Six Four

A Novel

By: Hideo Yokoyama, Jonathan Lloyd-Davies - translator

Narrated by: Richard Burnip

THE NIGHTMARE NO PARENT COULD ENDURE. THE CASE NO DETECTIVE COULD SOLVE. THE TWIST NO READER COULD PREDICT.

For five days, the parents of a seven-year-old Japanese schoolgirl sat and listened to the demands of their daughter’s kidnapper. They would never learn his identity. And they would never see their daughter alive again.

Fourteen years later, the mystery remains unsolved. The police department’s press officer—Yoshinobu Mikami, a former detective who was involved in the original case and who is now himself the father of a missing daughter—is forced to revisit the botched investigation. The stigma of the case known as “Six Four” has never faded; the police’s failure remains a profound source of shame and an unending collective responsibility.

Mikami does not aspire to solve the crime. He has worked in the department for his entire career, and while he has his own ambitions and loyalties, he is hoping simply to reach out to the victim’s family and to help finally put the notorious case to rest. But when he spots an anomaly in the files, he uncovers secrets he never could have imagined. He would never have even looked if he’d known what he would find.

An award-winning phenomenon in its native Japan—more than a million copies sold in its first week of publication, and the winner of the Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year award—and already a critically celebrated top-ten bestseller in the U.K., Hideo Yokoyama’s Six Four is an unforgettable novel by a literary master at the top of his form. It is a dark and riveting plunge into a crime, an investigation, and a culture like no other.

Good mystery

Don’t be put off by the length. Interesting, rounded characters, narration is perfect. Good plot twists.

Not your typical detective story.

I was surprised to see negative reviews of this novel and I think their disappointment stems from what they thought the story would be, as opposed to what it actually is, and that should not reflect on the book itself. If you are looking for car chases and shoot-outs or thought you found a Japanese version of "Harry Bosch" then you will be disappointed so maybe look up "Jack Reacher" or find a old episode of "Criminal Minds" to watch.

On the other hand, if you go into it with a open mind, understand that you are reading about a different culture where the dynamics between the police and the press are completely different than you are accustomed to, then you will find a fascinating story with plenty of twist and turns and a ending you won't expect.

Story Unfolds slowly but is satisfying

I do not know enough about this genre of Japanese crime fiction to compare it to others, but in its deliberateness and psychology it seems very within what one would expect. I found myself enjoying the secondary characters more than the story’s protagonist. This may be due at least in part to the narrator’s imaginative rendering of their voices.

Difficult to know what to make of this book..

Yes, there was a mystery.
Yes, it was quite a twist..
But was it worth ploughing through 25 hours of what was predominantly a guide to Japan’s regional police force?
...or a perpetual struggle to remember the multiple characters’ names, many of which sounded identical to one another?

I don’t really know..

terrific story thread and reader

complex, really enjoyable. so many layers. enjoyed the japanese customs and the numerous relationships. solid writing and ending. rich - subtle