The Earthquake Bird is the first book I’ve read by a foreigner in Japan that isn’t about being a foreigner in Japan. It is set in Tokyo and the protaganist is English. The sense of place is dead-on, so all the familiar dissonance of being a foreigner in Japan is felt, but The Earthquake Bird is not about that. It is a psychological thriller; it is a murder mystery which has just won the John Creasey Memorial Dagger award as a newcomer to crime fiction.
“Early this morning, several hours before my arrest…”
The writing itself is mesmerizing. I read it over two days and that first night I dreamed in the voice of the narrator.