LemonSky reviewed The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Sōji Shimada
Review of 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
The story starts in 1936 Japan. Heikichi Umezawa is an artist who is literally surrounded by women. He lives with his second wife Masako, two of her daughters (Akiko and Tomoko), his daughter by his first wife (Tokiko), his daughter by Masako (Yukiko), and his two nieces, Reiko and Nobuyo. Masako's other daughter, Kazue, who is divorced, lives on her own. None of them realizes just how deranged Heikichi has become. He fantasizes about creating the perfect women, Azoth - with the bodies of his daughters, stepdaughters, and nieces. However, before Heikichi can carry out his brutal plan, he is murdered. A month later, Kazue is murdered and apparently raped in her home. A week later, the six girls - Akiko, Tomoko, Tokiko, Yukiko, Reiko, and Nobuyo - vanish. Their bodies are slowly discovered one by one - mutilated just like the descriptions of Heikichi's Azoth project.
The bizarre murders …
The story starts in 1936 Japan. Heikichi Umezawa is an artist who is literally surrounded by women. He lives with his second wife Masako, two of her daughters (Akiko and Tomoko), his daughter by his first wife (Tokiko), his daughter by Masako (Yukiko), and his two nieces, Reiko and Nobuyo. Masako's other daughter, Kazue, who is divorced, lives on her own. None of them realizes just how deranged Heikichi has become. He fantasizes about creating the perfect women, Azoth - with the bodies of his daughters, stepdaughters, and nieces. However, before Heikichi can carry out his brutal plan, he is murdered. A month later, Kazue is murdered and apparently raped in her home. A week later, the six girls - Akiko, Tomoko, Tokiko, Yukiko, Reiko, and Nobuyo - vanish. Their bodies are slowly discovered one by one - mutilated just like the descriptions of Heikichi's Azoth project.
The bizarre murders become an obsession for much of the country over the next 40 years. Who did this? Did the same person kill Heikichi and Kazue that killed the six girls? There are many theories, some of which are just as bizarre as the murders themselves, but no one really solves the mysteries. Then in 1979, Kazumi Ishioka, an illustrator and mystery addict, and his friend, Kiyoshi Mitarai, astrologer and fortune teller, decide to launch their own investigation into the murders.
The format of the book is rather unusual. It starts off with Heikichi's creepy autobiography, and then his story and murder are dissected by Kazumi and Kiyoshi. Then Kazue's murder is detailed and finally the Azoth murders. There is a break in the narrative when the daughter of a now deceased police officer brings in his confession to being an accomplice after the fact to the Azoth murders. This is follow by some interviews and a great deal more talking between Kazumi and Kiyoshi before the crimes are solved.
The plot of this mystery sounds gory, but that's actually very misleading. We're not talking CSI or Dexter here. There's a certain aloofness to the crimes, as if one is looking at them from a long distance. You never really get to know any of the victims very well except for Heikichi, whose autobiography starts off the book, and he's hardly someone you'd want to know. The solution was, but far too complicated and rather far fetched. There is a great deal of talking and not much action.
If you're patient and don't mind very slow moving stories with rather long-winded explanations, this might be the book for you.
