Review: The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, Soji Shimada (2004)

"The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" by Shoji Shimada is a well-known Japanese mystery that features a baffling "locked-room" crime from 1936. The story begins with the strange will of a secluded artist, Heikichi Umezawa, who plans to create the "perfect woman" by dismembering and reassembling six of his female relatives based on astrological ideas. However, before he can carry out this gruesome plan, Umezawa is found dead in his locked study. Days later, the dismembered bodies of his relatives are found across Japan, exactly as described in his will. The case remains unsolved for decades, until 1979, when astrologer Kiyoshi Mitarai and his friend, illustrator Kazumi Ishioka, decide to try and crack the seemingly impossible puzzle.

Despite the fascinating premise, the book didn't quite hit the mark for me. One major hurdle was keeping track of all the Japanese names for people and places. As a translated work, it keeps the original names, and with so many characters involved, I often found myself struggling to remember who was who, which pulled me out of the story.

Another issue was the heavy focus on the "brainwork" of solving the case with very little actual action. While I appreciate mysteries driven by clever deduction, like in the Hercule Poirot stories by Agatha Christie, I didn't find the investigation in "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" particularly engaging. The author often presents a lot of "facts" very quickly, and the main detective, Kiyoshi Mitarai, sometimes dismisses information or makes bold assumptions to fit his theories. It felt like some of his logical jumps might rely on a deeper understanding of 1930s Japanese culture that a typical reader, like myself, wouldn't have, making his conclusions feel less earned.

The relationship between Kiyoshi Mitarai and his sidekick, Kazumi Ishioka, also seemed to lack purpose, with Ishioka mostly just listening to Mitarai's ideas. What was truly frustrating was when they separated halfway through the investigation. We then follow Kazumi Ishioka as he chases down leads, all of which turn out to be pointless. Imagine if Poirot and Hastings separated during an investigation and everything that Hastings learned was inconsequential. 

Finally, a big reason I picked up the book was the intriguing detail that Kiyoshi Mitarai was an astrologer. I expected him to use his astrological skills to solve the complex case, as the back cover suggested, but he doesn't. While astrology is discussed a lot early on, especially regarding the victim's strange plan, Mitarai himself doesn't use it as a main tool in his investigation. This was a significant disappointment and felt like a missed opportunity to add a unique element to the detective's approach.

In summary, while "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" has an incredibly clever and detailed puzzle, it wasn't quite my cup of tea. The challenges with names, the way the deduction was presented, and the unfulfilled promise of the astrological angle made it a somewhat frustrating read. However, it's worth remembering that everyone has different tastes in books, and what one reader doesn't enjoy, another might love.