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bookswithlydscl 's review for:

The Black Swan Mystery by Tetsuya Ayukawa
3.0
adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

The Black Swan Mystery the first translated edition of the Inspector Onitsura stories. It's a locked room mystery set in the 1960s Japan and has a varied cast of characters including, of course, the intrepid Detective charged with unravelling the mystery. Despite all of these elements (that I typically love), this one didn't really click for me. I think the intricacy of the plotting and the need to introduce multiple key characters meant that the pace was generally slow and I found it a clunky read.

Despite those issues this is very Agatha Christie alike and ultimately I didn't guess the culprit or they why which is why I set it as a solid 3 star mystery and I'm sure it will hit the spot for other mystery fans, especially those who enjoy Japanese mysteries.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press | Pushkin Vertigo for this digital review copy of "The Black Swan Mystery" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.