I picked this up as an ARC on NetGalley because of the awesome cover and I have always been interested in translated works. This one did not disappoint. Death on Gokumon Island was a murder mystery that had me guessing up until the very end and even the very ending was still a shock. I am glad I picked this because it introduced me to Seishi Yokomizo, a beautiful writer and storyteller.

The story itself is very interesting and quite unique because of how it was told from the point of view as a 'watcher' and not a main character. The main character, Kosuke Kindaiche, was portrayed as a nervous and flustered detective who is tasked with solving murders on an isolated island. However, the supporting characters themselves felt very one dimensional and I felt myself getting confused with who was being portrayed. This could be due to the true meaning being lost in translation, so I don’t fault how the story was provided for me.

The writing style of this novel was beautiful and I thought the translator did a really great job with portraying all of the minute details of each scene. The writing flows well and the scenes that were created were so detailed, I felt as if I were watching it as a film.

Overall, I thought this was a great read and I can’t wait to read more from this author.