Beautiful and melancholic, Inspector Imanishi Investigates is not just an ingenious and elegant mystery, but a fascinating window into 1960s Japan -- Paula Hawkins An absolute classic, and a whole new world to explore ... irresistible -- Lee Child In this 1960s crime novel, the setting is as enticing as the plot... thoroughly satisfying -- Barry Turner * Daily Mail * Reminds me of [ John le Carré's] writing . . . fascinating . . . Its a moment of transition in Japan; new ideas are spreading, new contexts are forming. Theres traditional beauty still, but modernity is yammering to be let in . . . Highly recommended -- Nick Harkaway, author of Titanium Noir Seicho Matsumoto's Inspector Imanshi Investigates explores post-war Japan, its anxieties and struggles for a new identity. With an engaging older detective and an enthusiastic younger sidekick, this is a book lovers of traditional crime fiction will understand and enjoy -- Ann Cleeves A more considered work than Tokyo Express, although one similarly interested in train travel. Set in 1960, the writing brings up a Japan before high-speed trains, one that is more alive to differences, not least in dialect, between particular areas... A well-presented book... Deserves being in the library of all interested in detective fiction -- Jeremy Black * Critic * The most intricate web of detection . . . A tantalizing double unveiling act . . . Belongs on your shelf next to Christie and Simenon, P.D. James and Robert Van Gulik. A superb thriller * LA Times * A stylish mystery novel written by one of Japan's most popular authors . . . First-rate storytelling . . . Inspector Imanishi deserves to be welcomed to the ranks of international crime fiction * New York Times * Patient, meticulous stories that offer an anatomy of a society as much as a picture of a crime * Economist * A blood-drop on a cherry blossom, an ageless masterwork from the master himself, Seicho Matsumoto paved the way for Japanese crime fiction with good reason. Inspector Imanishi Investigates is a beguiling omakase of a novel a fascinating exploration of tradition versus modernity, a contemplation of human darkness and a silk-smooth murder mystery. As Imanishi investigates death, so too the reader investigates a post-war Japan in metamorphosis. Matsumoto etches himself in time with this elegy to the Japanese detective -- Nicolįs Obregón
