The Right Way to Use a Trick: The Landon Case Files

On a leisurely afternoon, I encountered this book. I often browse mystery novels because there are many works that, while not widely popular, are full of surprises once you open them. In my opinion, this book is quite interesting. I won't spoil the specific content, but I'd like to share my personal impressions. This book uses many short sentences in its narrative, rarely featuring long paragraphs. Also, there's relatively little descriptive writing, and the pacing is quite fast, which is a boon for a lazy reader like me who prefers to skim. At first, I thought it would follow the usual formula: a murder occurs, the protagonist appears, acts impressive, deduces the truth, and finds the culprit. But...

*Language and History of the Land of the Strange* was the second mystery novel I read on SF (the first being *Tils* by a certain pigeon). Compared to the first book, this one was undoubtedly more to my liking, both in terms of character development and plot. Here, I'll offer a short review of the title and the first volume (similar to a book review). I originally intended to write it all at once, but it seems a bit long. First, the title, *The Correct Way to Use Tricks: Language and History of the Land of the Strange*, immediately raises questions: What is a trick? What is the correct way to use a trick? It creates an urge to click and find out. ...

The title is quite long, typical of light novels, suggesting the author is planning a series. The story begins from the perspective of a girl named Iris (presumably the female lead). The protagonist's appearance is quite unique; unlike other novels that focus on how handsome or dashing the protagonist is, the emphasis is on her eyes, conveying a sense of danger – a pleasant surprise. In the first volume, the protagonist is largely absent, yet all events and topics revolve around her. Her presence is felt before her actual appearance, creating an air of mystery…

My grandfather, Geed, was a person who loved mystery and had read countless books, but no mystery novel could stay in his memory for more than a week until he read "Rangton's Ghost Stories". He was a kind old man who always told us, "It will get better, Curry Cat will get better," and we always believed that he would get better, which became our family motto. By the time you see this comment, he has already gone to see Detective Qiluo.

First, I want to apologize to all my readers. I was busy looking for a job and missed a lot of updates the past few days. I'm so sorry! I will resume regular updates from now on, so please continue to support me! ⊙▽⊙

I saw the author posted a pineapple-themed post. I'm devastated. Updates don't matter anymore; as long as the author is still here, that's enough.

Why do works like this get less attention than some novels? That's unfair. 🤔

I really enjoy this mystery novel; it blends classic and unconventional elements. However, I decided to write a review because the logic behind hiding the cards in the latest chapter felt a bit strange. It seemed like an attempt to artificially explain why he went to get the drink and use the restroom. Given the constant risk of the cleaning lady finding out about the restroom and the unclaimed drink being thrown away, why not just keep the cards on his person? That implies there's a logical constraint that he couldn't hide them on his person. But where did Louis actually put the cards? A sudden change of plans seems to only allow him to keep them on his person. Doesn't that seem contradictory? The logic behind hiding the cards seems a bit weak.

Why are there only two long reviews for this kind of story? Let me give it a shout-out. The character design and development are practically perfect. The protagonist, who commits countless evil deeds besides not being the real culprit, is a major highlight and stands out from the crowd. The story draws the reader into Renton Academy from Iris's perspective, showing the factional infighting and power struggles within the student council, foreshadowing the first murder. The plot twists and turns are thrilling, but I was truly captivated from the second volume onwards. Hmm, the first long review already covered all the excellent aspects of the work, so repeating it wouldn't be very meaningful. Below, I'll comment on the murderers in each volume based on my personal feelings...

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