Inspector Imanishi Investigates (Soho Crime)

Inspector Imanishi Investigatesby Seichō Matsumoto, Beth Cary (Translator)20220236Deirdre Le Blanc's reviewDec 16, 2019 · editreally liked it. Last read December 12, 2019 to December 16, 2019.This author is no longer with us, but I was curious to read at least one of his books. This is very intricately plotted, with a murder that seemingly has no motive, and two others involving a intriguingly unusual method of killing.Seicho Matsumoto is not the first Japanese author I have read, but he is the first to let me leisurely stroll through the many investigative trips of inspector Imanishi to other parts of Japan in search of the killer and the history of where he came from. In doing so, it let me remember how courteous and thoughtful of others the Japanese are, or at least were in the 1960s. From bustling Tokyo to Osaka and Kyoto; to a very small, impoverished mountain village in the northeast, you become aware of the different dialects that are spoken, as well as the differences in living conditions from one prefecture to the next; you travel to parts of this island nation that you might never have a chance to otherwise. All the while, trying to pinpoint the murderer and solve the crimes. Yes, I enjoyed it.

Inspector Imanishi, a member of the Tokyo police, is included in a task force attempting to solve an initially simple-looking, but baffling murder case. When the task force is disbanded and the case relegated to the unsolved pile, due to lack of leads, Imanishi continues investigating as best he can parallel to his regular work.This is no action-packed detective story, but a very slow moving police procedural that follows Imanishi as he slowly gathers information and puts together the clues to solve the murder. I found it interesting, though not my favourite type of mystery novel. The rather unemotional writing style, that seems more like a report, was not my favourite, but how much of that comes from the translation is something I will definitely enjoy finding out as soon as my Japanese level gets high enough to read the book in original. All in all, a fun read, that gives some insights into the Japanese culture.The Kindle version could use a thorough spellchecking! Especially the Japanese words in the text (the honorific -san, for instance, is often written as a set of random letters).

This was my first “Matsumoto” book- it was good, for the most part. The story is fairly slow moving, but I didn’t find it dull. It’s not action packed, but more so plodding. I felt it took the pace of an actual investigation, not like the usual stuff on tv shows, which is solved quickly. This case takes places over months and you’re along for the ride at every detour, red herring, and misleading clue. Because, you know, that’s realistic.My issues were two-fold. First, the actual murder method, which made me go, “Really? That’s the avenue we’re going?” I didn’t care for it- it seemed ridiculous to me. I was all about this mystery until then. Then, it was “meh.”Second, as others have pointed out, is formatting (I got the Kindle Book). I got through it, but my goodness. It’s a hot mess in places. Words were jumbled “togetherwithoutspaces” which was annoying. Another issue is that incorrect letters were used. For example, “Imanishi-san” would be something ridiculous, like “Imanishi-sfhh.” Huh? Yeah, you’d think someone would have proofread. On the same note, if you had an “ri” in a word, such as ”riot,” the letters merged and became “not.” I guess an “ri” looks like an “n.” It was frustrating at times to figure out what exactly I was reading. It’s not like it was all over the place, but at least several times in a chapter.So, the story is itself was decent- nothing fantastic, but fun. But don’t bother reading If you’re getting the ebook, unless you want to be a detective yourself, trying to figure out what you’re looking at.

Inspector Imanishi Investigates follows the eponymous detective as he attempts to solve a seemingly simple mystery: a man is found dead on the train rails, his face savagely attacked. However, the leads quickly grow cold, and Imanishi - and the readers - rely on small strokes of luck (and encounter many dead ends) as the case slowly unfurls.I loved this book for many reasons. The first is the story itself: it has a slow pace, but not a dull or plodding one; almost everything happens for a reason, and all the loose ends are tied up in mostly satisfying ways by the end of the book. In addition, Matsumoto writes about postwar Japan in an intriguing way, and I gobbled up the morsels of Japanese culture he sprinkled along the way. Third, the pacing is excellent, in particular because it illustrates just how gruelling solving a crime can be. I also appreciated the lack of high-speed car chases and big kabooms: Matsumoto doesn't need it to make the plot riveting.Overall, I highly recommend this book to people who like mystery books and for those who want to branch out to international books. I do not recommend it for people who need action at every step.Started: January 11, 2016Finished: January 14, 2016Rating: 9/10

I enjoyed this book mainly for the cultural differences it revealed between oriental/occidental methods used in crime-solving at that particular time and also that the few characters involved stopped the confusion I often get caused by the use of many unfamiliar names. The formality and politeness Inspector Imanishi used towards his family and colleagues showed up the cultural gulf and intuition seemed to play a greater part in solving the mystery of the murders than in western crime, allowing of course for the author’s license of imagination.

A very enjoyable read, however it was spoilt somewhat by what can only be described as careless computer typesetting. Some words,for no reason appeared in bold type, others were made almost indecipherable by what must have been caused by the machine that transcribed them. I hope that Amazon will act to correct this.

Reading this book has been refreshing. The novel is packed with twists and turns especially at the last few chapters. Its almost impossible to correctly guess who the perpetrator is. Furthermore, there is little description of violence and no use of useless crude words for the purpose of drama. The killing technique was pretty unique. I am glad that I stuck reading to the book that is absoultely a satifactory read and worth the money as well as time.

It is a good thriller but at times I found the plot too lengthy and confusing and I was not understanding where Inspector was getting with all clues he was collecting about the railway murder case and how it was related to the Nouveau Group members. What I find disturbing is that you only get a glimpse of the murderer as though he is a side character and not the main one in the investigation! You don't get the grip that plugs you to the novel! It took me more time to read this one!! and the revelation about the motive was a bit disappointing I would as the author keep taking us to different parts of Japan with different characters without revealing any clue why or how it could be related to the murder case. I find the story a bit confusing honestly. I confess that I was a bit lost with the plot and trying to get on the rails many times but in the end I finished the book ! That's positive!

As another review has said, this is spoilt by lack of proof-reading. Words are in bold for no reason and there are other obvious typos. There really is no excuse for this. The errors literally jump off the page and spoil the experience of reading the book. The story itself was enjoyable and worth the irritation of the presentation.

For once a crime fiction story with no red herrings.The mystery of the initial murder slowly unravels as each clue is explored and linked to next clue.It is good old fashioned plot that satisfies.The atmosphere of early 60s Japan is captured beautifully.My big problem is just how sexist a culture it is.All men are very polite to each other,showing great respect and heroic.However all women are trivial,trodden on and viewed as mildly irritating by their spouses.Very enjoyable read