One of the rare hardboiled novels that I enjoyed reading, 背いて故郷 starts with an engrossing investigation which turns into more action in the second half.
Author: Inhae
チョコレートゲーム is an engrossing mystery with a fast pace. Recommended!
Even though 渇きの街 won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award and has overall good reviews, it was not a book that I enjoyed reading, mainly because I disliked the protagonist, the repetitive pattern of the story, and the dry writing style of the author.
Though 天山を越えて won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, it belongs more to the adventure genre than the mystery genre, and it was a bit of a disappointment to me.
『Wの悲劇』, whose title is an homage to Ellery Queen, is certainly one of the most famous works by Shizuko Natsuki, but I did not enjoy it as much as I expected.
『蒸発』won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1973 and belongs to Shizuko Natsuki’s most famous novels.
A murder mystery that both takes place in reality and in a dream inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Even though I enjoyed some aspects of this book, the dream parts were a bit too absurd and fantastical to me, with references and humour that were hard to understand as a language learner.
An engrossing murder mystery revolving around the sleeper train linking Aomori and Ueno stations. Also one of my favourite winners of the Mystery Writers of Japan Award.
白ゆき姫殺人事件 belongs to my favourite books by Kanae Minato. An engrossing mystery with a unique structure that shows how different persons can have completely different perceptions of past events.
Several elements prevented me from really enjoying this mystery novel centred around mechanical devices and toys manufacturing.