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    The Tattoo Murder Case

    Author Akimitsu Takagi
    Foreword by Barry Lancet
    Translated by Deborah Boehm
    Look inside
    Paperback
    $16.95 US
    Soho Press | Soho Crime
    On sale Jul 01, 2003 | 352 Pages | 9781569471562
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    Miss Kinue Nomura survived World War II only to be murdered in Tokyo, her severed limbs left behind. Gone is that part of her that bore one of the most beautiful full-body tattoos ever rendered by her late father. Kenzo Matsushita, a young doctor, must assist his detective brother who is in charge of the case, because he was Kinue’s secret lover and the first person on the murder scene.

    The Tattoo Murder Case was originally published in 1948; this is the first English translation.
    Akimitsu Takagi (1920–1995) studied engineering at Kyoto University and later worked for the Nakajima Aircraft Company. Over the course of his writing career, he published fifteen popular mysteries, including Honeymoon to Nowhere, The Informer, and The Tattoo Murder Case, and he won the Japan Mystery Writers Club Award. View titles by Akimitsu Takagi
    A Parade Magazine 101 Best Mystery Books of All Time

    Praise for The Tattoo Murder Case

    “Like voyeurs, we follow Takagi down the charred streets of bombed-out Tokyo to scenes of fastidiously executed decadence . . . [A] tale of sexual obsession and perversity.”
    —The New York Times Book Review

    “It took 50 years for this novel to reach our shores but it feels thoroughly modern.”
    —Parade Magazine

    "The Tattoo Murder Case is a delightful, different book, not only because of its unusual setting and premise, but because Takagi is a powerful plotter and constructor of fascinating, complex characters. Introducing American audiences to great foreign mysteries (as well as unusual domestic voices) has become a Soho Press trademark, and almost everything in its catalog is top-notch. The Tattoo Murder Case is a high-water mark even by those high standards."
    —The A.V. Club

    “Clever, kinky, highly entertaining . . . I want more.”
    —Washington Post Book World

    “Elegant.”
    —The Seattle Times

    “An engaging, refreshingly different invitation to fictional mayhem.”
    —Arizona Daily Star

    “Intricate, fantastic and utterly absorbing. More please . . . Calculated to outdo John Dickson Carr in both ghoulishness and ingenuity.”
    —Kirkus Reviews

    About

    Miss Kinue Nomura survived World War II only to be murdered in Tokyo, her severed limbs left behind. Gone is that part of her that bore one of the most beautiful full-body tattoos ever rendered by her late father. Kenzo Matsushita, a young doctor, must assist his detective brother who is in charge of the case, because he was Kinue’s secret lover and the first person on the murder scene.

    The Tattoo Murder Case was originally published in 1948; this is the first English translation.

    Author

    Akimitsu Takagi (1920–1995) studied engineering at Kyoto University and later worked for the Nakajima Aircraft Company. Over the course of his writing career, he published fifteen popular mysteries, including Honeymoon to Nowhere, The Informer, and The Tattoo Murder Case, and he won the Japan Mystery Writers Club Award. View titles by Akimitsu Takagi

    Praise

    A Parade Magazine 101 Best Mystery Books of All Time

    Praise for The Tattoo Murder Case

    “Like voyeurs, we follow Takagi down the charred streets of bombed-out Tokyo to scenes of fastidiously executed decadence . . . [A] tale of sexual obsession and perversity.”
    —The New York Times Book Review

    “It took 50 years for this novel to reach our shores but it feels thoroughly modern.”
    —Parade Magazine

    "The Tattoo Murder Case is a delightful, different book, not only because of its unusual setting and premise, but because Takagi is a powerful plotter and constructor of fascinating, complex characters. Introducing American audiences to great foreign mysteries (as well as unusual domestic voices) has become a Soho Press trademark, and almost everything in its catalog is top-notch. The Tattoo Murder Case is a high-water mark even by those high standards."
    —The A.V. Club

    “Clever, kinky, highly entertaining . . . I want more.”
    —Washington Post Book World

    “Elegant.”
    —The Seattle Times

    “An engaging, refreshingly different invitation to fictional mayhem.”
    —Arizona Daily Star

    “Intricate, fantastic and utterly absorbing. More please . . . Calculated to outdo John Dickson Carr in both ghoulishness and ingenuity.”
    —Kirkus Reviews

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