Rating: 
Summary: Incredibly great
Review: A book for the mystery lover or just one who appreciates fine fiction, All She Was Worth educates the reader about current Japanese society while weaving an engrossing story. I read it twice -- once as fast as I could, the second time taking notes to better appreciate the plot!
Rating: 
Summary: All She Was Worth -- Priceless!
Review: A fascinating glimpse into the modern Japanese consumer mentality, viewed in the context of a compelling murder mystery. A burned out Tokyo homicide detective, approaching retirement and recovering from a work-related injury, is asked by a distant relative to trace his missing girlfriend. The mysterious girlfriend, stunningly beautiful, does not appear to be what she seems at all. A well-crafted procedural mystery unfolds as Detective Homna (all off-duty and off-the-record) pieces together who she is and what she was worth. The novel asks the interesting question -- what is the basic value of the characters lives? Is the missing woman just a potential trophy wife (I wonder if there is a Japanese translation for that phrase!), a murderer, or some sort of commodity? Or is her value merely as an intellectual challenge for a stubborn detective? And what about the victim, if there is one? A scathing indictment of the modern Japanese consumer mentality, but a novel that leaves you with the satisfying conclusion that the true worth of a person lies in whether anyone cares if you live or die.
Rating:
Summary: highly engrossing
Review: A unique and imaginative mystery with characters that truely engage. Also reccommended for Japanophiles or those seeking insight into the intimate details of Japanese life. If only more mysteries were this intelligent!
Rating:
Summary: FEAST OF DETECTIVE FICTION & A LOOK INTO CONTEMPORARY JAPAN
Review: A young woman disappears when a routine credit check uncovers a bankruptcy in her past. The woman's fiance asks his uncle, disabled police detective Shunsuke Honma, to track her down. What he uncovers suggests the missing woman had been living under an assumed identity of another deceased woman. What follows is an ingenious yet somewhat murky murder mystery about the search for a woman on the run; come to think of it, it is a search for two women, one running and one not. I've read Japanese authors translated before (Murakami, for instance) but this was my first Japanese suspense novel. I'll be subtle and say that this is a fabulous and riveting thriller! And take it from someone in Tokyo: as a bonus, you also get a very accurate tour of contemporary Japan and the consumer culture that preys upon the individuals and society that created it. One of the most compelling faces of detective fiction is the notion that the culprit leaves behind a trail of clues to his past, however hard he may have tried to erase that trail. That is the heart of this novel. The fact that in the past an individual in Japan was defined by his or her place in the family, and that now citizens have a residence certificate as proof of identity. That, coupled with the legal requirement that children are responsible for their parents' debts. One common way out is personal bankruptcy; our protagonist in the novel chooses to escape by assuming an entirely different inidividual's identity. It is rather fitting then that the novel should be set in a society like modern day Japan's, where escaping an unhappy past may well be considered to be the ultimate crime.
Rating:
Summary: Tokyo noir
Review: All she was worth is a very engaging essay on the changing Japanese (family) values in increasingly materialistic modern times, wrapped in the form of a detective novel. While the subject of the corruption of modern life by seemingly endless credit has lost some of its novelty since the appearance of this book, it still stands as an admirable effort in describing the strain that consumerism has put on Japanese society. The story and characters are well rounded and believable and except for some outdated discussion of credit card dept, the pace of this novel is very good. The exploration of the subject of the definition of the individual on the basis of family records is right on the money. The ending is especially beautiful. While all these provide sufficient reason to read this book, its greatest strength lies in the style of the prose. Even in translation Miyabe's style, that could be described as sensually sparse, is remarkable. While being highly individual, this book's style reminded me of a mix between Harukami and Kafka. Highly recommended, not just for lovers of the mystery genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining (very good) but lack of closure on ending
Review: All the other reviews are pretty much on target with the fact that this is a pretty well-written mystery that keeps the reader interested. I was certainly caught up in it. However, in a somewhat Japanese fashion, the ending is left open, which left me with a sense of lack of closure and disappointment. I much prefer the closure and surprising ending offered by the Tattoo Murder Case.
Rating:
Summary: I can't keep away from this book!
Review: Being an avid mystery reader, I'm always on the lookout for something new or different. This is the most addictive book that I've found in a long time. As many of the other reviews have stated, the "mystery" in this novel is somewhat transparent -- it's easy to figure out what is going to happen. However, this book is remarkable in its level of detail. I feel as though I've spent considerable time in Tokyo (without having to get a passport!) The characters and dialogue are superb. After multiple readings, I'm always noticing something new. This book is a must-read; it's really special.
Rating:
Summary: highly recommended!
Review: i absolutely adored this book. it really is a big shame that this is so far the only book by miyuki miyabe available in english. a girl that is about getting married has taken on another girls identity (the latter having been murdered by the other) some time ago. her soon-to-be husband finds out that there are some things in his fiances past that are weird and just not quite right. he tries to find out and asks her about it. so she decides to simply run away and disappear. he asks his uncle, a policeman currently not working, to find the woman for him. said uncle investigates the woman's past, finds out bit by bit about it, and gets closer and closer to tracking her down. one keeps wondering about the reasons that made the woman kill another woman just so she could take her identity. will you find out if you read right through to the end? no, i'm not going to tell you!
Rating:
Summary: wonderful mystery
Review: I am not much of a reader in mystery books. In fact, I'm not much of a reader in general. But a friend who reads nothing but mysteries mentioned this book and I picked up on it after that. I must say that it is a wonderful mystery. It provides several interesting insights. It makes you realize the complexity a detective of any type must face, especially this one. It also makes you admire the person he's assigned to find from the available clues and unknowns to all the trails the detective must follow and reexamine. Several times, I was amazed at all things a detective has to remember when he's presented with new clues and information. This book also showed me a lot about Japanese culture from basic everyday living to financial history. From her book, I learned a lot about the hardships of ordinary people in that country just to make ends meet. After reading this book, you realize the complexity of the whole entire case. I am not an expert of mystery novels but I enjoyed reading it through the entire time. I see why mystery novels can be so compelling to read for some.
Rating:
Summary: a thoughtful, well written mystery...
Review: I bought this book following recommendations on the Haruki Murakami Forum website and while this book does not compare the work of Murakami (who I consider to be the greatest living writer) it was a great read and if you have got as far as reading this review then I urge you to buy it, you will enjoy it. On the surface this is a simple whodunnit, but the more I think about it the more subtle and complex it seems. It is like an episode of Columbo where you know who the killer is from the first scene but the beauty of the piece is the detective putting all the pieces together. It also gives the reader a wonderful insight into Japanese life and the author manages to make a study of Japanese consumer spending into a gripping sub-plot! A delightful book, if not exactly taxing, and a real page turner.
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