I read Malice by Keigo Higashino more than ten years back and it quickly had me sucked into the world of translated Japanese crime fiction novels. If I were a better person, I wouldn’t say that I liked Japanese translated novels before they were cool. But I am not so: I liked Japanese translated novels before they were cool.
I’m still making my way through all the available Japanese mystery novels but of the ones I’ve read, these are my favorite.
1. Malice by Keigo Higashino, Alexander O. Smith (Translator)
Best-selling author Kunihiko Hidaka is found dead inside a locked room in his house by his wife and best friend. Detective Kaga is on the case and he realizes that the best friend, Osamu Nonoguchi, who is also a writer albeit at a less successful scale than the victim, didn’t exactly have the best relationship with Hidaka.
What follows is a cat and mouse game with Kaga working the case to figure out exactly why the crime was committed.
Malice does not have the best translation but I promise you that if you stick to it despite the language, you will find yourself your next favorite locked room mystery.
2. Out by Natsuo Kirino, Stephen Snyder (translator)
This riveting classic is about 4 women in a boxed lunch factory who come together to help their friend cover up a murder. It does not have romanticized friendships, though.
It’s a gritty thriller that involves dismemberment of cadavers (yeeeep), a murderous club owner, and a close look at the lives of those most ignored in society.
When this book was first published, critics apparently argued that women should stick to writing romance instead of writing such gruesome stories. I disagree and also would like to propose some things to be done to said critics to shush them, but in the interest of not being arrested, let me just push my review of Out instead.
3. Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka, Sam Malissa (translator)
Bullet Train has two of my favorite keywords ever in a novel: thriller and satire.
I was equal parts tensed and giggling while reading this book and that’s what made my reading experience so memorable.
Bullet Train is thrilling, it borders on the absurd so many times, and it’s the kind of novel you go in blind.
Don’t read the synopsis. Just jump straight into the book and see how you feel!
4. The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo, Louise Heal Kawai (translator)
This one’s another classic.
On the night of a wedding in the Ichiyanagi family, guests startle awake to the sound of a Koto being played. Upon investigating, they discover the newly weds newly slain in a locked room filled with their blood.
Was it a murder-suicide? Or was someone outside of the family involved?
The answers follow in the rest of the story.
Read my full review here.
I mentioned Malice in the beginning of the list but any book by Higashino applies here really. He isn’t my favorite author for nothing.
I love reading Japanese crime thrillers and I can’t wait to keep updating this list as I devour them! Shame me in the comments if the list hasn’t been recently updated. 😉