Japanese crime fiction

The Labyrinth House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

By Vicki Weisfeld

17 October, 2024

Translated by Ho-Ling Wong — The winner of three national awards for mystery writing in Japan, Yukito Ayatsuji is one of the country’s most famous authors who favours the traditional Honkaku mystery format. His Bizarre House Mysteries began in 1987 with The Decagon House Murders…

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The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

30 July, 2024

Translated by Sam Bett — Even though strong female protagonists are nothing new in contemporary manga or animé, it’s not often we come across them in Japanese crime fiction novels. Yoriko Shindo is not only a memorable character, she also defies traditional gender roles in…

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First look: The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

By crimefictionlover

21 May, 2024

Do you ever feel like it’s time to try something new? Well, a first look at The Night of Baba Yaga, out in September and written by Akira Otani, tells us that this is crime fiction that will take you to a different place. The…

Kindle Print Reviews

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda

By Vicki Weisfeld

29 July, 2022

Translated by Alison Watts — If you enjoyed Riku Onda’s previous mystery translated into English, The Aosawa Murders, you’ll find many of the same attributes in her new psychological thriller, Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight. It offers that same dreamy feeling and a quality of…

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Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto

By Paul Burke

7 July, 2022

Translated by Jesse Kirkwood –– Penguin’s new translation of Seichō Matsumoto‘s classic Tokyo Express is both modern and respectful of the original Japanese text from 1958, with the action taking place a little earlier in 1957. It’s a book you can immerse yourself in –…

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Lady Joker, Volume 1 by Kaoru Takamura

By nagaisayonara

14 May, 2021

Translated by Allison Markin Powell and Marie Iida — Lady Joker, Kaoru Takamura’s 1997 epic and the first of her novels to be translated into English, is part crime fiction and part social commentary. The publication in Japan came at a turning point in the…

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Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

5 April, 2021

Translated by Sam Malissa — If you ever find yourself on a train in Japan it’s best you forget the premise of Kotaro Isaka’s latest crime fiction novel to appear in translation. In Bullet Train there are no less than five assassins on a high-speed…

Features

Interview: Kotaro Isaka

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

29 March, 2021

This week an interesting new crime novel from Japan will be pulling into the station. Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka is little different to most crime novels thus far translated from Japanese. Clever and sophisticated gives way to something that’s big on set-up, big on…

Crime Fiction Lover

The Labyrinth House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

First look: The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda

Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto

Lady Joker, Volume 1 by Kaoru Takamura

Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka

Interview: Kotaro Isaka

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