Seicho Matsumoto forged a new tradition in Japanese crime fiction, moving beyond formulaic plots to weave in elements of human psychology and everyday life. His narratives often reflect broader social contexts and postwar nihilism, expanding the genre's scope and deepening its atmosphere. He introduced a new dimension by exposing corruption among both officials and criminals, focusing his investigations not just on the crime itself but on the society in which it occurred.
"A senior official in a ministry trained with scandal. A dining car receipt. A name missing from a passenger list. And a young man and woman dead on a beach in an apparent suicide. Disconnected points, but not to a determined detective who keeps searching for the lines that link the living and the dead."--Page 4 Cover
'An absolute classic, and a whole new world to explore ... irresistible' Lee Child 'Beautiful and melancholic, Inspector Imanishi Investigates is not just an ingenious and elegant mystery, but a fascinating window into 1960s Japan' Paula Hawkins A thrilling crime classic, from the bestselling author of Tokyo Express Tokyo, 1960. As the first rays of morning light hit the rails at Kamata Station, a man's body is found on the tracks. With only two leads - a distinctive accent and a single word, 'kameda' - senior inspector Imanishi Eitaro is called in to solve the puzzle. Setting aside his beloved bonsai and haikus, he must cross Japan in search of answers, from Osaka to Akita, accompanied by junior detective Yoshimura. At each new town, they encounter traces of the avant-garde Nouveau Group - young Tokyo artists who are bringing new ideas from the West. What to make of this modern collective? And how to stop another mysterious death occurring? Inspector Imanishi investigates... A fascinating glimpse into Japanese society at a time of great change, this is one of Seicho Matsumoto's best-loved novels - a riveting mystery from the master of Japanese crime.
'An absolute classic, and a whole new world to explore ... irresistible' Lee Child 'Beautiful and melancholic, Inspector Imanishi Investigates is not just an ingenious and elegant mystery, but a fascinating window into 1960s Japan' Paula Hawkins A thrilling crime classic, from the bestselling author of Tokyo Express Tokyo, 1960. As the first rays of morning light hit the rails at Kamata Station, a man's body is found on the tracks. With only two leads - a distinctive accent and a single word, 'kameda' - senior inspector Imanishi Eitaro is called in to solve the puzzle. Setting aside his beloved bonsai and haikus, he must cross Japan in search of answers, from Osaka to Akita, accompanied by junior detective Yoshimura. At each new town, they encounter traces of the avant-garde Nouveau Group - young Tokyo artists who are bringing new ideas from the West. What to make of this modern collective? And how to stop another mysterious death occurring? Inspector Imanishi investigates... A fascinating glimpse into Japanese society at a time of great change, this is one of Seicho Matsumoto's best-loved novels - a riveting mystery from the master of Japanese crime.
'An irresistible Hitchcockian gem: a fiendishly-plotted crime novel told in crisp, elegant prose' Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train 'Matsumoto was Japan's Agatha Christie' Laura Hackett, The Sunday Times 'It was a puzzle with no solution. But he did not lose heart.' In a rocky cove in the bay of Hakata, the bodies of a young and beautiful couple are discovered. Stood in the coast's wind and cold, the police see nothing to investigate: the flush of the couple's cheeks speaks clearly of cyanide, of a lovers' suicide. But in the eyes of two men, Torigai Jutaro, a senior detective, and Kiichi Mihara, a young gun from Tokyo, something is not quite right. Together, they begin to pick at the knot of a unique and calculated crime... Now widely available in English for the first time, Tokyo Express is celebrated around the world as Seicho Matsumoto's masterpiece - and as one of the most fiendish puzzles ever written.
A jewel by Seicho Matsumoto (1909-1992), the master of Japanese mystery writing. A beautifully written crime novel set in a coastal city in Northern Japan that takes on the taboo of Japanese prostitution during the American occupation.
Why did Tsuneo's shy wife end up stone dead in a boutique in a louche Tokyo neighborhood? He discovers she's been having an affair, and, in a moment of panic, kills her lover. No apparent motive, no witnesses, a faltering investigation. But the pressure builds and Tsuneo starts making mistakes.
In der Bucht von Hakata werden die Leichen eines jungen Paares aus Tokio gefunden, scheinbar ein Doppelselbstmord. Kommissar Jutaro Torigai und der junge Polizist Kiichi Mihara entdecken jedoch Ungereimtheiten, die darauf hindeuten, dass es kein Selbstmord war. Mihara verfolgt die Spur des intelligenten Täters durch Japan.
新婚不久，鵜原憲一便拋下年輕妻子禎子消失在嚴寒的北陸！ 禎子採著丈夫的足跡，卻意外踏進了他心中的禁忌之地。 然而隨著禎子的深入，卻帶來了接二連三的死亡…… 丈夫究竟去了哪裡？真兇又是何人？ 那隱藏在狂吹不止的暴風雪、狂暴翻騰的黑暗巨浪之下的悲哀真相到底是什麼？ 一名廣告公司的員工，在新婚一個禮拜之後，便告失蹤。新婚妻子為找尋丈夫，毅然前往丈夫失蹤地北陸金澤找尋丈夫的蹤跡。丈夫究竟發生了什麼事情，是自願失蹤，亦或是被迫失蹤。 以北陸的冰冷海風為背景，一部包裹著重重謎團的懸疑小說。
Sbírka detektivních povídek. Macumontovy detektivní příběhy vycházejí z každodenního života japonské společnosti. Promyšlené zločiny odpovídají japonské důkladnosti a mentalitě, a přece se vždy najde nějaký zdánlivě nedůležitý detail...
Detektivní povídka japonského autora, v níž se rozvíjí příběh o záhadné vraždě muže a ženy, jejichž mrtvoly byly nalezeny na opuštěném mořském pobřeží v zálivu Kašii. Případ vyšetřuje místní policie z blízkého městečka Hakaty, která ze zjištěných okolností usoudí na sebevraždu milenců a celou záležitost jednoduše uzavře. S tímto rozhodnutím není však spokojen starý policejní veterán Džútaró Torigaj. Pátrá na vlastní pěst a vnese do teorie o sebevraždě milenců pochyby.
