A fantastic ending to the two part novel. All I can say is that if you loved Lady Joker Volume one you won't be disappointed with volume two.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

“‘Lady Joker’s on the move. They’ve demanded six hundred million in cash’ ‘Lady—what?’ … The assistant inspector repeated the English words. ‘Lady as in first lady. Then joker as in the trump card. Lady Joker. That’s what the crime group is calling themselves.’”

My thanks to John Murray Press U.K. Audio Baskerville for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘Lady Joker Volume 2’ by Kaoru Takamura. The audiobook is narrated by Brian Nishii.

‘Lady Joker’ was originally published as ‘Redi jōkā’ in Japan in 1997 and was translated from the Japanese by Marie Iida and Allison Markin Powell. Both volumes open with a handy Dramatis Personae.

It is best to think of ‘Lady Joker’ as a near 1,200 page novel that has been split into two parts. The second volume picks up where the first ended. As I noted in my review of Volume 1, it is quite a commitment, though combining reading with its audiobook proved an immersive experience and assisted with the pronunciation of unfamiliar names and words.

It has a complex plot. Very briefly in 1990 a group of five men meet at a racetrack. They each have a grudge against the Hinode Beer Company and over the next few years they concoct an elaborate plan that involves kidnapping the Company’s president and extorting a significant amount of money from them. They name their group ‘Lady Joker’. The second volume opens in May 1995.

The story is inspired by the unsolved Glico-Morinaga kidnapping that took place in 1984. The narrative moves between the conspirators, the executives of the company, journalists, and the police.

‘Lady Joker’ is a slow burn, character driven novel with a focus on Japanese society, especially its complex corporate culture. I would categorise it as a blend of crime and literary fiction. Despite its length I found myself quickly drawn into its narrative.

With respect to the audiobook, actor Brian Nishii has narrated a wide range of titles and has a golden, resonant voice that was a pleasure to listen to.

Overall, ‘Lady Joker’ is a fascinating, multilayered novel that clearly deserves its designation as a modern classic of Japanese literature. It’s wonderful that it has now been made available to English readers.

I wanted to love this book and I think if I had read Volume 1 before it I would have. However, I found it slower than what I typically love.

This is less of a crime story and more of a novel about corporate japan, espionage and greed. And whilst they are interesting and riveting aspects I found the multiple changes of POV confusing in audiobook format. It was hard to keep track of each character and instead led more to me becoming disengaged.

This is nothing against the book which is a solid book and more that the book just wasn't for me.

Glad I read it though and only just realised it was inspired by a real life kidnapping.

Without doubt, this is one of the most remarkable works of fiction I’ve ever read ( or in this case listened to). That said, I think I’ve failed to do this volume justice as I haven’t read Volume 1 and I think I’ve missed out on a lot of important preamble and character detail.

This is a bit of a mind bender because it’s a crime thriller, it’s based on fact and it’s a blockbusting epic which reflects Japanese society. It’s packed with characters and detail that such the listener into a vortex. Part of the time I really had no idea what was happening or why, but the whole concept of the narrative was so intriguing, I was immersed anyway. The story centres on corporate crime; a huge heist and kidnap that remains unsolved. It’s incredibly complex but brilliant. I feel the translation captures every nuance of the original and the narration throughout is superb. This has certainly whetted my appetite to read more and I’m going to buy the first volume then tackle volume 2 again. It’s so original and the scope is enormous.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Wow. I read this on Audiobook via NetGalley and I loved it just as much as part one!
The case that this book is based on is fascinating and adds a fantastic level of intrigue to this story.

Towards the end, probably the last half I was struggling to keep track of the characters and who was who and their different backgrounds. I think this is down to me as a reader rather than the book. I feel if I read it in print I might find it a bit easier to follow as my attention wouldn’t wander as much as it can with an audiobook.

That being said, the whole thing was so compelling and I took every opportunity to listen. I highly recommend!!