The Village of Eight Graves

By: Seishi Yokomizo, Bryan Karetnyk

Narrated by: Akira Matsumoto

Nestled deep in the mist-shrouded mountains, The Village of Eight Graves takes its name from a bloody legend. In the 16th century eight samurais, who had taken refuge there along with a secret treasure, were murdered by the inhabitants, bringing a terrible curse down upon their village.

Centuries later a mysterious young man named Tatsuya arrives in town, bringing a spate of deadly poisonings in his wake. The inimitably scruffy and brilliant Kosuke Kindaichi investigates.

©1971 Seishi YOKOMIZO. English translation Bryan Karetnyk 2021 (P)2021 Bolinda Publishing

Creative and compelling!

An interesting blend of traditional Eastern mystery styles and western! With a look at real historical events and a unique mystery that ties in to a larger tale.

Best so far

I have read a few of detective kendachi books but this one has been the best so far. It’s told from a different perspective that is not the detective himself which I usually enjoy but I was pleasantly surprised by this other point of view in the developing story. Thoroughly good plot with plenty of complications which build up suspense and complexity. I really recommend it.

Great story, but the narrator…

Yokomizo’s books have all been great so far, and this one was excellent aswell, except the narrator really made me frustrated listening as certain points. All of the characters except for the main sounded like grumpy old women. Even Detective Kindaichi was portrayed with a raspy whisper that made it not only difficult to follow, but did not capture the characters essence at all. I seriously doubt the narrator took into account the backstory of kindaichi that was elaborated upon in the Honjin Murders. Other than that, good book. The Honjin Murders and Inugami Clan books were a lot better though, the format was much different, and the perspective of more than one character was used, which I found more interesting. But a must read for Japanese Detective Novel fans none the less

Thoroughly Enjoyable Classical Suspense.

Every consumer of mystery novels will love the tales of Detective Kindachi. I'm loving this original series, and this third book was as enjoyable as the previous two. I'm looking forward to the fourth book!

Different in a great way

I had promised myself (wife) that I would lay off buying audible credits and use the library. This worked well until the first book in the series. Since these are not in the library and I simply had to continue the series ……
My difficulties which are not negative nor diminish my enjoyment is the time it takes to get the names and the characters straight . However the narrators voice helps with this . One reviewer mentioned his raspy voice for the main character. That helped me keep the characters straight as the Japanese names are hard for me to distinguish at first.
Great series for me.