“So. What d’you think your last words will be?” Twenty-three-year-old Haru is having a rotten year. She finally found a job, and the company went under. Her mother deserted the family, and her father hanged himself - and left it to Haru to cut down the body. Two of her only three friends just died … Continue reading CUCKOO HONKAKU: Murder at the End of the World
shin honkaku
THE HONKAKU OF NOTRE DAME: She Walks at Night by Seishi Yokomizo
Reading Seishi Yokomizo’s work, you'd think you would know, seven volumes in, what to expect of this most famous of honkaku authors: a seemingly cursed and highly dysfunctional family, a series of bizarre and bloody murders, a lot of history about post-war Japan and inter-family dynamics woven into a lengthy opening chapter, frequent meta-fictional allusions to classic crime fiction, and a … Continue reading THE HONKAKU OF NOTRE DAME: She Walks at Night by Seishi Yokomizo
BECAUSE YOU LIKE THE LISTS . . . Brad’s Top Ten Reads of 2025
This is my final post of the year, and for what you are about to receive . . . well, I apologize for the lack of originality! But this is what we bloggers do: we write and write and write and WRITE for you, and then at the end of the year we drag ourselves, … Continue reading BECAUSE YOU LIKE THE LISTS . . . Brad’s Top Ten Reads of 2025
今年最後に読んだ本 (MY FINAL READ OF THE YEAR)
"To all the English-language readers, I hope you enjoy it slowly to the end. Or perhaps better to say, enjoy it at your own pace. Since time is indeed something precious to us all." (author Masateru Konishi on his new novel) Time is indeed precious, and while in many ways this has felt like the … Continue reading 今年最後に読んだ本 (MY FINAL READ OF THE YEAR)
MAYHEM IN MINIATURE: Murder at the Black Cat Cafe
Ten years ago, English-speaking fans of the classic Japanese mystery fiction known as honkaku and shin honkaku would have been lucky to find one newly translated novel a year to enjoy. Nowadays, there’s practically a glut of them, thanks largely to publishing house Pushkin Vertigo and the talent and non-stop effort of translators like Louise Heal Kawai, Ho-Ling Wong, … Continue reading MAYHEM IN MINIATURE: Murder at the Black Cat Cafe
HISTORY MYSTERY SHMISTORY! Murder in the House of Omari
In the continuing saga that is the translation and publication of Japanese honkaku mysteries into English, Pushkin Vertigo brings us another prolific but seldom read author. Taku Ashibe has been producing crime novels and stories for thirty-five years, many of them with fanciful names like The Palace of Bizarre Idea Murder Case, Murder at the House of Another … Continue reading HISTORY MYSTERY SHMISTORY! Murder in the House of Omari
MAYBE I’M A-MAZED: The Labyrinth House Murders
Back in June, 2016 I fell a little bit in love – with a book. I was able to read The Decagon House Murders (1987) due to the efforts of three men: author Yukito Ayatsuji, scholar and translator Ho-Ling Wong, and Locked Room Internationalpublisher John Pugmire. I was a fresh-off-the-farm blogger and had never heard of Japan’s honkaku mystery movement. … Continue reading MAYBE I’M A-MAZED: The Labyrinth House Murders
EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
It’s New Year’s Eve, the final day of a most, er, dramatic year, and this is my 79th and final post of 2024. It's also the time when some of my fellow bloggers review their accomplishments, perhaps name a “Book of the Year,” and make prognostications about what’s coming up in 2025 that are hopefully vague … Continue reading EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
2024 REPRINT OF THE YEAR, #1: The Little Sparrow Murders
On Hayley, on Neeru, On Moira and Janet! On Aidan, on Stevie, Fly over the planet! On Bev and Mallika: It’s gonna be great To celebrate reprints - We do it for Kate!!! And that’s my miraculous little holiday rhyme to get you into the spirit of the occasion! (The real miracle would be anyone … Continue reading 2024 REPRINT OF THE YEAR, #1: The Little Sparrow Murders
MORE FUN AND GAMES WITH BOOK CLUB: Five Great Mystery Debuts
My Book Club is full of fun and fascinating people, but our collective book selections have been a decidedly mixed bag. And so last month, we took a break from these doldrums (perhaps mystery lovers should call them “humdrums”), and did something a little different: each of us shared their ten favorite mysteries from the … Continue reading MORE FUN AND GAMES WITH BOOK CLUB: Five Great Mystery Debuts
Ah Sweet Mystery! 