Prefecture D

I would have enjoyed this more if focused more on them as individual stories not trying to link them up but I think there are cross over characters.Teamed it up with an audio book because the stories a flat and I just wanted to finish it to be honest so I used my Audible credit.Not for everyone and kind of lack luster but it passed the time and that's one thing a book is good for.

A brilliant collection of short stories. I love his novels too. I look forward to his next.

This was my first venture into the works of this author. I didn't realise that the book contains four short stories as the book cover appears silent in this regard. The stories are somewhat interlinked by the main character in one story appearing fleetingly in the next story but the linkages aren't really necessary. A social scientist might find this book interesting if they wished to find out about Japanese society and the local police force but as a series of short stories, I don't think the book works on any other level, at least not in English. The policemen in the stories appear to solve the cases they are presented with more by divine inspiration than logic or investigation and some of the coincidences are so far fetched they are downright irritating. The author is an ex-investigative journalist and this shows as he clearly understands the machinations of the Japanese police bureaucracy and in that respect, the stories are interesting but don't entertain or provoke much thought.