13 Best Japanese mystery novels

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There is never a bad time to pick a mystery book but one cannot argue that they are simply the perfect picks when the air turns colder. Cozy up with these amazing translations—There are gruesome murders, locked room mysteries, psychological thrillers and ancient curses to tempt you in this list of best Japanese mystery novels. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but you’ll find some excellent cozy crime books and modern crime books to indulge in.

Japanese cozy crime books

First up, let us have some cozy crime or honkaku! Honestly, I cannot get enough of Japanese crime fiction. Thanks to the hard work of translators who worked very hard so that we can enjoy these excellent Japanese mysteries in English now.

What is Honkaku?

Honkaku means orthodox or authentic and refers to a genre of Japanese crime fiction where the clues are laid out for the reader and there are no big surprises. Writer Haruta Yoshitame, who is credited with defining honkaku, describes it as “a detective story that mainly focuses on the process of a criminal investigation and values the entertainment derived from pure logical reasoning”.

These novels were very popular in the 1920s and 1930s in Japan and sought inspiration from the golden age detective novels of the West by authors such as Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr. Honkaku writers often list out their clues, allowing the reader to solve the crime by themselves. They usually include floor plans and a list of characters to help the reader solve the mystery. The honkaku novels later gave way to shin hokaku (new orthodox) crime fiction after the 1970s.

1. The Tattoo Murder by Akimitsu Takagi, translated by Deborah Boehm

I recently read The Tattoo Murder, originally published in 1948, and I am obsessed with it. I went in expecting a cozy crime (Let me warn you, it features gory scenes compared to your usual cozy crime read) and found myself squeezed tight into a thrilling, electrifying murder mystery featuring tattooed women. The Tattoo Murder is very pulpy, juicy and absolutely unputdownable—There’s a professor who is obsessed with tattooed skin and owns a collection of skins; there are curses that might activate if certain tattoos are sketched together; there’s sex and love; there are exhibitions where you can show off your body art and win prizes; there are escorts and seedy storefronts in Japan’s underbelly; and of course gruesome murders.

The story begins with a beautiful tattooed woman, the daughter of a famous tattoo artist and winner of a tattoo exhibition that took place few days before, being murdered in her locked house. Her torso is missing, and her dismembered limbs remain in the locked room.

The narrator of the story is someone who forms an affection (or so he thinks) with the murdered woman and not the actual detective/police who tries to solve the murder. This choice of POV makes it very exciting because we, as readers, are also trying to piece together the clues with the naïve protagonist. Fear not, there are ‘too many’ detectives trying to solve the case including the protagonist’s brother who works in the police department and also his friend. The Tattoo Murder, set in a post-war Japan, has a superstitious twinge and several bloody murders that makes this chunky crime novel a worthwhile addition to your reading list.

2. The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Louise Heal Kawai

The Honjin Murders is the first among the stories featuring detective Kosuke Kindaichi among 77 books by Seishi Yokomizo. On a snowy day in 1937, the eldest son of the Ichiyanagi family, Kenzo Ichiyanagi, marries a school teacher, Katsuko Kubo. On the night of their wedding, the bride and groom are murdered in a locked room by an assassin who leaves behind a bloodied Samurai sword, a hand print and no footprints.

The Ichiyanagi family is a wealthy, upper class feudal family and their home was a honjin. Honjins were inns in feudal Japan designated for traveling nobility during the country’s Edo period from 1603-1838 (Edo is the old name for Tokyo). The family fled and reestablished themselves in the post-feudal era, but didn’t let go of their obsession with lineage and status; so the eldest son’s marriage with a commoner had raised eyebrows among family members. Kosuke Kindaichi, the sharp and observant detective, solves the mystery of the murder.

Absolutely delicious cozy crime fiction with koto music and a mysterious three fingered man.

3. The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Yumiko Yamazaki

The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Yumiko Yamazaki from the Japanese, is my favourite among the Kindaichi mysteries. It is set in the 1940s and follows the murder of a prominent eighty-one-year-old business man, Sahei Inugami, patriarch of the Inugami clan. Sahei Inugami is the hero of a typical rags-to-riches success story through his silk company, established during the war period. He also has a string of possible heirs and a new will, which complicates matters after his murder. The Inugami Curse is thrilling, with masked men, heirs, loyal servants, mistaken identities, family heirlooms and secretive sisters.

Also Read : Best Japanese mystery novels—golden cozy crime by Seishi Yokomizo

4. The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada, translated by Ross Mackenzie

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders has a killer premise—An artist who has written detailed notes about murdering the women in his family to create Azoth, the supreme woman, is murdered in a locked studio. The women in his family start getting killed after his murder in eerily similar methods written in the notes. These gruesome but unsolved ritualistic killings is nicknamed the zodiac murders. In 1979, a mystery solving duo—Kazumi Ishioka (freelance illustrator and mystery story buff) and Kiyoshi Mitari (artist and amateur detective)—get obsessed with the zodiac murders.

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders is slightly lumpy in its writing style, and has a slow start (unless you are very enthusiastic about zodiac info). But it is worth being patient because the story progresses quickly once the detectives are comfortable in their assigned roles. This book has the best oh-my-god climax ever. Mind blowing!

Also Read : 18 FUN Asian books to binge now

5. The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji, translated by Ho-Ling Wong

The Decagon House Murders is a classic locked room (isolated island) mystery that pays homage to my favourite crime book of all time—And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. A group of seven students, who were part of a mystery club at college, visit an isolated island (and the Decagon house) where a group of locked room murders have taken place in the past. On the mainland, an ex-member of the mystery club receives a note about the death of a former student Chiori, who coincidentally is the daughter of the owner of the Decagon house. The students who visit the island start getting killed. This is a satisfying read with three threads—the old murders, the students getting murdered in the present and Chiori’s death. I absolutely loved the climax!

Published in 1987, this novel is credited with launching the shin honkaku movement in Japan. Yukito Ayatsuji is also one of the founders of the Honkaku Mystery Writer’s Club in Japan.

6. The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji, translated by Ho-Ling Wong

The Mill House Murders is a classic mystery that takes place in an isolated mansion. This is the residence of a reclusive, wheelchair bound man-in-a-mask and a woman who stays in the tower. Detective Kiyoshi Shimada investigates a series of baffling murders and the theft of a priceless painting in this translated cozy crime. The novel is atmospheric and gloomy, with torrential rain, so it perfectly pairs up with a cup of chai on a rainy day.

7. Murder in the Crooked House by Soji Shimada, translated by Louise Heal Kawai

Eccentric business tycoon Kozaburo Hamamoto throws a party for a small group of guests at his mansion during the holidays. As with every holiday party in big houses in a cozy mystery, a guest is killed in a locked room, and detective Kiyoshi Mitari comes to the rescue. The characters don’t steal your heart but the house sure does. And honestly, is it even a holiday season without a murder or two?

8. The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Bryan Karetnyk

The Village of Eight Graves brings together ancient curses and modern post-war Japan in an atmospheric Kosuke Kindaichi mystery. This book takes its name from a 16th century legend of the murder of eight samurais who were hiding in the village on the mountains, with a treasure. The murders bring upon a curse on the villagers—A man goes on a murder spree and kills all the villagers. The infant son of the murderer survives and grows up with no knowledge of his ancestry and gruesome history. When the son, now a young man, visits his home-village, a series of murders follow, and the villagers get suspicious. Similar to the house mysteries mentioned above, the village is truly the main character in this mysterious story.

Modern Japanese mystery novels

More of the best Japanese mystery novels to read now—

9. The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda, translated by Alison Watts

The Aosawa Murders follows a cyanide poisoning at a party thrown by a clinic in the 1960s which leaves one survivor—the blind daughter of the physician—and 17 dead. Decades later, there’s a book published that describe the murders, many suspects, a cryptic note, and of course the unsolved mystery. Do not dive into The Aosawa Murders expecting a classic whodunnit. It is more of a slow unveiling of how it all came to be. Read it as you would read a puzzle waiting to be solved.

10. Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka, translated by Sam Malissa

Pick this up for some action-filled thriller escapism. Five assassins (one of them self-proclaimed as the unluckiest assassin in the world) are aboard a train from Tokyo to Morioka, each with a mission to complete before the train arrives at its destination. Bullet Train is smart, funny, dark and unexpected (an assassin who is an ardent fan of Tommy train series for example) and features crime lords, assassins named after citrus fruits, vengeful fathers, psychopaths, guns, and even a snake!

11. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, translated by Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander

Better dive into The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino knowing nothing about the story. This thriller blew my mind away with its storytelling and it is rightly called one of the best crime fiction by readers worldwide. In The Devotion of Suspect X, a crime is committed in the early chapters. A single mom is on the list of suspects for the murder of her ex-husband. But her neighbour, a soft spoken mathematical genius comes up with a solid alibi that throws the police off the course. Reading this book is an experience in itself. It was my first Keigo Higashino and it rightly made me want to read his complete backlist.

Also Read : Review of The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

12. Malice by Keigo Higashino, translated by Alexander O. Smith

In this modern locked room mystery, a famous Japanese novelist is brutally murdered the night before he was set to relocate from Japan to Vancouver. His body is found in a locked room in his own home (locked of course). In this page turning and satisfying mystery, detective Kyoichiro Kaga tries to uncover a whydunnit and oh! you will be impatiently waiting (reading?) to know the ‘why’.

13. Journey under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino, translated by Alexander O. Smith

The only reason, this list does not feature more of Keigo Higashino is because I haven’t finished combing through the backlist. But chances are you would not go wrong picking up a Keigo Higashino mystery—each book serves you something new and satisfying. In Journey under the Midnight Sun, we follow an unsolved crime for over 20 years (!) through the lives of the son of the murdered pawnshop owner and the daughter of the suspect, as they grow from adolescents into adults. This complex, psychological tale featuring the obsessed detective Sasagaki who keeps tabs for twenty years without letting the case rest as a low-profile unsolved murder, is an excellent chunky treat for a long weekend.