The Silent Dead: A Mystery (Lieutenant Himekawa Book 1)

This is the first Japanese police procedural novel I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, kudos to Giles Murray for the translation into English.

I wondered at first whether I would enjoy this novel. First of all, at the front of the book, is a listing of Cast of Characters. I knew I was going to have problems keeping track of the characters because of the unfamiliar names. But actually it wasn't too bad at all. The author, as she wrote, helped keep track of the characters and usually didn't have more than a handful together at one time.

It was very interesting to read about police procedures in Japan - some similarities and a lot of differences between Japan and the U.S.

Lt. Reiko Himekawa — squad leader, Homicide Division, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is the protagonist of the story. She is 29 years old, unmarried - which causes a lot of hassling from her family and co-workers. Old to be unmarried but young to already be a lieutenant and there are fellow officers who are jealous of her success.

Reiko is in charge of a murder investigation where bodies are being found wrapped in blue plastic. She leads a squad of officers (and more than one REALLY LIKES her). She's all business and has to put up with a huge amount of sexual harassment - on the job and in her personal life as well. I was shocked at this aspect of the story. It seems Japan is technologically advanced but quite a few years behind the U.S. in women's rights. It reminded me of jobs I had back in the 1970s.

The murder mystery is pretty straightforward but the exotic location and customs of Japan (at least to me) made this a very interesting read. I understand it is the first in a series. I hope the other books in the series are translated into English too. I'd like to read more about Lt. Himekawa.

I received this book from Minotaur Books through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

A nice assortment of quirky Japanese cops and bad guys. Fun read but a little too plodding and stilted language.

The twist at the end.. can't put it into words, you need to read it.

I guess it lost a lot in translation, because the prose and syntax were, at best, choppy and lacking in what I would deem to be anything other than an attempt to write for an audience not accustomed to reading involved, well developed plots and character development beyond superficiality. The graphic descriptions of death and torture were unnecessary unless the author thought that is what his target audience required in order to stay interested. The juvenile sexual harassment, and characters jumping from one allegiance to another, were distracting and lacking in a sense of continuity and purpose in the basic idea of what plot there was. The book is a piece of lesser literary quality.

I found the story very real and as I expected very typical for a Japanese style of police procedure. It has lots of interesting twists and turns.

The only concern I ad was the use of so many idomatic expressions. At times, I think, it hurt the flow of the characters and how they interacted with each other.

The English translation could have been a little tighter rather than throwing so many idioms on almost every sentence. I know sometimes you need to add these because the Japanese language doesn't always translate directly into English and vice versa.

I read a lot of police procedurals from the US and Europe, so I found the differences between the Western and Eastern cops interesting--I also found the similarities comforting.

Excellent story. Going to buy the next book in the series.

Honda's book, The Silent Dead, dives into the heart of Tokyo and Japanese culture. His main character draws you into the mystery deeper and deeper. Be prepared to stay awake all night to finish this book. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.