Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R

Interesting theory. I haven't read the ending myself, so I don't know if you're right. What do you think the motive is?

Kindaichi killers seem to be motivated by revenge a lot. (A lot. In the ones translated by Tokyopop a while ago, there were with revenge motives out of 16.) Even if isn't the killer, chances are pretty good that whoever is doing it has some particular victim or victims in mind who wronged them in some way (or were perceived to do so — some of those stories with revenge motives ended with Kindaichi revealing to the killer that actually the victim was innocent, just to add some cheap drama at the last minute). The first victim is young, so it's possible the revenge is against the family or something, not the victim personally. But we haven't had enough backstory yet; I'm sure we'll hear more about the village which was killed. Maybe the legend is a hoax which was deliberately created by the ultimate-target-of-revenge to cover up some sort of less-lethal crime; they've done that kind of thing before.

The other motives in those 16 books (plus the others I've read) were all either "I have a loved one who will die if they don't get cash soon so I'd better kill everyone who stands in the way of (inheritance or contest prize)" or "I am being blackmailed and must kill the blackmailer, whoops someone saw me do it better kill them too, oh no someone saw me do that one I guess I have no choice but to kill again, oh darn not again".

(Does anyone else find it creepy, by the way, that in the series translated by Tokyopop, ? (And it was blatantly because was too useful as a plot device. You can just imagine them talking in the studio: )

Okay, based on having read a bunch of these mysteries in the past, here's my guess:

Spoiler

The secretary is the killer. He doctored the maps so that the first victim went to a different cottage — probably also did something to the signage — and had already rewired the intercom so that button 2 called a different cottage. When the chef left him alone in part 2, he went and undid the intercom rewiring and restored the signs.

The chef will turn out to have come from the village, and will be suspected of being the killer, but that's just a red herring. If a mutilated corpse shows up and he disappears and is blamed, then you know he is actually the corpse; otherwise, he'll either be an explicit victim after he becomes a suspect, or else it will end with Kindaichi clearing him of suspicion.

The whiny other older guy who's always annoyed will either survive to the end or discover the killer's identity and become a victim.

 

Interesting theory. I haven't read the ending myself, so I don't know if you're right. What do you think the motive is?

Okay, based on having read a bunch of these mysteries in the past, here's my guess:

So Kumosawa fell prey to the 'Snow Goblin', eh? I don't think that's the case. Maybe one of the resort guests is behind all this...

Hmm, this is ... interesting! Followed.

 

Thanks, look forward to more!

Hmm, this is ... interesting! Followed.

Our lovable pervert detective is here!