I really like Yamada's writing style. I wish I could read it in the native Japanese (one day). Enjoyed this installation!

It wasn’t exactly what I was anticipating, but it was still an enjoyable novel to read. The historical and political aspects of the plot are way more present that I thought they would be, but it gave a deep and interesting context to the murders. They are told through little tale-like chapters — with titles. In a way, it reads like a collection of very short stories about some murders in the area that follow each other in that moment in time. They don’t blend in a typical mystery thriller way. It was an intriguing manner to tell the story. It was not the standard mystery thriller and I found that to be engaging. The ending has a little twist that I wasn’t expecting and it was quite thrilling. Even though I did not particularly connect with the characters, I appreciated this novel.

The Meiji Guillotine Murders is a very entertaining historical Japanese crime/mystery thriller by prolific author the late Futaro Yamada, many of whose books have been adapted for TV and and Film in his home country.

The book is set in the Meiji period when ,under pressure from the West,Japan was dragged kicking and screaming from an isolationist feudal society towards the more modern and very successful country it is today. The changes initially polarised the country and it was a time of great turmoil ,plots, assassinations and power plays. The first chapter of the book describes the situation and the historical context of the story.

The main characters are Detectives Kawaji and Kazuki who solve a series of bizarre and often seemingly impossible crimes ably assisted,seemingly, by the spirit world via French Woman Esmeralda ,and sometimes not so ably by 5 Rasotsu, basically city watchmen. While the plethora of Japanese personal names and nouns can be a little confusing this is great fun and very clever. Fans of Sherlock Holmes will love the series of offbeat crimes and the deduction that solves them. All are linked and when the "big picture" is revealed so is the cleverness of the author.

Hopefully more translations to come of Futaro Yamada's books,I'm hooked alreay.