Tokyo Express is a short crime fiction written by Seicho Matsumoto, who related events in 1957 Japan. In the bay of Hakata, two lovers are found dead. The police suspect a double suicide by cyanide poisoning, but two men refuse to settle on this conclusion. While Torigai Jutaro starts the investigation, Kiichi Mihara pursues it. From station to station, the mystery unfolds and the truth is unburied.

That was my first story from Seicho Matsumoto; I discovered him through this first mystery, which was relatively short though enjoyable. To me, it truly felt like a good episode of a series. I could picture every scene in my mind as the descriptions and details were extremely well-done. Overall, I'd say I wasn't fascinated by the story in itself. It felt pretty common, not much original; originality could, however, be found in the little details I mentioned earlier. Matsumoto masterfully plays with time and with the concept of social perception, what one assumes from a simple scene or trivial conversation or encounter between two people. There was, thus, a sort of twist of reality.

Realism was pretty heavy in this novel, but there was always questioning about the extent to which this realism expands. Actually, I think I should make a little distinction: there is a questioning on the boundary between the terms real and truth. What is the real? And what is the truth? The real is what actually happened; the truth is what we believe is real in our own perception of things. In this sense, the story develops to uncover tiny little truths here and there, by total strangers or even Torigai's daughter, to eventually lead to the real, what really happened to Sayama and Toki, the two lovers found dead.

This concept of realism was deeply reinforced by the several maps and time notes made by Mihara. This idea of including them into the narrative made me feel like actually following the investigation, or even almost doing it myself. Without mentioning the endnote stating that similar events really occurred in 1957, I was immersed in the story all along.

What I might reproach to it is probably that I didn't particularly relate to any character. Despite feeling into the story, I was also feeling out of it in some senses. I would also say that I found it repetitive at some points. The multiple failures of Mihara in his investigation made me frustrated many times; I think that if Matsumoto intended to make us feel like this, he succeeded. But Mihara suffering that many failures eventually annoyed me. Not once, apart from the end, can we read him find out that one of his leads was right. In the end, though the plot was extremely well found, I wonder if it wasn't a bit too far-fetched to align with the idea of realism Matsumoto tried to convey.

That didn't stop me from enjoying the story, on the whole. It is a very condensed crime story that I think a lot of this genre lovers will like, if not love; as for me, that was a nice discovery. I thank Netgalley and Penguin Press for the opportunity of reviewing this title in advance. It was a real pleasure!

On an isolated beach two bodies are found and are presumed to be a lovers suicide pact. However, detective Torigai Jurato believes that there is more to this case but it's not until a colleague from Tokyo arrives that anyone else seriously listens to his theory that something about the case is just not right. Further investigation only leads to more questions but with such a well thought out plan was it really suicide or a very clever murder plot.

This was quite a short novel that really packed a punch; as Mihara continued the investigation where Torigai had started but hitting walls at every turn I could palpably feel his frustration. The suspense built and even though this was more of a why dunnit than a who dunnit I was completely gripped and read the entire book in a sitting. I would recommend for any one who likes tense thrillers; 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

Tokyo Express is a new edition of a 1950s Japanese detective story that hinges around train timetables and corruption. When the bodies of a young man and woman are found on a rocky beach, them having died of cyanide poisoning, it seems like there's nothing to investigate: a simple case of double suicide. But a local older detective finds a few details that don't add up, and soon a younger detective from Tokyo is drawn into the case, trying to unravel how these two people ended up on the beach.

I'd not heard of the book or author before and I don't read much detective fiction, but I was intrigued to try this one, and it was an enjoyable experience, with a fun, tightly packed mystery at its heart. The investigation seems to be constantly thwarted from the start, hinging around specific details of train times and witnesses, and you get an interesting insight into the assumptions that may or may not be made, as can be the case with detective stories in general. At the same time, the book gives a look at Japan at the time, particularly in terms of industrialisation and corruption, and the ending highlights that even the exposure of crime doesn't change the situation much.

The 1950s Japan setting is important to the novel, but the reading experience doesn't feel dated, and the translation generally makes it feel readable and atmospheric. I enjoyed the plot and the commentary on society, and the short length made it easy to read in one or two sittings.

Matsumoto's novel is not just another mystery story, but one that emphasizes social realism and explores the psychology behind certain acts of criminal nature.

The plot is very interesting, with its twist and turn it keeps you in its pages. The imagery is vivid and this entire plot takes place on the background of a post war Japan, so the elements of Japan is omnipresent.
Really liked reading the book.

A reprint and rebirth of a ‘50s Japanese detective novel, “Tokyo Express” tells the story of a man and a woman who are discovered dead on a beach in Southern Japan, still in each other's arms. The local police conclude it is a love suicide, and close the case. However one local cop is not convinced. The detective, and his opposite number in Tokyo work together to unpick the circumstances of the deaths, and in particular to unravel the seemingly solid alibi of their main suspect who has an alibi based on train times and unimpeachable witnesses.
It is evident, even in translated form, that Seicho Matsumoto is an astonishingly good writer, and deserves his glowing reputation. The book is a true police procedural, as we follow the thoughts of the detectives through their investigations until the final resolution. The story is perfectly plotted with believable characters and, whilst it may not tax the brains of seasoned crime novel readers, it is a pleasant, cosy-ish read.
This novel is fairly short at around 170 pages, and the English translation is excellent. It was originally published in 1958, but the story hasn’t dated much so it is an accessible read for the discerning modern reader. “Tokyo Express” is a detective story of the highest quality but it is also a work of literature, and comes highly recommended.

I rweally enjoyed reading this book. well written, compelling with vivid descriptions of japan in its post war state. Twisty, unpredictable and gripping I couldn't put it down.

This is my first Matsumoto book and it did not dissapoint. It's a mystery novel but more important element is it's portrayal of post war Japan. I am much curious to read more from Seicho Matsumoto.

Tokyo Express is a new edition of Seichō Matsumoto's first novel 点と線 - previously titled Points and Lines, which is a literal translation of the Japanese title published in 1958. Matsumoto is credited with popularising detective fiction in Japan, and I can see that this would have been quite a departure from other fictional works which were being published around the same time (I'm thinking of the work of authors like Yasunari Kawabata and Yukio Mishima).

I read somewhere that this book was originally serialised, and I think that it probably would have worked better read in that format rather than read in two or three sittings like I approached it: each chapter begins with some exposition to remind readers where things were left in the last section, and it gets a bit wearing. My other main criticism is that the reader is treated as if they're not intelligent enough to link certain clues or events together, and each character says exactly what they're thinking all the time. That, and I just didn't find the mystery at the heart of the story all that compelling.

I think it's great that these new Penguin editions are bringing lesser known writers in translation to a wider audience (so so glad I discovered Tove Ditlevsen through the new editions of her autobiography), but I'm afraid to say that this wasn't really my kind of thing.

Despites its origins as a magazine serial, Tokyo Express’s an enviably taut, mystery novel by prolific, award-winning author Seichō Matsumoto. A bestseller since its first appearance in Japan in 1958, it’s since been adapted for both film and television. It’s now considered a classic of the flowering of Japanese crime fiction post-WW2 – the genre was banned during the war because it was considered a source of potentially decadent, unpatriotic ideas. At first the crime at the book’s centre seems relatively straightforward: a man and a woman are found dead on a desolate beach in wintry Kashii, next to them an empty bottle laced with cyanide, just another tragic, but predictable, example of double-suicide (Shinjū), a ritual that had become almost commonplace in the period after WW2. But one of the team assigned to the case, Inspector Torigai, isn’t satisfied with that explanation, he shares his suspicions with the equally-dogged, Inspector Mihara, sent from Tokyo to follow up on events.

Torigai's, and then Mihara’s investigations, form the bulk of the story, in many ways they’re thinly-sketched figures yet somehow, they’re quite compelling. Shabby, world-weary, provincial Inspector Torigai’s a particularly sympathetic character, and his bond with the younger, overworked Inspector Mihara’s very effective. Their investigation, with its links to government corruption and bribery, provides a striking glimpse of the machinery of everyday life in post-war Japan, along with its many contradictions: an era of massive reconstruction resulting in a society caught between tradition and rapid change; a place weighed down by complex and damaging social and professional hierarchies, where industrialists thrive but the police are understaffed and poorly-paid. Matsumoto’s portrait of 1950s Japan’s obviously inflected by his comparatively left-wing politics, reminding me at times of the approach of radical crime writers like Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö.

Originally published in English as Points and Lines, this Penguin edition’s a newly-translated version by Jesse Kirkwood, winner of the 2020 Harvill Secker Young Translators’ Prize. It’s a fluid piece, although elements that hinge on nuances of speech and dialect don’t work quite so well in translation. Tokyo Express was the spark for a new trend in Japanese mystery writing, that reflected Matsumoto’s emphasis on social realism and interest in the psychological underpinnings of criminal acts. But his story retains elements reminiscent of conventional, puzzle-based fiction, much of the plot hinges on the minutiae of train travel and timetables – based on actual published timetables from 1957 – echoing more technical, locked-room-style mysteries popular at the time. It’s an enjoyable, sometimes fascinating piece, and there’s a particularly pleasing symmetry and precision to Matsumoto’s plot.