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Review of the Japanese Mystery Novel "The Hyperbola of Murder"

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Since it was written in 1971 and set in that era, I felt it would be difficult to apply to modern times when major streets are lined with CCTV and vehicle dashcams.
One of the identical twins plays the role of the perpetrator, while the other acts as an accomplice based on the circumstances. However, because it is impossible to be certain which one is the actual culprit, the plot becomes somewhat contrived; even if we set aside the issue of prosecution, the police's incompetence was distracting—they only engaged in obvious Q&A during voluntary accompaniment and interrogation, only to hurriedly release the twins after they made claims about human rights violations.
Furthermore, even when a survivor was confirmed, the unrealistic progression of victims' families and reporters entering the serial murder scene before the police was also uncomfortable to watch...
On one hand, I was surprised and wondered if it was possible in 1970s Japan to claim human rights violations during police investigations and receive compensation, much like in modern-day Korea.
Because of the "Made in Korea" content that frequently appears on my Shorts lately, I couldn't help but compare it to the situation, thinking that those Japanese twin suspects wouldn't have held their heads so high talking about human rights; faced with the "spicy" intensity of the Korean police back then, they probably would have confessed to every innocent-looking crime immediately after being taken to the station for voluntary accompaniment.
Anyway, those are the points regarding the era and the drawbacks, but the work itself was gripping, with interesting crime tricks, slight narrative tricks, and an intriguing conclusion.
In my subjective evaluation,
It was much better than some of the low-quality failures by my favorite, Agatha Christie. While I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, I think it deserves at least 3 out of 5 stars, as it didn't feel like a failure.
Ah, regarding the trick involving identical twins, I mentioned it without considering it a spoiler because the author explicitly mentions Knox's Ten Commandments at the beginning of the novel to ensure a fair duel with the reader.

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