Why read The Meiji Guillotine Murders?

Book cover of The Meiji Guillotine Murders

Book description

'An audacious puzzle mystery, woven into an exquisitely crafted historical tale. One of the most original works in the history of Japanese mystery writing' Haruo Yuki, author of The Ark

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Tokyo, 1869. It is the dawn of the Meiji era in Japan, but the scars of the…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Meiji Guillotine Murders as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Matthew Legare

Author

I actually found this book on a recent trip to Japan, as it has finally been translated into English. Set in 1869, at the dawn of the tumultuous Meiji Era, a series of murders plague Tokyo. Inspectors Kazuki and the real-life Toshiyoshi Kawaji are called in to investigate, leading them through the lowest and highest parts of the city.

As a historical fiction writer myself, I am extremely partial to novels in this genre, especially historical crime thrillers. This book fills a spot which is relatively unknown in the West and one I highly recommend.

From Matthew's list on The best Japanese crime novel recommendations.