Contemporary Japanese legend Yasuhiko Nishizawa makes his English-language debut with this slick, funny murder mystery which adds a sci-fi twist to an age-old setup: a murder in a wealthy family with an inheritance at stake.
Hisataro, a young member of the wealthy Fuchigami family, has a mysterious ability. Every now and then, against his will, he falls into a time-loop in which he is obliged to re-live the same day a total of 9 times. Little does he know how useful this ability will be, until one day, his grandfather mysteriously dies...
As he returns to the day of the murder time and again, Hisataro begins to unravel its secrets. With a sizeable inheritance up for grabs, motives abound, and everyone is a suspect. Can Hisataro solve the mystery of his grandfather’s death before his powers run out?
Written in a witty, lighthearted voice, this clever and playful book will appeal to fans of both traditional murder mysteries as well as readers of cozy mysteries. It's a delightful treat for fans of the intricate plotting of Agatha Christie, the gentle humor of Richard Osman, and audacious inventiveness of Stuart Turton.
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"The Man Who Died" is very akin to the "The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - a bit of sci-fi time travelling similar to "Groundhog Day".
Mixed feelings. I really wanted to love this and read it through to the end, but was rather bored to be honest. Unlike "Evelyn Hardcastle", the narrator in this one relives each "time" in his own body - so we don't get the different points of view of the events. The "time loops" are an opportunity or mechanism in this instance, for the narrator to interrogate / investigate each individual suspect and to ultimately solve the mystery.
However, just not engaged with this one unfortunately though others will devour this with eagerness.
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