“Death on Goukon Island” by Seishi Yokomizo

Death on Gokumon Island is a satisfying murder mystery AND a history lesson about post-WWII Japan

A fun, unexpected genre we here at the Lakshmi and Asha Show have discovered and embraced in recent years is the rich and varied world of Japanese murder mysteries in translation.

Some of you might remember how much we loved Yukito Ayatsuji's “The Decagon House Murders,” which was released by Pushkin Vertigo last year. When we discovered that we had access to review copies of a new translation of a classic novel by Seishi Yokomizo -- widely considered one of the greatest Japanese mystery novelists of all time --- we knew we had to give it a try.