whose family includes an assortment of odd characters (including a man covered in bandages), even Shunsaku can tell where things are headed.

The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side is an absolute disappointment that utterly fails to deliver on its central promise. Even though it's clearly mentioned in the title, there isn't a single mirror in the book whatsoever! Why would you call a book something like this and then never follow through? It's They Do It with Mirrors all over again!

Besides that, this novel is pretty good.

The Body in the Library

The Body in the Library begins, shockingly enough, with a body in a library. Scandalous!

The servants at Gossington Hall in St. Mary Mead discover a body in the library one morning, sending the household into a tizzy. In the introduction of the book it felt like the story was so preoccupied with its central conceit (that there was a body in the library!) I was worried it would shirk its duty to provide a compelling mystery, but that fortunately turned out to be a misplaced fear.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas

To be honest, I find the title of Hercule Poirot's Christmas a bit strange. It features Hercule Poirot and takes place around Christmas, but it's not about Hercule Poirot's Christmas. Oh well, the fact that the mystery is decent is more important than the title Christie chose for it.

Knockin' on Locked Door / ノッキンオン・ロックドドア

Knock-knock.

Who's there?

If I just told you, it wouldn't be a very satisfying mystery.

Degrees of Separation

A boy and a girl. They're from worlds as different as can be—

No, really, they're from actual different worlds. Rime lives in a world of frigid winter, while Ember hails from a land of fiery summer, and they're separated by a magical, transparent barrier. But when they fall down the chasm separating their homes, they need to work together to figure out how to return.

The Demon-Mask Village Murders / 鬼面村の殺人

Trick is hands-down my favorite mystery TV show, and a serious contender for my favorite piece of mystery media ever. The leads are entertaining and have great chemistry, the world of Trick is silly but enthralling, the tricks—a component so important the show is named after them!—are wonderful, and the show manages to achieve a near-perfect balance of mystery and comedy. There are some points where Trick goes out on a limb which promptly snaps, but it's Trick's willingness to take things as far as it needs to, even if it doesn't always quite work out, that makes it so great.

Of course, you've probably already noticed that this post is not about Trick, but a book called The Demon-Mask Village Murders, which is not a Trick tie-in novel or anything of the sort, but has what I can only describe as big Trick energy.

Those Who Bewitch Like Evil Spirits / 厭魅の如き憑くもの

In my Village of Eight Graves review, I mentioned how one of the reasons I felt I didn't find it majorly compelling was because other works have done the "creepy rural Japanese village" thing better. Those Who Bewitch Like Evil Spirits was one particular work I had in mind. It's a book about a creepy rural Japanese village (shocking, I know) but goes all-in on that premise, blending orthodox murder mystery with Japanese horror.

The Hunting Party

As far as modern "mystery" novels go, The Hunting Party might be the most enjoyable one I've read. I think it's because the book doesn't actually focus on the crime itself, but the relationship between the various parties involved. So rather than concentrating on something that is often disappointing in modern "mysteries," it focuses on an element that Foley can apparently do well.

Hand of Fate 2

Hand of Fate 2 is a fantasy-themed deckbuilding roguelike game where everything (but you) is represented by cards. The encounters you experience on your adventure? Cards. Your weapons and equipment? Cards. The damage you take when something goes wrong? You guessed it, cards. If you've played the original Hand of Fate, Hand of Fate 2 is just like that... but more.

The game does deliver the sense of adventure and discovery that its fantasy aesthetic promises, but has some of the aggravations and annoyances of luck-based card games.