Tokyo Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga investigates the murder of a man who, after being stabbed in the chest, manages to walk to a statue of a kirin on a famous Tokyo bridge. The significance of that becomes clear in this carefully laid out murder mystery. I had no problems with the translation or the dialogue, bu the names took some getting used to. There were so many to assimilate. But it didn't keep me from enjoying the novel and its many surprises.. The ending was a bit unsatisfying.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Keigo Higashino for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Death in Tokyo coming out December 13, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A statue of a Japanese mythic beast - a kirin - stands guard over the district from the Nihonbashi bridge in Tokyo. One evening, a man staggers onto the bridge and falls to the ground right under the statue. The watchman who sees this scene unfold goes to the man. He was stabbed in the chest. Why was this man attacked? And why did he make an effort to get to the bridge?

That same night, a young man named Yashima is injured in a car accident while attempting to flee from the police. The wallet of the murdered man is found with him. 

Tokyo Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga is assigned to the team investigating the murder. What is the connection between the two men? Detective Kaga must use his skills to uncover what happened that night on the Nihonbashi bridge.

Overall, I really liked this story. I really enjoy Japanese fiction and murder mysteries. Detective stories are definitely fun! I honestly haven’t read the first two books, so maybe I was missing a little of the backstory. It was a well done police procedural book. I think parts of it were a little dry and I was hoping for slightly more action at the beginning.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Japanese murder mysteries!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A Death in Tokyo by Keigo Higashino balances tight plotting, and a character driven story that produces a gripping, entertaining mystery with a classical feel.

While this is the third book in the Kyoichiro Kaga series, readers need not have read the first two books to follow this plot. This novel works very well as a standalone, as the author provides the background necessary for readers to understand the roles and personalities of the main character. The book also contains a helpful cast of characters list at the beginning that helps readers who may lack familiarity with Japanese names keep track of who is who in the story. 

When the book opens, a Tokyo police officer discovers a male stabbing victim slumped against the parapet of a bridge, a knife still protruding from his chest. An ambulance transports the victim, Takeaki Aoyagi, to a hospital where he dies a short time later. The police swing into action to investigate the murder. They quickly locate a suspect, but the man, Fuyuki Yashima, attempts to flee a police officer and a passing truck runs him down as he runs across a busy street. He arrives at a hospital with a serious head injury and is in a coma. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police assemble a team to investigate, seeking to find evidence to prove Yashima is the killer. Detectives Shuhei Matsumiya and Kyoichiro Kaga, coincidentally cousins, get assigned to work together as partners. During the investigation, they work to recreate the movements of the victim and suspect, interview the victim’s wife and family and the suspect’s girlfriend, Kaori Nakahara, to work out the motive for the attack and to learn how it played out. Kaga, the more experienced of the two, grows to doubt the guilt of Fuyuki Yashima, even though the police found the victim’s wallet and briefcase in his possession after the vehicle accident. While their superiors pressure the team for a fast resolution so they can close the case, Kaga and Matsumiya continue following Kaga’s theories and new lines of investigation since Kaga is adamant about discovering the truth about who stabbed Aoyagi. The detectives face a series of mysteries they must solve and bring together by the end of the story. 

While we don’t learn the specific time period, the existence of mobile phones and text messaging shows the story takes place in the present day. Higashino provides a lot of rich detail of homes, neighborhoods, businesses, and food across the course of the novel that helps paint a picture and allows us to imagine the setting with ease. This is a character-driven exploration of justice, family, and grief. While his supervisors seem willing to accept things as they appear on the surface, and his colleagues cannot connect the clues, Kaga takes matters into his own hands and uses his observation skills, intelligence, and determination to crack the mystery. He takes his profession seriously and is committed to seeing justice done for all concerned. This is easily one of the most enjoyable mystery stories I’ve read in a long while. It reminded me of some of the classic mysteries I’ve read in the past by authors like Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh. Higashino’s writing is not only descriptive and vivid, but surprisingly poignant and moving. Kaga and Matsumiya are likeable, relatable, and realistic. I felt great sympathy for Kaori Nakahara, Fuyuki Yashima’s girlfriend. While I’m not sure that Higashino gives readers all the clues necessary to solve the whodunit before revealing the murder motive was something quite different from what we imagined, that’s okay, as it’s an entertaining story nonetheless. The author expertly pulls all the threads together to provide a satisfying conclusion. I’m a massive fan of mysteries and this book was a standout for me. I’m happy to discover a new (to me) author who clearly knows how to write a mystery well. 

I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley for review purposes.

A seemingly drunk man staggers onto a lonely Tokyo bridge at night and collapses. A policeman checks on him and is surprised to find that A Death in Tokyo has occurred. The man is not drunk but instead has been stabbed to death.

The police investigate and are suspicious of a man lurking around the bridge. Unfortunately, he runs from the officers and is hit by traffic. How will Tokyo Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga and his partner investigate the homicide while the chief suspect lies in a coma in the hospital?

While the mystery is intriguing and cunningly solved, there is a large elephant in the room within A Death in Tokyo. Japanese names are long and difficult to remember for Western brains. The publisher seems to recognize this issue and has included a cast of characters at the beginning of the book. While this is helpful, it does introduce a distraction from the plot. Even the translator seems to recognize the problem and adds helpful asides to explain the role of some of the characters even well into the book. Is it enough?

Personally, I have to drop a star for the name issue. However, feel free to add it back if you are better at remembering names. Overall, it is an acceptable police procedural within an exotic setting. 3 stars.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

“Blood dotted the sidewalk!”

A case of a seemingly cut and dried murder turns out to be way more than first thought. Kyoichiro Kaga—detective, Nihonbashi Precinct, and his cousin Shuhei Matsumiya—detective, Homicide Division, Tokyo Metropolitan Police are part of a task force to investigate the murder of Takeai Aoyagi, a CEO of a small parts business.
It seems an ex-contract employee might be involved. Nothing adds up for Kaga however. The murder takes place on Nihonbashi Bridge.
Kaga’s investigation leads the reader through a set of circumstances that come together to make final sense of what’s happened.
Along the way we learn of cultural practices like the Nihonbashi Seven Lucky Shrines pilgrimage, the making of oragami paper cranes to be burnt offerings, health and safety coverups in factories.
A solid detective story one part a flash of intuition and three parts thorough investigative work.
I’m very excited to add Higashino to my growing list of Asian mystery authors I admire.

A St. Martins Press ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

A businessman and father is found stabbed on the famous Nihonbashi bridge in Tokyo and the prime suspect ends up in a coma when he is hit by a truck while fleeing from the police. Detective Kyoichiro Kaga's keen insights and methodical approach will be key to finding out what happened and why. Originally written in Japanese, the English version flows well, and I didn't feel like it mattered that I have not read the previous 2 books in the series. The mystery is solid rather than exciting, but the twists it takes to solution are unexpected and the story held my interest from start to finish.

A puzzle box of a procedural. The stabbing death of a businessman and subsequent discovery of a dead suspect seems straightforward at first but Detective Kaga quickly realizes that it isn't. The dead men both worked at the same business for a time but neither lived near the murder scene and didn't seem to have a reason to be there. What do the victims' families know? This educates (at least it educated me) as it entertains in little ways. It's told in the third person from a variety of perspectives and while you might dislike one for a while, you might change your view as the story unfolds. No spoilers from me on this one which takes a number of turns. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books-this will be fine as a standalone. I'm eagerly awaiting more translations of Higashino. Great read.

A Death in Tokyo is a police procedural/mystery that follows the investigation of an unusual murder in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. A man is found stabbed on historic Nihonbashi bridge. The same night, a man in possession of the victim’s wallet is injured in a car accident while fleeing the the police. Detective Kyoichiro Kaga is assigned to the team investigating the murder and quickly begins to believe that the case isn’t as open and shut as it seems.

This is the third book from his Detective Kaga series that has been translated into English (#9 in the Japanese series, I believe). Higashino’s novels are extremely popular in Japan and much of Asia, but only a handful of his work has been translated to English. While this is my first Detective Kaga novel, I have read other novels by Higashino and I’m excited to see his books being made more widely available.

The first half of this novel was a bit slow for me, but I am not very familiar with police procedurals. I was much more invested after the halfway point and was intrigued by how the mystery was unlocked throughout the rest of the novel. I also began to enjoy and connect with the characters a lot more. While this is a detective novel, there was also quite a bit of warmth in these characters. The character of Detective Kaga is sometimes described as a modern day Poirot, and I think that’s a pretty accurate description.

I feel I might have been more engaged in A Death in Tokyo from the start if I was more familiar with the series, but I certainly don’t think it’s necessary to read the previous novels to enjoy this one. I've added the first and second Detective Kaga novels that are available in English to my TBR for when I want a good, classic crime/mystery read.

My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for this advance copy to review. All opinions are my own.

I really like this book. I will highly recommend this to everyone i know. Keigo never disappoint me fr.

I like the characters and their investigation style but it is very straight forward detecting. The description of place and background of characters isnt present in the writing but maybe that's the point. The translation flows and the characters are easy to follow. Interesting to read a series from another culture although its not my favorite in the series.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

This is the third entry in the Detective Kaga series that has been translated into English (though not the third book overall). It's not my favourite of Higashino's mysteries, but it was very enjoyable to read and kept me guessing the whole time. I don't think I liked it more than Malice, but I did like it much better than Newcomer, and overall I still prefer the Detective Galileo series to this one. What is different about this book is that usually, I feel like he focuses more on the how and why of the mystery at hand, whereas this book focuses primarily on the who and why. It's not a bad thing per se, but just a much more straightforward whodunit than I am used to from Higashino.

Overall, a solid entry to the series and Higashino continues to be my favourite mystery writer.

Translated works are always a hit or miss for me and this was sadly a hit. The dialogue flowed awkwardly for me and it wasn’t very easy to read. I do enjoy some translated works but sadly I think this wasnt the best

This is my very first Keigo Higashino novel. It’s the ninth entry in Higashino’s series featuring Kyochiro Kaga, but only the third to be translated into English. (Thank you, translator Giles Murray!) Even so, I never felt lost, and, by the translation pattern — or lack thereof — it’s pretty clear that you don’t have to read these books in order to enjoy fine police procedural.

I enjoy this series a lot, having read several of the nine books.
This is a police procedural which follows the Tokyo detectives who refuse to take the obvious choice and easy solution to a murder. They follow their gut feelings to find the truth and the real story behind the mysterious stabbing death of a father on a lonely bridge.

The methods of inquiry, the follow up interviewing and persistence of the detectives makes this story very interesting throughout the novel. What they discover is equally unexpected.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

When a man is seen stumbling near a bridge in Tokyo, a policeman approaches him to see if he is drunk. As it turns out, the man has a knife in his chest, and he eventually dies. When their main suspect is a man who was hit by a truck while fleeing the police, they just hope he survives so that they can easily close the case.

Detective Kaga is in charge of the investigation, and he has a difficult time finding enough evidence to close it. With a lot of hard work, diligence, and determination, he eventually finds enough information to ask the right questions of the families and people involved. In the end, Detective Kaga and the team determine what really happened and uncover the truth.

I always enjoy a good police procedural, and in this case I enjoyed the setting in Japan.

When a man is found dead on the Nihonbashi Bridge, the Tokyo Metro Police are called in as well as Detective Kyoichiro Kaga of the Nihonbashi Precinct. Since the victim, Takeaki Auyagi, an executive of Kaneseki Metals and the prime suspect , Fuyuki Yashima, had also worked there and was let go, it seemed like an open and shut case. But Kaga, paired with Matsumija of the Metro, felt that the crime was not so easily solved. They went around the crime area wondering why the victim was there visiting shrines and so far from his home. The more information they unearthed, Kaga believed that the suspect was not the killer and that something from the past was the reason for the murder.
An engrossing police thriller set in Tokyo with interesting characters and intriguing local flavor.
Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-galley of "A Death in Tokyo".

This story was so stiff. I’m wondering if it was translated from Japanese since the dialogue felt robotic and emotionless. Not that translations tend to read this way, but it’s a good excuse if that’s the case. The story simply moved through the paces and the outcome felt far fetched. There was also an underlining of sexism with no women leads and the women that did appear were fragile and naive. Also, is it normal for cops in Tokyo to take cabs and the subway everywhere? Does the department not provide them with transportation? It didn’t feel very efficient when they were called back to the station for an urgent update and then we cut to them trying to flag down a cab.

I wanted to like this but the dialogue between the characters alone was hard to acclimate to.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher of an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A new work from Keigo Higashino is always something to look forward to and this one does not disappoint.

This is Higashino’s third book in the Detective Kaga Series. The third book translated into English anyway. This was quite a page turner. There were twists and turns and the journey to solving the mystery is always the real reward.

Can't wait to get my hands on the next one

As a longtime fan of Higashino’s books, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read an advance copy of his latest Detective Kaga book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. This one didn’t disappoint. It brought us into the minds of the detectives working on a case. They didn’t let the obvious and easy solution stop their investigation when questions arose. I found it fascinating. One doesn’t need to have read the previous books to enjoy this one. I highly recommend it.

"In the latest from international bestselling author Keigo Higashino, Tokyo Police Detective Kaga is faced with a very public murder that doesn't quite add up, a prime suspect unable to defend himself, and pressure from the highest levels for a quick solution.

In the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo an unusual statue of a Japanese mythic beast - a kirin - stands guard over the district from the classic Nihonbashi bridge. In the evening, a man who appears to be very drunk staggers onto the bridge and collapses right under the statue of the winged beast. The patrolman who sees this scene unfold, goes to rouse the man, only to discover that the man was not passed out, he was dead; that he was not drunk, he was stabbed in the chest. However, where he died was not where the crime was committed - the key to solving the crime is to find out where he was attacked and why he made such a super human effort to carry himself to the Nihonbashi Bridge. That same night, a young man named Yashima is injured in a car accident while attempting to flee from the police. Found on him is the wallet of the murdered man.

Tokyo Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga is assigned to the team investigating the murder - and must bring his skills to bear to uncover what actually happened that night on the Nihonbashi bridge. What, if any, connection is there between the murdered man and Yashima, the young man caught with his wallet? Kaga's investigation takes him down dark roads and into the unknown past to uncover what really happened and why.

A Death in Tokyo is another mind-bending mystery from the modern master of classic crime, finalist for both an Edgar Award and a CWA Dagger, the internationally bestselling Keigo Higashino."

Are the deaths on the Nihonbashi bridge connected? I really need to know!