WHODUNIT?

REVIEWS BY BRUCE TIERNEY

On the crime beat in Tokyo

As this is my first column written from within the confines of my tiny Tokyo apartment, it seems especially fitting to lead off with a review of a Japanese author. Asa Nonami makes her first foray into English-language mysteries with The Hunter, translated by the talented Julia Winters Carpenter, who impressed readers (including this one) with her English rendering of Miyuki Miyabe's 2004 thriller, Shadow Family. Originally released in Japan in 1996, where it won the prestigious Naoki Prize, The Hunter stands poised to take aim at Western markets this month. The heroine, beleaguered police detective Takako Otomichi, is as complex and conflicted a protagonist as any in recent memory. The product of an affirmative-action type program to bring more females into positions of power in the workplace, Otomichi is by turns coddled, patronized and outright dissed by her co-workers. On top of that, she is recently divorced, her sister is semi-suicidal, her mother is a harpy and her new partner is a misogynist of the first order. Otomichi's latest assignment finds her hot on the trail of a murderous canine, possibly a cross between a large dog and a wolf. Surprisingly, there is a society, albeit a loosely knit and somewhat clandestine one, that promotes the breeding of these clever and ferocious animals; to Otomichi's dismay, the key figures all seem to be cops. And what's a girl to do when the cops all stick together to keep a female officer out of the loop? The answer, of course, is to stay one step ahead, to beat the bullies at their own game, a task that Otomichi is well up to. The Hunter is a first-rate page-turner, sure to have readers queuing up for a sequel.


Third time's the charm for Spiegelman

Although Red Cat is Peter Spiegelman's third novel featuring New York City private investigator John March, it is the first one I've had the pleasure to read. It won't be the last. From page one, Spiegelman spins a gripping tale of betrayal, blackmail and murder, the key figure being a femme fatale known simply as Wren. Although Wren scarcely makes an appearance in Red Cat, her essence permeates every page. Seductive, brilliant, vindictive and downright bad, Wren is the absolute antithesis of the girl next door, unless you live in a particularly unsavory neighborhood. Of late, Wren has been producing, directing and co-starring in some nasty little videos in which the supporting actors, powerful socialites in some cases, had no idea that their performances were being filmed. Now somebody, perhaps Wren, is blackmailing them, and it falls to March to investigate the crime quietly, by no means an easy task, especially when the body of a woman eerily matching Wren's description washes up on shore under the Williamsburg bridge. Spiegelman offers reader the complete package: a killer storyline (literally), vivid characterizations (anyone who has ever dabbled in sibling rivalry will revel in the relationship between March and brother David), crisp dialogue and a twist or two to keep you guessing.


A lively literary mystery

Prolific Scottish author Val McDermid serves up a clever and satisfying "what-if?" suspense novel, The Grave Tattoo, featuring Jane Gresham, a modern-day literary scholar investigating the storied relationship between author William Wordsworth and renowned mutineer Fletcher Christian. For years, rumors have circulated questioning Christian's supposed death on Pitcairn Island; many believed that Christian made his way back to England, living out his life incognito in the Lake District. McDermid hypothesizes a post-Bounty meeting between Christian and Wordsworth, in which the disgraced sailor offered up his side of the story, a tale later written down by Wordsworth, then lost to history. Fortune, fame, scholarly credibility (and probably a lucrative book deal, not to mention a footnote in one of history's most enduring legends) are at stake for whomever unearths the purported manuscript, and it quickly becomes evident that the academic community is not above a bit of a bit of selective backstabbing, even literally, if the potential payoff is sufficient. McDermid cuts deftly back and forth between Wordsworth's day and modern times, the suspense building with each shift of scene. Add in a career criminal with a vicious temper, a nubile mixed-race teen of dubious parentage, an ex-boyfriend who is a rather nasty piece of work, and a ruthless antiquities dealer, and you have the recipe for a fine suspense novel indeed!


Mystery of the month

The last time BookPage reviewed a Giles Blunt novel, it won the coveted Tip of the Ice Pick Award; this month, Blunt ascends to a lofty plateau, becoming one of only a handful of authors to win the award twice. His current winner is By the Time You Read This, the title referring to the opening line of a suicide note . . . or is it? The suicide in question is that of the wife of Algonquin Bay (Ontario) police detective John Cardinal. On the surface, it seems like a pretty open-and-shut case: Catherine Cardinal had wrestled with manic-depressive disorder for years. Nonetheless, her medications seemed to have been sorted out of late, and she appeared happy and engaged, both in her personal life and in her work as a photographer. Then, for no apparent reason, she took a header off a rooftop, leaving behind a husband and daughter, and a note. Cardinal can't believe it; he feels as if he should have seen it coming. Without any help from his colleagues (indeed, with their active disapproval, as they think he is too distraught to be thinking clearly), he launches a quiet investigation into his wife's death, and begins to unearth some disturbing information about her therapist, whose patients have been dropping like flies. All are apparent suicides, but the numbers are well over the norm, even for a therapist who treats seriously depressed patients. The case dovetails with an ongoing child pornography investigation, two seemingly disparate cases, but with one tragic common denominator. By the Time You Read This is a thought-provoking, complex novel of suspense, with one of the most chilling literary villains since Hannibal Lecter.


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