Deborah

Almost unbelievable, but it happened

Reviewed: 05-12-24

I thought 18 hours might be too long but I listened to it twice! After watching the Mr. Bates vs Post office series, I wanted to hear more about each individual. These loyal employees were pillars of their communities until they were gaslit and brought to ruin by their own government. The slow reclamation of their freedom and good reputations is small consolation for the crimes perpetrated against them. A cautionary tale. I don’t think this would happen in the US, as we are naturally distrustful of government, and very litigious, but who knows. If it weren’t for such a large group of people affected, the story may never have come to light.

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Unique and imaginative

Reviewed: 02-04-24

Set on an island in Japan shortly after WWII. Fascinating setting and characters. Due to the large cast of characters, was a little hard to follow in audio format. Narration was very annoying- especially of the main character who was portrayed with a stammer. Resolution was extremely satisfying- surprising, yet believable within the confines of a “locked room” island mystery.

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1 person found this helpful

Loved it

Reviewed: 06-25-23

Works on so many levels-sympathetic hero, good detective story, important social context, realistic dialogue

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2 people found this helpful

Great discovery

Reviewed: 05-22-22

Recently discovered this series and I've listened to the first 9 books already. Now I have to pace myself, because I don't want to finish the series! Hard to find a mystery written in the past few decades which doesn't follow the typical murder mystery formula, and the misogynistic violence is a real turn off for me. Brandstetter is a welcome change of pace. As a gay man in the 60s-70s, he is immediately interesting and sympathetic, and the dialogue is crackling and original, There are no misunderstood women in his life- even the female characters have depth. The characters, settings, and story lines ae unlike any I've read before and immediately drew me in. And I love the 5 1/2 hour listening time! The story moves along quickly and I can finish in one weekend instead of stretching it out over several weeks when I can't remember the characters and plot lines after setting it aside for a week. The narrator is fantastic too- each character has his/her own voice and the women don't sound like bimbos. My only complaint (minor) is that the endings are wrapped up a little too quickly and I've had to stretch my brain to figure out how it all fits together, which isn't a bad thing. i wish there were many more in the Brandstetter series!

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Too violent for me

Reviewed: 09-11-21

I listened to this title after Moon Lake, which I loved, and wanted to explore more of the artist's work. He is indeed a great storyteller and brings interesting characters to life, but the violence and cruelty were just too much. I guess that was the point, but I had trouble making it through.

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1 person found this helpful

Captivating

Reviewed: 08-23-21

I used to live in Japan and rode the Shinkansen from Ueno to Morioka quite regularly, so was intrigued when this book was recommended on NPR. I usually don't like thrillers, but I listened to Bullet Train almost non-stop for 13 1/2 hours. Very dark psychological thriller. Even the unlikeable characters were fascinating and I was totally invested in the outcome. Narrative is very clever with an almost Rashamon telling of interconnected story lines described very differently by multiple characters. Author does well to tie up all the loose ends. Avoids some of the cliches of the genre. The character named "Prince" is straight from Machievelli. There is much food for thought about the psychology of violence, evil, need for power and control, and why good people can do evil things. So many memorable scenes and inner dialogue which won't fit into a feature length film- a series would be better.

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5 people found this helpful

Waste of time

Reviewed: 09-20-20

I did not find the characterization of PTSD to be convincing; therefore, the plot was built on shaky grounds. The identification of the villian was easy to spot early on. Not sure how it got such great reviews.

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1 person found this helpful

Unlikeable characters

Reviewed: 09-20-20

This book failed the test of having characters you would want to spend time with. The lead character was complicated and flawed, but showed neither charm nor insight. The mystery was somewhat interesting but the conclusion was forecast early on, and the resolution was unconvincing. Some loose ends left in limbo.

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Perfect in all respects

Reviewed: 06-14-20

So glad I discovered Adrian McKinty- I've been going through his books very quickly. I could spend all day with Sean Duffy- smart, funny, interesting. The mystery was intriguing and the resolution satisfying- all the characters remained true to their nature. The social context was also fascinating- might want to look up IRA and Sinn Fein to get a picture of the politics and locations if you have forgotten or never learned that history..

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1 person found this helpful

6 stars!

Reviewed: 06-09-20

Murder mysteries are my guilty pleasure, but this was satisfying on so many levels. Most importantly, I could spend 10 hours with Sean Duffy every day! A smart and funny protagonist is a true gift- the narrator did an excellent job. Touched on important social-cultural issues in unexpected ways. I found this title on the Edgar Alan Poe winners' list, and I will be going back to look for more!

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