This is the second book in the Sergeant Gohara series, and it is very similar to the first one, so if you liked ひげのある男たち, you will certainly like 長い長い眠り.
While this novel retains some of the humorous tone of its predecessor, it is not as exaggerated as the first one (I am referring to the omnipresence of the moustache in ひげのある男たち), and even Gohara himself seemed a bit less eccentric (he had 17 dogs in the first novels, but only 6 in this one). This being said, he is still unsatisfied with his younger colleagues, which seems to be a trait of his personality.
The case in itself was quite engrossing. Jealousy, money, cheating and deceitfulness… once a web of suspects is established, the motivations are quite classic for this type of novels. The investigation progresses through dialogues with the witnesses and suspects rather than action, there are a lot of reflexions and analysis. I really like how Gohara will discuss the case with his colleagues or take a notebook to sum up what the police knows so far, including a list of suspects, their alibis and motives.
考えたことはすべて仮説である。しかし、すべての捜査は仮説から出発する。一つの疑問が一つの仮説を要求し、さらに仮説の要求する事実に向って刑事たちの足が動きだすのだ。
I cannot say for sure that the novel gives the reader all the necessary information to find the culprit (because I did not find the solution), but I think it does. This novel rewards the reader who does not just follow the police investigation passively but who tries to make connections and pays attention to everything. When the solution was revealed, I found that it felt obvious all of a sudden, even though I was unable to see it.
I personally really love the Sergeant Gohara series, it has just the right amount of humour, it gives the reader all the information that the police has access to and rewards those who read actively.
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