Princess Higanbana; A Murder Mystery

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Nine people entered Princess Higanbana's castle. When the snowstorm blew over, none were left alive.

To my Dear Detective,

Follow Dante Searcher and the other eight as they work towards solving a string of gruesome crimes, uncovering the identity of the Higanbana Princess and towards the true culprit behind the crime, all while contending with seemingly impossible murders and a growing divide between Dante and their secret detective.

Enjoy this detective-fiction tailor-made for you—a case so meticulously made, even the police can't confirm that the events were nothing more than fiction.

Your truly,

Your Culprit.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2023
Author: Nordsummer Rose

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 16
Views: 7,362

Chapters(14 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(4)

AustimizedRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
For fans of murder mysteries AND fantasy, you're in for a rare treat.
While at first seeming to take place in a typical fantasy world with travellers coming to a remote location for the murder(s) to take place, we gradually learn we are indeed in an alternate world, but one progressed to the modern age complete with guns, the Internet, and fanbois.
As for the mystery itself, what begins as a relatively simple mystery: who killed X, why, and how? Things quickly escalate as more of the guests begin to turn up dead in mysterious and seemingly-impossible ways. As the guests argue and blame each other, several groups form to resolve the murders, each certain another of the groups has done it.
Then, when the story seems to be finished, it twists to a second phase: jumping ahead in time as fanbois debating the mystery on Internet forums come into contact with the woman who supposedly told it in the first place. This leads to a second mystery: is the story real? Did it happen the way it was described? Who is this author exactly and why did she write it?
All in all, a well-written mystery with a wide array of varied characters replete with histories and motivations, then with the bonus twist of the after story. I haven't finished it yet, but looking forward to jumping back in after finishing this review and seeing where it all leads!
DustGravityRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I will not get into the nitty gritty details of the review and provide a more generalized review of sorts. After all, you are reading a murder mystery. My only job is to prove clues eh!
Style Score: The first Chapters which follow Dante Searcher are classic Agatha Christie esque chapters. The pacing is tight and descriptive overtones are done best. My only complain is the first chapter. It is simply not done well. It doesn't hook you in nor is it very long. It is more like a blurb but perhaps that was the intention if the author. Even so, people are going to back out of the story if the first chapter itself is like that. Editing will help
Story Score: The Story has a satisfying end. It explores themes too, what could be the truth, what is the truth. Honestly, I was expecting only a single story to pan out but the author has written two stories disguised as one. One of them is ofcourse about the murder in the castle. The other I will let you read for yourself
Grammar Score: There are very minir mistakes in the first two or three chapters. I did not notice anything in the rest.
Character Score: Each character stands out on their own, memorable and could have performed the murder. The aspect of sin that has been bestowed on them is also a classic touch
This story is absolutely worth your time. I am be biased because I love murder mysteries such as these but it us really good. It kept me hooked till the very end. I finished it with in two hours too
GoldfetherRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
A complex murder mystery, set up as a sort of meta-story about a community (a fanbase, really) attempting to solve it with the clues provided.
Style & Grammar: The story is well-written, without any major problems, and the murder scenes in particular have very strong descriptions. The large cast (especially near the beginning) and dialogue mean it could probably be tightened up a bit, but it doesn't hamper reading too much.
Story: It's clear that a lot of thought went into putting the story together and figuring out all the details. A couple times things were confusing or unclear, but I could trust that the story would explain it, and the story capitalized on that trust. The first chapter lays out what the promise of the story is, the explanation of the mystery we as readers are due by the end, and delivers on it.
Character: The characters, especially in the murder mystery, were interesting and varied—but I thought the how of the mystery was valued over the why (the opportunity over the motive), and character motivations suffered a little as a result.
(Assigning each of the characters to Dante's Nine Circles was a neat twist, although it still didn't address the specific motivations of Wright and Howell, especially, as much as I might have liked.)
Overall a fun story to read, though, with a satisfying ending!
Requiem07Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
It was an interesting read as it has several narrations of the main events. Suspenseful and bone-chilling descriptions will make you look forward to the next chapter (no matter how dreadful the events may lead). I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of characters and found myself rooting for some of them~