Rating: 
Summary: A solid and mystifying read
Review: A nicely paced and somewhat erotic mystery. The translation flows very well as the book reveals quite a bit of cultural information about post-war Japan. I found it to be an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: A very enjoyable read with interesting array of characters even for those who do not typically read mysteries. This story has both titillating sensuality and intriguing obsession. I enjoyed the contrast between the true nature of the characters and how others perceived them. I was also intrigued with the author's presentation of post-WWII Japan. This is a well-written translation that succeed in revealing the author's sense of Japan.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Incredible
Review: Akimitsu Takagi's masterpiece, translated into English from the original version, immerses the reader into the underworld of the nearly ruined remnants of post-World War Two Japan. Through the eyes of Kenzo, the younger brother of a local police officer, we watch as a love affair develops between two very unlikely personas, then quickly collapses as the erotic space becomes the scene of a brutal murder. The semiotic nature of the illegal tattooing trade complicates the mystery even further when Kenzo develops an obsession for the tattoo carved onto the lost body of a dead woman - a valuable piece of art that seems to symbolize the cultural loss of Japan following the war. Kenzo himself embodies the tension between the romantic - through his fascination with the illicit underworld of body art, and the rational - his position as a scientist and a medical student. In the midst of this confusion of identity, he finds help from an unlikely source - a friend who unravels the unlikely threads that solve the case through the use of "criminal economics," a system founded upon the notion that all economies, even that of the underworld, strive for a state of equilibrium. Throughout the entire journey, the reader struggles with the fact that the world of body art, which is outlawed by the forces that control Japan, produces magnificent memoirs of the stories, myths, and narratives so inextricably linked with Japanese culture and tradition. The shocking final revelation which takes place in, of all places, a chemistry laboratory, develops from the amalgamation of forensics, carnality, intellect, and voyeurism employed by the book's male detectives in an effort to understand one of the world's ultimate mysteries - the empowered, erotic female body.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Incredible
Review: Akimitsu Takagi's masterpiece, translated into English from the original version, immerses the reader into the underworld of the nearly ruined remnants of post-World War Two Japan. Through the eyes of Kenzo, the younger brother of a local police officer, we watch as a love affair develops between two very unlikely personas, then quickly collapses as the erotic space becomes the scene of a brutal murder. The semiotic nature of the illegal tattooing trade complicates the mystery even further when Kenzo develops an obsession for the tattoo carved onto the lost body of a dead woman - a valuable piece of art that seems to symbolize the cultural loss of Japan following the war. Kenzo himself embodies the tension between the romantic - through his fascination with the illicit underworld of body art, and the rational - his position as a scientist and a medical student. In the midst of this confusion of identity, he finds help from an unlikely source - a friend who unravels the unlikely threads that solve the case through the use of "criminal economics," a system founded upon the notion that all economies, even that of the underworld, strive for a state of equilibrium. Throughout the entire journey, the reader struggles with the fact that the world of body art, which is outlawed by the forces that control Japan, produces magnificent memoirs of the stories, myths, and narratives so inextricably linked with Japanese culture and tradition. The shocking final revelation which takes place in, of all places, a chemistry laboratory, develops from the amalgamation of forensics, carnality, intellect, and voyeurism employed by the book's male detectives in an effort to understand one of the world's ultimate mysteries - the empowered, erotic female body.
Rating: 
Summary: Post War Dead Culture Intrigue
Review: Akimitsu Takagi's The Tattoo Murder Case is a crime novel that fits comfortably into its genre. The nourish elements are all presenting the narrative. The troubled detective is following the trail of a crime that has inherent mystery surrounding both its perpetrator and its victim. But the novel is more enthralling than just these basic details. The detective, Kenzo, is locked in the culturally ruined Japan of post World War Two. The after effects of the Atomic Bomb are scattered throughout the narrative. This leaves a dark residual cast over all of the characters. The sense of a seedy underworld is revealed to reader as the narrative carries on. Another aspect that is uncovered is the sense that Kenzo is trapped in a necrophiliac relationship with the dead tattooed woman who has been stripped of her prized full body designs. This post-mortem aura surrounds all of the characters and draws parallels to the `dead' world in which they live. A strong commentary is made on the after effects of world war. Altogether it is a fantastically well crafted novel that will draw readers into an unfamiliar cultural moment and a mystery with uncertain outcome.
Rating:
Summary: Post War Dead Culture Intrigue
Review: Akimitsu Takagi's The Tattoo Murder Case is a crime novel that fits comfortably into its genre. The nourish elements are all presenting the narrative. The troubled detective is following the trail of a crime that has inherent mystery surrounding both its perpetrator and its victim. But the novel is more enthralling than just these basic details. The detective, Kenzo, is locked in the culturally ruined Japan of post World War Two. The after effects of the Atomic Bomb are scattered throughout the narrative. This leaves a dark residual cast over all of the characters. The sense of a seedy underworld is revealed to reader as the narrative carries on. Another aspect that is uncovered is the sense that Kenzo is trapped in a necrophiliac relationship with the dead tattooed woman who has been stripped of her prized full body designs. This post-mortem aura surrounds all of the characters and draws parallels to the 'dead' world in which they live. A strong commentary is made on the after effects of world war. Altogether it is a fantastically well crafted novel that will draw readers into an unfamiliar cultural moment and a mystery with uncertain outcome.
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding!
Review: I am trying to find and read all the best Japanese mysteries (set both in feudal period and modern Japan), and I would rank this as one of the best. The ending is quite a surprise, and the tension builds up through many unpredictable twists and turns.....as you would expect from a mystery. I read this one in about 2 days.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing Series of Murders
Review: I like the post-war Tokyo setting of this story. References are made to the horrors and trauma of war suffered by former Japanese soldiers. It also describes the wide discrepancy between different groups of people as they hold onto wealth and status, or madly scramble to grab them. We also see glimpses of black market and yakuza life styles. The murders are creepy and disturbing, and the psycho-sexual world of tattoo customers is nicely underlined. I'm not sure I quite believe the Boy Genius as a viable character, but I'm going to read the other books by Akimitsu Takagi as they become available.
Rating:
Summary: great crime story
Review: i've read all of akimitsu takagi's books that are available in english. unfortunately, i read this one first. why do i say unfortunately? well - because it simply is his best. don't get me wrong: the others are also a good read and entertaining, and i do recommend them also, but still...a beautiful girl with an even more beautiful tattoo, her dead (tattooed) sister, her (tattooed) brother, a professor who lives for preserving tattooed skins. might sound a little weird and unusual to you, but it makes for a great crime story, that other reviewers have already gone into. the translation has been done very well, imho, which comes across in the language used. you can't but think of japan. beautiful words, beautiful sentences, beautiful descriptions. if, like me, you are into japan, japanese women, and japanese tattooing - then you must read this book! you then have no excuse!
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: In a concealed part of society in Japan where tattooed men and women still let their kimonos slip off to reveal their elaborate designs, Kenzo finds himself ensnared by the tattooed temptress Kinue shortly before her death. With beautiful snake imagery throughout the novel, from the cooler skin of a tattooed body resembling a "cold-blooded reptile" to the legend of the curse where the "snake eats the frog, the frog eats the slug, and the slug dissolves the snake," tattoos are disappearing from murder scenes with as much ease as a snake shedding its own skin. Obsessions abound as Kenzo and his police chief brother investigate, coming up with such suspects as Mr. Tattoo, also known as Professor Hayakawa, who persuades tattooed people to leave him their skins after their deaths; Ryokichi Usui, a member of the Most Wanted list; Takezo Mogami, the rich and overly-jealous lover of Kinue; and Tamae, Kinue's sister who disappeared during the world war. Finally turning to the "Boy Genius" Kyosuke, Kenzo and his brother are taught the importance of a good chess game and learn the secrets behind the locked room murder. The book tantalizes the senses with feelings of lust, intrigue in viewing banned tattoos, tastes of elaborate Japanese dishes, and the minds games between the killer and the investigators. The designs of the killer are as intricate and intriguing as the tattoos themselves; readers will be as "spellbound" by the novel as a "frog hypnotized by a voracious, gimlet-eyed snake."
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