I finished 長い長い眠り by Shoji Yuki (結城昌治). It is the second book in the Sergeant Gohara series, and it was as good as the first one. It is this kind of detective stories where the solution seems obvious once it is revealed, but you failed to see it all along.

I will, of course, continue the series. The third book is called 仲のいい死体.
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I finished 『ひげのある男たち』by Shoji Yuki (結城昌治), the first book in the Detective Sergeant Gohara series (郷原部長刑事) and the author’s debut novel.

It’s a great whodunnit with a lot of deductions and a good ending. There are also a lot of funny moments too as sergeant Gohara’s patience and amour-propre are put to the test during this investigation.

I’ll continue the series, the next one is 長い長い眠り.

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I finished 針の誘い by Takao Tsuchiya (土屋隆夫) yesterday, and I really loved it. Overall, the first three books of the Chigusa series have been perfect: extremely entertaining, fast paced, and overall good whodunnits, with tricks, false alibis and detectives discussing the case and considering different theories.

It’s a shame that the last two books of the series have not been digitalised.

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I finished 赤の組曲 by Takao Tsuchiya (土屋隆夫). First published in 1966, this is the second book in the Prosecutor Chigusa series.

I really loved this book, it’s a great detective story with a fast pace. I got the solution just a few pages before Chigusa.

Next, I’ll read the third book of the series. It’s available on Booklive and Bookwalker. Unfortunately though, the other books of the author are all out of print and not digitalised.
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Finally reached the halfway point of 伝説なき地 by Yoichi Funado. The first half was fast paced with a lot of action, and it looks like the second half will not slow down, on the contrary!

It won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1989, and got the first place in the ranking このミステリーがすごい! in 1988. I would not classify it as a mystery novel though, it’s more action/adventure.

I’m not a fan of adventure novels, but I’m enjoying this one. Still 500 pages to go!

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I finished 『13階段』by Kazuaki Takano (高野和明).
The central themes are wrongful conviction and capital punishment and we learn a lot of things about the process between the sentence and the execution. The story is also a really good investigation, and it was overall an engrossing read even though I found the end not entirely convincing.
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I’m starting 『13階段』by Kazuaki Takano (高野和明). It is the author’s debut novel, and it won the Edogawa Rampo Prize.

The novel is about capital punishment, and if you’re interested in this topic, I can recommend a very informative book I read a couple of years ago: 『誰も知らない死刑の舞台裏』 by Shoji Kondo (近藤昭二). It also figures among the books that Kazuaki Takano consulted to write 『13階段』(there’s a bibliography at the end of the novel).

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I finished 『支倉事件』by Saburo Koga (甲賀三郎).

At first, it felt like reading a detective novel, but then it turned more and more into true crime (it is inspired by a real case that happened in the 1910s).

It was interesting to follow and learn about the different steps of the criminal procedure of the time. It also raises the issue of police misconduct, even though the author attempts to smoothen it.

#JapaneseBook #日本探偵小説全集

Two novels have won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1989:

- 雨月荘殺人事件 by Shunzō Waku (和久峻三): this one is unavailable, so I won’t be able to read it.

- 伝説なき地 by Yoichi Funado (船戸与一). It is the third book in a trilogy of novels set in South America, but apparently, the stories can be read independently. Given that they are all very long (this one is 1000 pages), I think I’ll skip the first two novels for now and only read the prize winner.

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https://booklive.jp/product/index/title_id/220452/vol_no/001

I read『絆』by Kenji Kosugi (小杉健治). It won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1988.

It is a legal thriller that entirely takes place in the courtroom (with some flashbacks). We follow the trial of a woman accused of murdering her husband.

I found this novel very engrossing (a mix of murder case and family drama), but unfortunately, the motivation of the characters appeared a bit weak in the end. I still enjoyed reading it and liked it more than 父からの手紙 (same author).

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The book that won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1988 is 『絆』by Kenji Kosugi (小杉健治).

I’m very excited for this book, because it is a legal thriller, one of my favourite genres when it comes to crime fiction. I just started it and the story opens right in the courtroom :)

It’s not available in paper unfortunately, so I bought the digital version on Booklive.

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https://booklive.jp/product/index/title_id/225701/vol_no/001

Finished 『カディスの赤い星』by Go Osaka (逢坂剛) (The Red Star of Cádiz, translated by Usha Jayaraman). It won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1987.

I liked the historical setting (it partly plays in Spain, 1975) and the presence of flamenco music in the story, but I’m overall not a fan of the hardboiled/action/adventure genre, so I enjoyed less the many action scenes of the second half. Still a great story and one of the few winners of the prize available in translation!

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I’m reading 『カディスの赤い星』by Go Osaka (逢坂剛). It won the Mystery Writers of Japan award in 1987, the same year as 『北斎殺人事件』.

It has been translated into English by Usha Jayaraman: The Red Star of Cadiz.

It’s the first Japanese novel I read that is set (at least partly) in Spain. I only read 100 pages (the Japanese edition is 1000 pages long), and I like it so far, despite hard-boiled not being my favourite genre.

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6747414

I finally finished 『北斎殺人事件』by Katsuhiko Takahashi (高橋克彦).

(It is the 2nd book in the ukiyo-e murders trilogy, and it is important to read them in order.)

I really loved this book, but it asks a lot from the reader. Our protagonist tackles the mystery of Hokusai’s life: could Hokusai have been a spy? While the topic is engrossing, the way it is delivered is very dry, and similarly to the first book, it contains a lot of names. 1/2

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I finished 『闘争』by Fuboku Kosakai (小酒井不木), and it was the last short story by this author in my anthology. I loved all the four short stories I read! The author was also a doctor, so there are medical elements in his mysteries. Recommended!

https://www.aozora.gr.jp/index_pages/person262.html

Next in the anthology is Saburo Koga (甲賀三郎). There is first a short story and then his novel 『支倉事件』which seems to be his most famous work.

#JapaneseBook #日本探偵小説全集

I finished the short story 『愚人の毒』(フールスポイズン) by Fuboku Kosakai (小酒井不木), and I highly recommend it if you like mystery fiction! (It’s available on Aozora).

The story entirely takes place in the interrogation room. I thought that the outcome was foreseeable, but the end was still surprising! The author uses his medical knowledge in his mysteries, but this story does not contain any difficult medical explanations.

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https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000262/files/1454_20740.html

Next author in the anthology of Japanese detective novels I’m reading is Fuboku Kosakai (小酒井不木).

I read the short story 「痴人の復讐」 and absolutely loved it. A spine chilling story of vengeance in the medical field :) It’s very short and I found it easy to read.

There are still three other short stories by this author in the book. I hope I’ll have time to read the next time this afternoon!

#日本探偵小説全集 #JapaneseBook

https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000262/files/1457_20557.html

I finished 『血の文字』(1892), the Japanese translation by Ruiko Kuroiwa (黒岩涙香) of Le Petit Vieux des Batignolles (1876) by Émile Gaboriau.

Interestingly, when the anthology『日本探偵小説全集』was published in 1984, the original work was unknown. The story is presented as if it was written by Ruiko Kuroiwa, and while the commentary says that it is a translation, it also says 「原作は不明だ」.

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I just started『北斎殺人事件』by Katsuhiko Takahashi (高橋克彦), the second book in the Ukiyo-e murders trilogy and the one that won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award.

The whole story of the Sharaku murders (the first book of the trilogy) is spoiled at the beginning 😱 The whole plot, everything!!

So if you’re interested in reading the series, you must read them in order:

Sharaku > Hokusai > Hiroshige.

I’m glad that I decided to read the Sharaku one first 😌

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An Edo period book featuring kitsune and tanuki masquerading as humans. You can see the whole book in the Diet National Library's online collection at https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/2608778

#Edo #Tanuki #kitsune #fox #yokai #妖怪 #Bake-danuki #化け狸 #狸 #たぬき #狐 #きつね #nationaldietlibrary #国立国会図書 #Japanesebook