Honeymoon to Nowhere

July 1, 2003
This early mystery (1965) by Takagi was originally published in this country in mass market by Playboy Press. Takagi's masterful psychological portraits here recall those of Patricia Highsmith or William Irish in their depiction of individuals enveloped by intrigue that threatens to destroy them. A young woman, Etsuko Ogata, is being pressured by her father to marry a rather pedestrian lawyer, Tetsuya Higuchi, whom she respects but does not love. Quietly, Etsuko rebels and begins to seek a relationship with Yoshihiro Tsukamoto, a lecturer in industrial management whom she meets by chance. Against the backdrop of a culture rapidly changing amidst recovery from the devastation of WWII, Etsuko avoids Higuchi and pursues Tsukamoto despite doubts about his family's past. Eventually she marries her beloved, but the wedding night has barely begun when Etsuko's new husband rushes off and is murdered. As the plot of this involving mystery progresses, State Prosecutor Saburo Kirishima (who also appears in The Informer, reviewed above) must use all his subtlety to untangle the strands of jealousy and greed that have made Etsuko a bride and a widow on the same night.

August 1, 1999
Takagi (The Tattoo Murder Case), a popular Japanese mystery writer who died in 1995, wrote this novel in 1965. Etsuko Ogata, the unmarried daughter of a highly respected lawyer, has fallen in love with a university lecturer. Her parents do not approve of him because of his father's criminal past; her father wants her to marry a junior partner in his law firm who has already asked for her hand. Etsuko refuses his offer. In desperation, she lies to her parents and tells them that she is pregnant, and they reluctantly agree to let her marry her lover. On the night of their honeymoon, the groom receives a mysterious, urgent phone call. He leaves his young bride at the hotel and never returns--his body is found the next day. The state prosecutor, Kirishima, is a typical detective whose methods, though routine and predictable, make for a solid mystery. This well-translated work is recommended for larger public libraries.--Janis Williams, Shaker Heights P.L., OH

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.