Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
First published in Japan in 1981, Shimada's intriguing first novel blends metafiction with a locked-room mystery. The title refers to a (fictional) series of sensational unsolved murders committed in 1936. In 1979, freelance illustrator Kazumi Ishioka, "a huge fan of mysteries," and his moody artist friend, Kiyoshi Mitarai, a self-styled amateur detective, are intent on unraveling the decades-old ritualistic killings. Painter Heikichi Umezawa left an eerily specific note about how he wanted to create the perfect woman, his Azoth, made up of the severed parts of his six daughters and nieces. These women, all with different astrological signs, ended up dead and buried all over Japan, but it was impossible for Umezawa to be the killer, because he had been dead for days himself, murdered in his locked studio. Kazumi and Kiyoshi spend a lot of time getting up to speed on the case by simply relating facts to each other. But once Shimada enters his own narrative as an investigator, the pace picks up considerably, and readers will understand why Shimada is considered one of Japan's most fiendishly clever crime writers. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
This Japanese puzzler opens with the rantings of a madman with a fetish for astrology and the macabre. The last will and testament of artist Heikichi Umezawa, written in 1936, states that he will create a perfect woman, formed by using different body parts of six girls-Umezawa's four daughters and two nieces. Each will have a part that represents their zodiac sign cut off; their remains will be buried in a mine where that astrological element is found. Flash-forward 40 years and friends Kiyoshi Mitarai and Kazumi Ishioka believe they can solve these crimes, now known as the Tokyo Zodiac Murders. VERDICT This new translation of a 1981 crime novel will introduce American readers to Shimada, renowned in Japan as the "God of Mystery." The clues are carefully laid out in the archetypal locked-room mystery manner, so if the reader has followed the signs, the reveal will come as no surprise. A nice discovery for fans of classics in the vein of Sherlock Holmes or for anyone who wants to learn about Japanese culture. [-Pushkin Vertigo is Pushkin's new crime fiction imprint; it will publish crime classics from around the world.-Ed.] © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An eager amateur sleuth solves a series of baffling murders that have confounded Tokyo for more than 40 years. The prolific career of acclaimed Japanese detective novelist Shimada began with this stand-alone whodunit, first published in 1981 and packed with tropes that influenced the genre, in Japan and elsewhere, in the subsequent decades. The theatrical flair possessed by both the killer and the fledgling author is evidenced by the story's presentation in acts and scenes rather than chapters, along with entr'actes that put an additional spin on the kaleidoscopic plot. (Two of these even features Shimada himself.) The lengthy prologue that introduces the reader to the crimes is the "last will and testament" of a man who says he's possessed by the devil and who outlines a fiendish serial murder plan. His corpse is discovered in a locked room, but, incomprehensibly, someone implements his plan. The case remains unsolved until it's tackled decades later by a dynamic duo. Kazumi Ishioka serves as wide-eyed Watson to the Holmes of his pal, astrologer and armchair detective Kiyoshi Mitarai. The Dramatis Personae listing characters in both 1936 and 1979 will help readers keep everyone straight. The overused metaphor of a puzzle is completely appropriate here, since the pieces include multiple first-person accounts across several decades as well as many illustrations: maps, charts and, chillingly, a series of body diagrams that depict the legacy of Azoth in the course of unraveling the mystery. An ebullient mystery classic that foreshadows the subgenre of intricate "how-dunits." Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
