Tokyo Express
Published on 30. March 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-0-241-43908-1 (ISBN)
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.
'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.
Reviews / Votes
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 Japan's Agatha Christie. A gloriously complex case of a supposed double suicide that, at just 160 pages, you can whizz through in a day. -- Laura Hackett * The Sunday Times * 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 * Hitchcockian... Seicho Matsumoto has been described as Japan's Agatha Christie for a reason. A murder-mystery whodunnit which carries the weight and power of high literature -- Saskia Kemslet * Standard, Best Reads for Summer 2024 * The appearance in English of Japanese crime classics such as Seicho Matsumoto's Tokyo Express is long overdue * The Sunday Times, Best Crime Books of 2023 * 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 * A masterpiece... stands out thanks to the elegant spareness of the prose but also because of the ingenuity of the tightly coiled plot... this novel floored me, and I expect it will floor other new readers, too * New York Times Book Review * Wonderfully short... this excellent work begins with a lovers' suicide on a Kyushu beach, but detective suspicions point to a crime linked to governmental scandal... a first-rate classic by a master of the Japanese detective novel. A very satisfying read -- Jeremy Black * Critic *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
125 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-43908-1 (9780241439081)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Seicho Matsumoto
Tokyo Express
E-Book
06/2022
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€8.99
Available for download
Persons
Seicho Matsumoto was born in 1909 in Fukuoka, Japan. Self-educated, Matsumoto published his first book when he was forty years old and he quickly established himself as a master of crime fiction. His exploration of human psychology and Japanese post-war malaise, coupled with the creation of twisting, dark mysteries, made him one of the most acclaimed and best-selling writers in Japan. He received the prestigious Akutagawa Literary Prize in 1950 and the Kikuchi Kan Prize in 1970. He died in 1992. Jesse Kirkwood is a literary translator working from Japanese into English. The recipient of the 2020 Harvill Secker Young Translators' Prize, his translations include Tokyo Express by Seicho Matsumoto, Sympathy Tower Tokyo by Rie Qudan and A Perfect Day to Be Alone by Nanae Aoyama.