Second book in the ukio-e series, 北斎殺人事件 is both an engrossing murder mystery and a fascinating exploration of Hokusai’s life. However, it felt very tedious to read at times, and it definitely belongs to the most difficult books I read in Japanese so far.
Even though this book won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, it is hard to classify it as “mystery”. It is a fast pace thriller/adventure with a good dose of violence and suspense. I personally enjoyed it much more than I expected.
Entirely set in the courtroom, this novel features lawyer Harashima and won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1988.
A mystery/adventure book that takes us from Japan to Spain in 1975, カディスの赤い星 won the Naoki Prize as well as a Mystery and Adventure awards.
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.
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.
『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.
Several elements prevented me from really enjoying this mystery novel centred around mechanical devices and toys manufacturing.