Tokyo

Murder at the Black Cat Cafe by Seishi Yokomizo

By Erin Britton

8 September, 2025

Translated by Bryan Karetnyk — Murder at the Black Cat Cafe serves up two sinisterly cerebral cases cracked by Kosuke Kindaichi, Seishi Yokomizo’s sublime series detective. While the motive, means and opportunity differ quite considerably, the nefariousness at the heart of both novellas is firmly…

Kindle Print Reviews

Strange Houses by Uketsu

By Erin Britton

7 July, 2025

Translated by Jim Rion — In January, we reviewed Strange Pictures by surrealist Japanese YouTuber and dapper mask-wearer Uketsu. That was the author’s second novel, and now his debut, Strange Houses, has also been translated into English. Focusing on the disturbing hidden meanings that can…

Kindle Print Reviews

The Puzzle Box by Danielle Trussoni

By Vicki Weisfeld

10 October, 2024

How you feel about puzzles will likely colour your reaction to this new thriller from Danielle Trussoni. It’s a follow-on to her well-received book from last year, The Puzzle Master. I love puzzles, and at first I believed I’d found the perfect read. Mike Brink…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

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…

Kindle Print Reviews

Geisha Confidential by Mark Coggins

By Vicki Weisfeld

1 March, 2024

Mark Coggins’s new Tokyo-based crime novel, Geisha Confidential, features middle-aged San Francisco-based private investigator August Riordan, who has appeared in a number of previous books in this award-winning series. Read this fast-paced story, and you’ll barely have time to feel the jet lag. Almost as…

eBook Kindle Print Reviews

Shitamachi Scam by Michael Pronko

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

1 February, 2024

The squeamish yet diligent Detective Hiroshi Shimizu returns in Shitamachi Scam, the sixth instalment of Tokyo-based Michael Pronko’s crime novel series. In 2022, Azabu Getaway transported readers to the cosmopolitan Azabu district, but this time the action takes place in an older, more traditional Shitamachi…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

Azabu Getaway by Michael Pronko

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

22 September, 2022

Murder, kidnapping, blackmail and yakuza. American author Michael Pronko’s fifth novel in the Detective Hiroshi series has all the elements of a classic police procedural with a dash of extra action to raise the blood pressure. The Tokyo resident sets the novel in the city…

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…

Crime Fiction Lover

Murder at the Black Cat Cafe by Seishi Yokomizo

Strange Houses by Uketsu

The Puzzle Box by Danielle Trussoni

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

Geisha Confidential by Mark Coggins

Shitamachi Scam by Michael Pronko

Azabu Getaway by Michael Pronko

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda

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