'An absolute corker of a read -- so brilliantly shrouded in mystery that it was impossible to put it down' Lisa Hall, author of Between You and Me
A perfectly plotted, cosy detective story from Seicho Matsumoto, Japan's master of mystery
'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.
Reviews
Tokyo Express is an irresistible Hitchcockian gem: a fiendishly-plotted crime novel told in crisp, elegant prose
Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train
This classic of postwar Japanese crime fiction was banned in its day for its 'decadent western ideas'. Now, the fascinatingly detailed investigations of Inspector Torigai echo those of Simenon's Maigret in a pared-down narrative shot through with political critique.
Financial Times, Summer Reads 2022
A labyrinth of convincing alibis and false leads... Matsumoto's classic status is richly deserved
Daily Mail
Tense, enigmatic, thrillingly weird - a glorious find
Kevin Barry, author of Night Boat to Tangier
The debut novel of bestselling writer Seicho Matsumoto, first published in Japan in 1958 and never out of print, is an ingeniously plotted railway mystery
Guardian
An absolute corker of a read -- so brilliantly shrouded in mystery that it was impossible to put it down
Lisa Hall, author of Between You and Me
A fiendishly complex case. A deep understanding of human nature drives this intricately plotted masterpiece of Japanese crime writing. A timely and welcome opportunity for a new generation to discover Seicho Matsumoto
Brian McGilloway, author of The Empty Room
The Simenon of Japan. . . a legendary writer
Le Monde
The greatest Japanese writer of detective stories of the past century. . . Matsumoto infused the genre with social conscience. Highly recommended
La Repubblica
Matsumoto is a necessity, reading him is like having a bowl of rice you never get tired of Masato Ara
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