All She Was Worth

(Spoilers) A Japanese detective fiction novel, Shoko up-and-leaves her fiance without a word and only a suitcase of clothes. Enlisting his mother's deceased cousin's husband, a policeman, to find her, Jun quickly abandons his post. Honma, said policemain, discovers that Shoko is actually Kyoko, Shoko's murderer, who had the intent to steal her identity. While this is "written" by Miyuki...more

(Spoilers) A Japanese detective fiction novel, Shoko up-and-leaves her fiance without a word and only a suitcase of clothes. Enlisting his mother's deceased cousin's husband, a policeman, to find her, Jun quickly abandons his post. Honma, said policemain, discovers that Shoko is actually Kyoko, Shoko's murderer, who had the intent to steal her identity. While this is "written" by Miyuki Miyabe, it really should be brought up more who translated it. Many articles can be found online that compare the translated text to the original - not to mention it is half the size of Miyabe's version (even after compenating for the character compresion) - the translator looses most of the characters' humanity throughout the novel and it becomes a lot of "he said"/"she said". Not a bad novel in concept, but the translator's skill is lacking.   hide

Miyuki Miyabe is one of the few female writers I really enjoy - her noirish, brutally truthful style lays bare Japan's sordid underbelly. If you like a good detective story, this is the one for you.

Best MM book by far.

A gripping police drama filled with breath taking suspence which keep you reading from beginning to end.