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tufriel's review against another edition
3.0
Six Four is a very long story that rambled on and leap-frogged through revelations and realisations before coming to a mostly unsatisfactory end.
Spoiler
Despite the delicious revenge of burning the ransom money, the confusion of Mikami hurtling from one suspicion to the next, not knowing the content of the swallowed note, not having a proper ending on Six Four and not even knowing what happened to Ayumi was disappointing after plowing through 635 pages.constantreader471's review against another edition
4.0
A GoodReads friend sent me this book 1 and 1/2 years ago and I put off reading it because it is 635 pages long(643 if you count the author interview). It is more focused on Japanese society than the mystery. The first 500 pages are about infighting/power struggles within the Japanese police and their difficult relationship with the press. The unsolved kidnapping/murder of a seven year old girl is always hovering in the background, and does not come into focus until near the end for a stunning, unexpected climax. The case is known as "Six Four."
The narrator and main character is Mikami, press director for Prefecture D, a regional police headquarters. Mikami has 3 people working under him. Prefecture D has several hundred police.
By way of contrast, Buffalo, NY, with about 700 police, has 1 PR person.
Mikami is caught in the middle between competing sides in the power struggle and between the press and his superiors demand that he withhold information that the press wants.
If you like a traditional mystery, this may not be for you. I started reading this book 6 months ago, and put it down, because of the interminable infighting/press demands.
This book was a bestseller in Japan and then in the UK, where my GoodReads friend bought it. Thank You Nancy!!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
The narrator and main character is Mikami, press director for Prefecture D, a regional police headquarters. Mikami has 3 people working under him. Prefecture D has several hundred police.
By way of contrast, Buffalo, NY, with about 700 police, has 1 PR person.
Mikami is caught in the middle between competing sides in the power struggle and between the press and his superiors demand that he withhold information that the press wants.
If you like a traditional mystery, this may not be for you. I started reading this book 6 months ago, and put it down, because of the interminable infighting/press demands.
This book was a bestseller in Japan and then in the UK, where my GoodReads friend bought it. Thank You Nancy!!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
andrea_c's review against another edition
3.0
Brings a literal interpretation to the term 'police procedural'. The bulk of the novel focuses on the internal politics and bureaucracy of a prefectural police force; the titular mystery exists in the periphery. Still weirdly compelling, but it is probably better described as a workplace drama rather than a thriller.
jwilly19's review
4.0
A wonderful book. Not the fast-paced thriller you might be craving when you turn to the mystery shelf, but Yokoyama somehow makes the internecine strife of a local Japanese police branch gripping in and of itself. There is an overarching criminal mystery, complete with a rather ingenious twist -- but at its heart this is a novel of Japanese workplace politics -- and a great one at that.
a_well_read_life's review
4.0
Just finished Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama.
It was really interesting to read some crime fiction from Japan as opposed to the American and British crime fiction I'm used to and to see the cultural differences come into play. It's billed as a mystery/thriller, but was also heavily focused on inter-department politics. I really appreciated that while I didn't predict the reveal/twist at the end (something I'm usually pretty good at) it really made sense and helped the pieces come together, rather than being entirely out of left field like sometimes happens. A little too long and at times it was hard to figure out what direction it was going, but overall I thought it was well written with compelling characters and I enjoyed it.
3.5 stars.
It was really interesting to read some crime fiction from Japan as opposed to the American and British crime fiction I'm used to and to see the cultural differences come into play. It's billed as a mystery/thriller, but was also heavily focused on inter-department politics. I really appreciated that while I didn't predict the reveal/twist at the end (something I'm usually pretty good at) it really made sense and helped the pieces come together, rather than being entirely out of left field like sometimes happens. A little too long and at times it was hard to figure out what direction it was going, but overall I thought it was well written with compelling characters and I enjoyed it.
3.5 stars.
polar_monkeys's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
claudia4650's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Slow paced book following a detective covering a kidnapping case while dealing with his own daughter’s disappearance. Didn’t love it but it was good.
charf47's review against another edition
3.0
Six Four is a police procedural with a difference. Mikami, the main character, is a man with high morals and strong ethics. Mikami has been moved from the detective work that he loves to the role of Press Director within a police force that has a strict hierarchy of command where unconditional respect is expected by those with seniority. The story centres around the kidnapping and murder of a little girl some years before. The trail has grown cold, but the crime has come to fore again with the proposed visit of the Police Commissioner to the girl’s family in an attempt to show the public that the police are still involved. Mikami is often caught between his inherent respect for his somewhat corrupt superiors and his desire to do what he believes is right. He has new-found insight into the emotions of the victim’s family as his own teenage daughter has recently disappeared and he is able to view the crime committed from the perspective of both father and policeman. This is an engaging book. Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the ARC.