It's wedding time in a feudal village in Japan. The elder son of the prominent family is getting married, fighting against the instincts and prejudices of his family. There are sightings of a mysterious 3 fingered tramp in the village and then - Murder ! Not just any murder but a locked room murder.
Ring in the private investigator Kosuke Kindaichi - a Japanese Sherlock Holmes. The Honjin Murders is a Japanese classic, first written in 1948 and recently translated into English. This is the first in the series of books with Kindaichi as the protagonist.
I think after a first 10 odd books the mystery and the solution to the mystery becomes secondary in the enjoyment of the book , its more about the narration and quirks of the investigator and if that can hold the reader. This is where Agatha Christie scores specially with Poirot. On that count this first book is pretty OK as there is the novelty about 1940's Japan. The boyish Kindaichi makes a rather late entrance into the story. He is less flamboyant than a Sherlock Holmes and not old enough to accumulate the conceit or charm of Poirot.
All in all a decent vacation read , but not enough to tempt me to immediately go for more in the series.
