An excellent mystery novel about horse racing. Even though it is not a topic I’m particularly interested in, I was completely engrossed in the novel from beginning to end.
Book review: 『影の告発』by Takao Tsuchiya
A classic police investigation and an engrossing book! This book is the first in the prosecutor Chigusa series and won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1963.
Book review: 『細い赤い糸』by Takashi Asuka
Winner of the MWJ Award of 1962. I found this book frustrating to read at first, because it was hard to see where the story was leading us. I started enjoying it more about halfway through and the end was quite good.
Book review: 『人喰い』by Saho Sasazawa
A simple mystery novel that won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award. Even though the end might be a bit foreseeable, the mystery is a pleasant read all along.
Book review: 『黒い白鳥』by Tetsuya Ayukawa
A social/mystery novel that won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, 『黒い白鳥』gives a realistic portrait of its time while giving the readers a complex murder mystery resolving around train timetables.
Book review: 『四万人の目撃し』by Yorichika Arima
This detective novel won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, but I found it underwhelming and not satisfactory.
Book review: 『顔』by Seicho Matsumoto
This is a collection of five short stories by Seicho Matsumoto. They were easy to read and entertaining, I highly recommend this book for mystery lovers.
Book review: 『狐の鶏』by Jokichi Hikage
This is a collection of 5 short stories. The first one won the Mystery Writer of Japan Award
Book review: 『不連続殺人事件』by Ango Sakaguchi
This is the only detective novel written by Ango Sakaguchi: a complex whodunnit where the reader has all the elements in hand to find the solution.
Book Review: 『本陣殺人事件』by Seishi Yokomizo
First winner of the Mystery Writers of Japan Award (1948), this novel is a classic locked-room mystery and the first case of young detective Kosuke Kindaichi.
Book review: 『少年探偵団｜黒蜥蜴』by Edogawa Rampo
This book contains two of the most famous novels by Edogawa Rampo: the Black Lizard and the Boy Detectives Club. I enjoyed both, but I found the Boy Detectives Club to be more engrossing and exciting, even though it is written for children.
Book review: 『完全犯罪に猫は何匹必要か？』by Tokuya Higashigawa
This is the third book of the Ikagawa series, and it’s very good if you like mystery novels with a lighter tone and a lot of humour that still delivers an engrossing detective case .