'This captivating story skips nimbly from artificial intelligence to immortality to loneliness to a meditation on love that will leave you surprised and moved. A mini-masterpiece". South China Morning Post
ï»ï»ï»ï»'Blade Runner meets Le Grandes Meaulnes, all wrapped up in a whodunnit written in an elegant and unsettling style. Boy meets girl, or does he... all is not as it seems. Better written and more engaging than a lot of the thrillers cluttering up the charts, this beautiful little book is very much a break from the norm.' BookBrunch
The meaning of unconditional love is given a fresh if disturbing interpretation in this futuristic tale from the pen of one of Japan's most popular authors, Soji Shimada. In a heartless mechanical society, the book's central character Xie Hoyu thinks he has finally found love following a motorcycle accident. But has he?' Alex Pearl, author of The Chair Man
Everything about this series' intention and design is steeped in Japanese culture... the books are thematically diverse [and] signal a cultural exchange... communicating directly and intentionally with Western audiences through fiction.' TLS
'Readers of Japanese mystery novels compare him with classic British authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.' The Financial Times
'Shimada combines fantastic crimes with a logical and fair solution likely to stump even the most astute readers.' Publishers Weekly
'A strange brew - one with a taste that certain adventurous readers may be well pleased to savour.' The Wall Street Journal, commenting on Murder in the Crooked House
'Hugely entertaining... a brilliant and satisfying conclusion.' Sunday Times, Best Crime Fiction Book of 2019, commenting on Murder in the Crooked House
'Ignites the mind.' Huffington Post, commenting on Murder in the Crooked House
'Their very compactness sets them apart as rather special and even luxurious, in a way that accentuates the distinctive appeal of a self-contained Japanese short story.' Wasafiri, the Journal of International Contemporary Writing