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A Japanese Thriller: Kanae Minato’s Penance

2 Oct

The death of a child is always tragic, even more so if the child is murdered and their killer remains free for fifteen years with no clue as to who the killer might be and the only witnesses to the crime all claim that they can’t remember his face. In Kanae Minato’s Penance, these are the circumstances that befall four young girls when one of their friends is brutally murdered and her mother vows vengeance against the girls unless the killer is caught before the statute of limitations is up. 

Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the characters, Sae, Maki, Akiko, and Yuko and what each of them did the day of the murder and what life for each of them was like going forward. 

The connecting threads between the four and the murder of their friend all connect to each other in unique ways, each one of them having to face an aftermath for what happened the night of their friend’s murder. 

Minato’s prose are gripping, giving each character a unique voice while still keeping the mystery going as to who the killer could possibly be, with each character providing a unique clue until the final chapter with the girl’s mother, where all the puzzle pieces fit together and we are left with an ending that is both ambiguous and satisfying at the same time. It’s easy to see why Minato’s considered to be one of Japan’s most influential thriller and mystery novelists today. 

Penance is an excellent read that many mystery readers will enjoy and a great introduction to Kanae Minato’s work. 

Written by:
Lauren Lapinski
Library Assistant

A Mystery filled with 90’s Nostalgia: Home is Where the Bodies Are

14 Aug

Death can bring out many things. It is something we all know is coming but something that affects us once a loved one is gone. Sometimes it’s over what’s been left behind to loved ones, other times it’s the memories of them, but in some cases, the things brought out are much darker than anyone could anticipate.

Jeneva Rose’s Home Is Where the Bodies Are tells us the story of Beth, Nicole, and Michael, three estranged siblings who reunite after the death of their mother. Beth, who was with her mother when she passed, is left a strange and cryptic message she doesn’t know how to make sense of. The three siblings are left with a handful of items, including a set of VHS tapes that reveals a horrifying connection between their family and an unsolved murder that will have a ripple effect on them all. 

There’s lots of nostalgia for the ‘90s kids out there, references to cd players and slang that might make some people cringe to remember, but also adds to the time period of the book as well. One flaw that the novel does suffer from is the slow pacing, the urgency of the mystery almost not as important as their own individual personal dramas clashing together. While these personal dramas are important to character development and can often lend themselves to the plot, in this case, it doesn’t work out so well. You’ll get one or two paragraphs of a character looking through old journals or watching old tapes to see if they can find anything more regarding the mystery, but then the rest of the chapter will go on about something more mundane and not relating to the plot at all. 

Nicole and Michael are two of the more interesting characters in the book, their struggles and points of view the most compelling to read about through the book and the two characters who actually seem like they want to solve the mystery connected to their family. Beth, while seeming determined to solve the mystery, spends most of her chapters trying to impress an old highschool sweetheart who is connected to the murder. While she debates on telling him what she learned, she more often than not, spends more time lamenting on what could have been with him and hoping to win him back rather than what she can do to possibly solve the mystery and potentially bring him closure. When she’s not doing that, she spends much of her other chapters being judgemental, which may or may not be part of her character flaw. 

The final twist is one that some may find refreshing and doesn’t fall into the now popular trope of “the love interest is the killer”. There are clues that hint at who the killer is, but they are subtle enough not to be too obvious and even if you’re just following the story along, it still comes as quite a surprise. Overall, this is a good read for anyone new to mystery novels and for anyone seeking a nostalgia trip back to the ‘90s.

Written by:
Lauren Lapinski
Information and Digital Services Assistant

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