general

• quick summary - the deaths of two young people found on the beach near kashii station (kyushu) is initially assumed to be a lovers' suicide pact. the detective sent to investigate, jutari torigai, is not convinced and neither is kiichi mihara, a young gun from tokyo. together, they solve a calculated crime involving political intrigue and time-space limits, set in 1950s japan.
• key themes - post-war japan, careerism, murder, jealousy, political scandal.
• fav character - toki. we barely knew her as a character, but I felt sorry for her — it's as if she was forgotten in her own story.

interests

• what i found interesting - how the story was written in such a direct, clear manner as if it was a movie script; only the scenes that drove the plot forward were represented. the historical setting and societal criticism made it an even more interesting story for an east asian nerd like me + trains are so cool and their inclusion in the story as a crucial plot point turns tokyo express into an even more distinctive crime fiction classic.
• what i learned - I finally got the map of japan into my brain lol
• fav quote - "looking back, there was all sort of things I wish I'd done differently. in every instance, however, it comes down to the fact that I just didn't persevere. I kick myself, thinking: I could have cracked that case, if I had only stuck at it a bit longer. sometimes all it takes is the tiniest extra push in exactly the right place"

books it reminded me of

• agatha christie's - I don't know if it was the trains, the cyanide, or the setting but I was constantly reminded of christie's books, although this one is missing the psychological aspect of poirot's mysteries and the multiple complex characters, and it's also way shorter.

further reading

• follow-up context research - I might need to brush up on the history of post-war japanese economic growth + look into the story of japanese railways.

rating

• 3.75/5 - I felt so immersed in this story. I could feel as if I was right there in 1950s japan with detective mihara's trying to get to the bottom of the mystery; although some of the plot twists were easy to guess, and I felt sometimes ahead of the inspector in his deductions. The misogynistic tone of the book in regards to torigai's wife and the blame on women for men's downfall wouldn't let me give it a higher ranking. it was a random discovery on a bookshop and a pleasant read. I would definitely read some of the author's other translated mysteries.