"If you read mysteries for insights into other cultures and different periods, this excellent translation of the first novel by Akimitsu Takagi, who became one of Japan's leading crime writers, is an eye-opener. In 1947 Toyko, the limbs of a murdered woman are discovered in a locked bathroom. Her torso--covered with intricately beautiful tattoos by her late father, a highly controversial artist--is missing. A doctor finds the body, and ..."
"Etsuko has fallen in love with a shy, studious lecturer at a university. But she has to tell her parents she's pregnant to force their agreement to her marriage. Their objection is to the rest of her fiance's family: his father was a war criminal; his deceased younger brother, a murderer. His only respectable relative is a research chemist who says he's too sick to come to the wedding. And then the groom is called away on the firs ..."
"When the Tokyo stock market crashes, adultery and industrial espionage lead to murder. Segawa had a good job as a stock market trader, but the "private" hedge fund he operated suffered big losses and he was fired. He is down and out when he is approached with an offer of highly paid work. How can he resist? He agrees to become an industrial spy, even when he discovers the target is his old schoolmate-who married Segawa's girlfriend-and ..."
The Informer by AkimitsuTakagi 256 Pages, Published 2016 by Soho Press ISBN-13: 978-1-61695-095-8, ISBN: 1-61695-095-1
"He is soon assigned to seduce an ex-girlfriend and steal an important formula from her husband, who runs a large chemical company. But when the husband is found murdered, Segawa becomes the prime suspect. From the Trade Paperback edition."
"Kyosuke spoke coldly, as if he had forsaken all human feeling for Kyoko
Kawabata. “The usher working in that section of the theater has given a statement
saying ... Kyoko Kawabata's mouth had fallen slightly open, but no words
emerged. “You're lying, aren't you? Hisashi Mogami asked you to back up his
alibi, even ... like a boat being tossed by a storm. “That's enough for today,” he
said. “You may go now, and we'll expect you here ..."
No patent on murder by AkimitsuTakagi Paperback, 284 Pages, Published 1977 by Playboy ISBN-13: 978-0-87216-367-6, ISBN: 0-87216-367-9
"When he loses his job as a trader after the stock market crashes, Shigeo Segawa is offered lucrative work as an industrial spy. How could he say no? He is soon assigned to seduce an ex-girlfriend and steal an important formula from her husband, who runs a large chemical company. But when the husband is found murdered, Segawa becomes the prime suspect."
"After being fired from his job when the private hedge fund he managed was hit with heavy losses, Shiego Segawa is approached with an offer of highly paid work as an industrial spy. How could he say no? Soon he is assigned to investigate a chemical firm run by the husband of his former girlfriend. The goal: seduce the wife and steal an important chemical formula. But when the husband is murdered, Segawa finds himself the prime suspect. ..."
The Tattoo Murder by AkimitsuTakagi by Takagi, Akimitsu Softcover, Published 2022 by Pushkin Vertigo ISBN-13: 978-1-78227-828-3, ISBN: 1-78227-828-1
"If you read mysteries for insights into other cultures and different periods, this excellent translation of the first novel by Akimitsu Takagi, who became one of Japan's leading crime writers, is an eye-opener. In 1947 Toyko, the limbs of a murdered woman are discovered in a locked bathroom. Her torso--covered with intricately beautiful tattoos by her late father, a highly controversial artist--is missing. A doctor finds the body, and ..."
Irezumi (Folio Policier) by AkimitsuTakagi, Mathilde Tamae-Bouhon Paperback, 336 Pages, Published 2018 by Editions Gallimard ISBN-13: 978-2-07-278264-0, ISBN: 2-07-278264-3