this had that element that I was looking for from a murder mystery novel, it had that crime element that I was looking for and thought worked in the setting. I was engaged and enjoyed the way the characters were in this and enjoyed the overall concept of this mystery concept. It uses the mystery element perfectly and was glad I got to go on this journey. Seicho Matsumoto has a strong writing style and was able to create characters that I was wanting and enjoyed from this, it was such a great crime novel and glad I was able to read this.

Tokyo Express isn’t a thriller you tear through, it’s a mystery that unfolds step by step, sometimes with more detail than it needs. The translation can feel blunt at times and the names took some effort to follow, but once I settled into the rhythm I was drawn along by the quiet persistence of the investigation.

What stood out most to me was the procedural style. The detective works carefully, gathering accounts, checking facts, and circling back when something doesn’t fit. There’s a certain intrigue in watching that process play out, especially if you enjoy the measured pace of crime fiction that doesn’t lean on car chases or dramatic reveals.

The atmosphere is cold, almost detached, with the detective defined more by his duty than his personal life. That works in its own way, though it left me without much warmth or personality to connect with. I think readers who appreciate precision and patience in their mysteries will find this satisfying.

Tokyo Express is a solid procedural with a distinct atmosphere. For me, it kept my attention, yet I felt ready when it ended.

Tokyo Express is a reissued vintage Japanese mystery, originally published in 1958. It's a little more of a HOWdunit than a whodunit - the prime suspect comes up fairly early on, and from there it's a story of the inspector cracking the various locks on the solution. The biggest breakthrough ended up being something that I guessed, and which I think is more obvious to a modern reading than a 1950s reader, maybe, so the story was less suspenseful than it could have been. The enjoyment comes in watching the methodical work of the main investigator, and how he logics it out. If one thing was disappointing, it was that the solution comes in the form of a letter, rather than being shown through action, and it repeats all of the previous chapters' reasoning. It could have ended more dynamically. Mystery aside, this was also a fun window into Japanese life (it spans the length of the country) and it translated extremely smoothly into English.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Two detectives are suspicious that and apparent murder suicide isn't what it seems in this railway mystery. Perfect for Higashino fans.

DNF - couldn't get into it. It wasn't feeling like it had the potential to be a four or five star read for me.

First published in 1958, this ingenious mystery is like a time capsule from a very different world. I don’t only mean how everybody smoked (everywhere!) but also the character’s attitudes and behavior. This is not so much as whodunit as a puzzle of how the deed was done. It starts with the apparent double suicide of two secret lovers, on the beach. He was a minor civil servant tangentially involved in a scandal. She was a waitress. I had a hard time believing that a whole police department would use so many resources to try to solve what was already established as self-inflicted. I understood the first cop to raise suspicions, he’s a local detective close to retirement. But the baton soon passes to a rising star in the Tokyo prefecture, who travels all over Japan in an effort to solve the mystery. But the real disconnect between our eras is how I considered the final explanation from the beginning, while it took the characters a long time to figure it out. This is not a complaint about the plot, just an observation that made this read even more entertaining: figuring out how many ways the past was different from today. The characters are likable and forced to do their jobs the hard way (how did we survive before computers?). The plot was a little complicated and a big twist relies on coincidence (a no-no according to Knox’s commandments). I eventually gave up trying to figure it out and just trusted that the characters knew what they were doing. Very different from the Golden Age mysteries of the West, but just as good. I’m glad that this has been translated and will be reading more from this author.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Random House | Modern Library.

Set in 1957, Tokyo Express opens with what appears to be a tragic lovers' double suicide. But as the investigation unfolds, the detectives quickly realize things aren't adding up. Each answer leads to more questions, unraveling a web of deception hidden beneath the surface. This is less a traditional "whodunit" and more a gripping exploration of how the crime was carried out—and whether justice will ultimately prevail.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital copy of this compelling mystery.

I loved this classic mystery from 1957 Japan. It was very noir and atmospheric, like an old movie. I also found it very interesting and a great look into 1950s Japan. The mystery itself is incredibly intricate and not so much a who-done-it but a how-done-it. I found it so entertaining.
I thought the very talented Jesse Kirkwood did an excellent job translating this mystery, too. I've read many of the books he's translated. Now I want to read more books by Seicho Matsumoto!
Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Modern Library for the oppourtunity to read this vintage ARC.

An entertaining mystery with a compelling premise and solid pacing. I enjoyed watching the detectives piece everything together; it made for an engaging read. That said, I found the characters a bit underdeveloped. Some moments felt like opportunities to explore them more deeply, but those threads weren’t fully pursued, which left it feeling a little flat to me.
I can recognize the strength of the writing and the author’s ability to craft an intriguing storyline. While this one didn’t fully click for me, I can see it appealing to readers who enjoy mysteries with thorough narration.

This is my second novel by Seicho Matsumoto (the first being, Suspicion—an atmospheric suspense drama with crafty character and setting development, an amazing read) and I can understand why Seicho Matsumoto is so revered in the world of literature. After a looooooong time I read a mystery where the detectives are built on their own merits without borrowing anything from fictional heroes like Sherlock Holmes. Though I am a FAN of SH and Agatha Christie's works, it is tedious to read the same mannerisms or tactics in other detectives.

In Tokyo Express, at first we meet Inspector Torigai, a battered veteran working in a provincial police station. He is in Kashii beach, where a couple has been discovered dead, poison being the suspected means of this double suicide. Originally published in Japanese in 1958, this double suicide (Shinju) has lots of political and socio cultural context...there is a Japanese belief from Edo era that lovers who depart together meet again in the after life, and then during WW2, mass/double suicide was quite a pattern in Japanese society, with there being definite names to better specify the relationship between the deads. This context is not at all explained in the novel (probably was not necessary to explain in 1950's Japan, it was a prevalent occurrence then there), but it has great significance in the plot of the novel because once the conclusion is reached that the two people on Kashii beach has died by Lover's suicide, the case was closed. But inspector Torigai had his doubt and then he meets Detective Mihara from Tokyo who shares his doubt.

The rest of the story is an intricate road map of their detective drill, combining both leg work and analytical deduction and what we get is a superb read, which doesn't fall short in any way, whether it be in terms of a clever antagonist, plot and character building, pace setting or intrigue maintenance. And as I said before, loved this very original pair of detectives: Torigai and Mihara and now am going to check out more books by Seicho Matsumoto.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book. My enthusiastic opinion here is unbiased and a true reflection of my amazing reading experience.

If you love train schedules you’ll love this book. It was interesting how the mystery unfolded. But it was also good it was short, the mystery didn’t compel any further kength

When a man and woman are found dead in an apparent double suicide on a beach near the bay, with implications going back to a bribery investigation at the ministry, it's up to the efforts of a seasoned local detective and a hotshot young Tokyo detective to solve the mysterious deaths.
Though a short book, it was an intriguing and complex mystery tied in to Japanese railway schedules at the time of its writing. The story kept you guessing as the detectives are stymied every time they think they've made progress, though I early on figured out the major rationale behind the deaths (which was so obvious it's astounding the police never even had a hint about it) and one of the other twists before it was revealed. The one real disappointment in the book was the fact that when the main detective finally made major headway in solving the mystery, everything that happened next took place off the page and was summarized in a long exposition letter rather than any scenes showing what transpired. Very entertaining if you don't think about that too much, but a let down with the wrap up. 3.5/5*