The Voice and Other Stories

Having two mystery novels of Seicho Matsumoto I had to get this book of short stories and I am very happy I did. Set in Japan, during the 50s and 60s, the stories are about unsolved crimes, 6 crimes which we, as the readers, follow along with the main characters, be they murders, bystanders or police. I really enjoy the feel of Matsumoto's Japan, a Japan still trying to find itself in a Post-World War Two/Cold War world, a mixture of train schedules, rare if modern phones, old fashion kimonos and tea.I also enjoy the details he pours into each story. He gives you all the facts - he doesn't cheat and rarely tosses in come clue in the last sentence. I wish more of his work was in English!

A successful businessman who once committed a crime with a partner now wants to keeps tabs on him...A rising movie actor who is very cautious about his newfound success due to his secret murder of his lover - to which a single person was witness, and who is now his worst nightmare come to life...A bar hostess so desperate for real love that she would arrange for pretenders to be murdered with other women as bogus love suicides...A bank clerk hell-bent on revenge from a former co-worker who seduced his sister and left her for dead to cover up their affair...A terminal-cancer stricken haiku poet who is tricked to be used as a pawn in the murder of another woman...All these are examples of the short stories you'll find in this great book. Matsumoto's short stories really dazzle you as the criminals' motives are explained slowly and carefully. Adam Kabat does a terrific job in his translation. Mesmerizing... not to be missed!