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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slow paced book following a detective covering a kidnapping case while dealing with his own daughter’s disappearance. Didn’t love it but it was good.
Six Four is a police procedural with a difference. Mikami, the main character, is a man with high morals and strong ethics. Mikami has been moved from the detective work that he loves to the role of Press Director within a police force that has a strict hierarchy of command where unconditional respect is expected by those with seniority. The story centres around the kidnapping and murder of a little girl some years before. The trail has grown cold, but the crime has come to fore again with the proposed visit of the Police Commissioner to the girl’s family in an attempt to show the public that the police are still involved. Mikami is often caught between his inherent respect for his somewhat corrupt superiors and his desire to do what he believes is right. He has new-found insight into the emotions of the victim’s family as his own teenage daughter has recently disappeared and he is able to view the crime committed from the perspective of both father and policeman. This is an engaging book. Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the ARC.
This is a really slow book with a distanced feel to it. I couldn't get into it and didn't finish it. I wonder if the problem could be the translation.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the e-review copy.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the e-review copy.
I have to warn anyone attempting to read this, it is not mystery/thriller.
I see the term police procedural thrown around quite frequently to describe a story that basically follows a detective and maybe a couple of their direct subordinates as they investigate a case. Other than a few rare examples, the Kurt Wallander series by Henning Mankell, I rarely feel that police procedural is an accurate description. There are just too many crazy incidents with tons of chases, unrealistic/overly poetic or dramatized villains, and nearly miraculous epiphanies borne out of the most ridiculous of "clues". Realistically, most detective work is done sitting at a desk in their office delegating, watching surveillance footage, developing a strategy for solving a case.
Where those melodramatic plots fail to paint an accurate picture of detective work, Six Four overcompensates in a completely unexpected way. The majority of the novel takes place at the police station. The plot focuses almost entirely on interdepartmental relations during a tumultuous couple of weeks at the station with several different departments working on different and sometimes conflicting issues. The press is going crazy about disclosure, Tokyo headquarters is meddling, a long unsolved case is reemerging into the public eye on it's anniversary, and the main character's daughter has run away.
All of this to say, despite being a little worried because of the length of the book and the fact that this was the first book I've ever read where all the characters were Japanese, it turned out to be the best detective novel I think I've read. I highly recommend Six Four for it's uniqueness.
I see the term police procedural thrown around quite frequently to describe a story that basically follows a detective and maybe a couple of their direct subordinates as they investigate a case. Other than a few rare examples, the Kurt Wallander series by Henning Mankell, I rarely feel that police procedural is an accurate description. There are just too many crazy incidents with tons of chases, unrealistic/overly poetic or dramatized villains, and nearly miraculous epiphanies borne out of the most ridiculous of "clues". Realistically, most detective work is done sitting at a desk in their office delegating, watching surveillance footage, developing a strategy for solving a case.
Where those melodramatic plots fail to paint an accurate picture of detective work, Six Four overcompensates in a completely unexpected way. The majority of the novel takes place at the police station. The plot focuses almost entirely on interdepartmental relations during a tumultuous couple of weeks at the station with several different departments working on different and sometimes conflicting issues. The press is going crazy about disclosure, Tokyo headquarters is meddling, a long unsolved case is reemerging into the public eye on it's anniversary, and the main character's daughter has run away.
All of this to say, despite being a little worried because of the length of the book and the fact that this was the first book I've ever read where all the characters were Japanese, it turned out to be the best detective novel I think I've read. I highly recommend Six Four for it's uniqueness.
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you want a book about a kidnapping/murder, the description is a bit misleading. The novel is far more about the internal politics of policing in Japan, with the "Six Four" case being the underlying driving force of splintering between Admin, Media, and Criminal Investigations units, all of which are attempting to act as their own fifedoms within the prefecture department, while heads from Tokyo want to use the failure to solve a high-profile, and now 14-year-old kidnapping-turned-homicide, to install their own figureheads at a small prefecture and essentially amalgamate.
Six Four is well-written and realistic to the politics that happen in policing, but people expecting a murder mystery will likely be disappointed. The "mystery" is actually uncovering botched aspects of the initial investigation, and navigating the politics and garbage leadership of the police department.
The synopsis also plays up the main character's "ugliness" as a huge character trait but it's actually not a huge point in the novel, it's mentioned he's not a super attractive guy but it really plays a minor role. It seems the synopsis was massaged to appeal to Western readers, but it is pretty misleading.
I really enjoyed the novel though, and anyone wanting to get a realistic look at police politics (which are apparently pretty universal) will enjoy the book. I'm hoping Yokoyama's other novels get translated to English as he's apparently a prolific writer in Japan.
Six Four is well-written and realistic to the politics that happen in policing, but people expecting a murder mystery will likely be disappointed. The "mystery" is actually uncovering botched aspects of the initial investigation, and navigating the politics and garbage leadership of the police department.
The synopsis also plays up the main character's "ugliness" as a huge character trait but it's actually not a huge point in the novel, it's mentioned he's not a super attractive guy but it really plays a minor role. It seems the synopsis was massaged to appeal to Western readers, but it is pretty misleading.
I really enjoyed the novel though, and anyone wanting to get a realistic look at police politics (which are apparently pretty universal) will enjoy the book. I'm hoping Yokoyama's other novels get translated to English as he's apparently a prolific writer in Japan.
Police politics and press releases, a book on how the Japanese Police operates and its relationship to the press. Sometimes I forgot his daughter is missing tbh
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Extremely slow and frustrating. I liked the conclusion but it was not worth the journey. "Slow burn" doesn't even begin to cover it.