Description

‘An irresistible Hitchcockian gem: a fiendishly-plotted crime novel told in crisp, elegant prose’ Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train

‘Matsumoto was Japan’s Agatha Christie’ Laura Hackett, The Sunday Times

‘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.

Publisher Review

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 * A labyrinth of convincing alibis and false leads... Matsumoto's classic status is richly deserved * Daily Mail * 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 * Seicho Matsumoto's brief and perennially popular Tokyo Express is a masterpiece of concision and tight plotting. . . exceptionally well paced and palpably tense, both features admirably preserved by Jesse Kirkwood in this fresh translation -- Bryan Karetnyk * TLS * Tense, enigmatic, thrillingly weird - a glorious find -- Kevin Barry, author of Night Boat to Tangier 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 * Matsumoto is a necessity, reading him is like having a bowl of rice you never get tired of -- Masato Ara