A review by athirah_idrus
The Lady Killer by Masako Togawa

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I was very impressed with Togawa’s The Master Key that I needed to pick this up despite not being enticed by the blurb. Ichiro Honda was living his life similar to what is known as 単身赴任者 – someone whose job takes him away from his family. Basically, he lived mostly in the area of his job posting in Tokyo, but on the weekends, he went back to his wife and his in-laws in Osaka. Due to this leniency of his working and living arrangement, he indulged in sexual conquests that he meticulously penned down in his “Hunter’s Journal”. Under normal circumstances, books like this would not likely end up in my TBR, but what happened to Ichiro next piqued my interest. 

 

While he was busy minding his own life, a series of killings was plaguing metropolitan Tokyo. It didn’t take long for Ichiro to realize that every one of the victims had been the women he had bedded. Consulting his detailed journal, he was convinced that someone was actively and consciously choosing to prey on the women he’d had his nocturnal encounters with. Worse still, in the eyes of the police, he seemed to be the likeliest candidate as the murderer due to his connection with the victims. 

 

What I love about Togawa’s writing is the highly- structured story. This was especially obvious in The Master Key where bits and pieces were revealed from different POVs before we finally got to see the whole picture. This form of writing is extremely satisfying for a completist like me. All of the puzzle pieces coming together at the end makes Togawa’s books very gratifying. The same can be said for this book, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. 

 

Though human’s unsavory side makes up the setting of the story, I loved how Togawa framed it in such a way that was relatively palatable. She carefully constructed the story without needing to embellish with unnecessary details as is perhaps usual in other books that want to appeal to readers’ grotesque craving for the dark side of humanity. I also enjoyed exploring Togawa’s commentary on social ills, as is illustrated from the point of view of the defense lawyer, Shinji, who was constantly mulling over the deeds committed by Ichiro, as he was tasked to investigate to defend his client. 

 

Perhaps due to the limited characters, the perpetrator was obvious to me from the start. However, the final reveal did justice to the story where we learned more details about the motive. The ending clearly showed Togawa’s brilliance in fleshing out human’s character where we are portrayed as never just black or white but could be everything within the spectrum depending on circumstances and our choices. 

 

Recommended for those who want to immerse themselves in dark, bleak setting.