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A review by ramreadsagain
Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seichō Matsumoto
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Thank you Penguin Classics for sending me a copy of this book.
I don't think I've read many crime novels published before the millenium, certainly non from Asia, and as such this was an interesting read and a glimpse into post-war Japanese culture.
The first half of this was a bit of a slog to get through; the translation is quite dry, and Inspector Imanishi went down so many dead-end leads it felt like we were no closer to solving the mystery than when we had started. It did pick up after that though, and I shared Imanishi's elation when we finally found some solid leads and clues.
It's definitely a book of its time - do not go in expecting any well-rounded female characters or anything! But it was fascinating to read a police procedural where there is no such thing as a quick google search or firing off an email with a question.
The ending was fairly abrupt and left me a little bit disappointed, but beyond that I enjoyed my time reading this and am interested in exploring more Japanese crime fiction.
I don't think I've read many crime novels published before the millenium, certainly non from Asia, and as such this was an interesting read and a glimpse into post-war Japanese culture.
The first half of this was a bit of a slog to get through; the translation is quite dry, and Inspector Imanishi went down so many dead-end leads it felt like we were no closer to solving the mystery than when we had started. It did pick up after that though, and I shared Imanishi's elation when we finally found some solid leads and clues.
It's definitely a book of its time - do not go in expecting any well-rounded female characters or anything! But it was fascinating to read a police procedural where there is no such thing as a quick google search or firing off an email with a question.
The ending was fairly abrupt and left me a little bit disappointed, but beyond that I enjoyed my time reading this and am interested in exploring more Japanese crime fiction.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Violence, War
Minor: Abortion