tokyo zodiac murders reviewed in

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders reviewed in Library Journal

Library Journal, August 2005:

"Shimada, a designer, musician, and prolific writer, delivers a

complicated mystery revolving around a series of gruesome Tokyo

killings unsolved for 40 years. Kiyoshi Mitarai, a private detective

and astrologer, investigates the last written testament of reclusive

artist Heikichi Umezawa, who was found dead in his studio one snowy

night in 1936. In a bizarre and grotesque quest for absolute beauty,

Umezawa had raped and killed his eldest daughter and dismembered his

other daughters and nieces to create Azoth, the supreme woman. But

where is his creation? With only a week to solve the crime, Detective

Mitarai and his curious artist cohort begin dissecting the murders,

the police investigation, and the suspects. As they chase down leads

and look for missing witnesses, the pieces come together and then fall

apart again and again. Nominated for the Edogawa Rampo Award and a

best seller in Japan, this is an intriguing, well-crafted mystery with

charts and crime scene maps to ponder over. Recommended for libraries

with a large mystery following." -Ron Samul, New London, CT