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The Master Key (Pushkin Vertigo) by Masako…
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The Master Key (Pushkin Vertigo) (original 1962; edition 2018)

by Masako Togawa (Author), Simon Grove (Translator)

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22812117,174 (3.54)15
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:The prize-winning debut mystery from one of Japan's best-loved crime writers
The K Apartments for Ladies are occupied by over one hundred unmarried women, once young and lively, now grown and oldâ??and in some cases, evil.
Their residence conceals a secret connecting the unsolved 1951 kidnapping of four-year-old George Kraft to the clandestine burial of a child's body in the basement bath-house. So, when news comes that the building must be moved to make way for a road-building project, more than one tenant waits with apprehension for the grisly revelation that will follow. Then the master key is lost, stolen and re-stolenâ??and suddenly no-one feels safe.
Fiendish intrigue, double identity and an ingenious plot make this a thriller worthy of comparison with the work of P.D. James.
The Master Key is the seventeenth book in the Pushkin Vertigo line of crime fiction but can be read as a standalone novel
… (more)
Member:Crispi
Title:The Master Key (Pushkin Vertigo)
Authors:Masako Togawa (Author)
Other authors:Simon Grove (Translator)
Info:Pushkin Vertigo (2018), Edition: Translation, 192 pages
Collections:Your library, Read but unowned
Rating:***
Tags:In translation

Work Information

The Master Key by Masako Togawa (1962)

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» See also 15 mentions

English (11)  Spanish (1)  All languages (12)
Showing 1-5 of 11 (next | show all)
A bit boring. Sped read the last chapter. ( )
  ramrak | Jul 23, 2023 |
This is the book that got me into Japanese lit, not just mysteries. It's a strange story, and as a mystery it won't fit easily into any category. I read it straight through. Translator did a great job! As much as I don't like "twists" and authors' "gotchyas!" in mystery writing, I have to say that this one worked for me. The rich storylines of the truly interesting characters is what hooked me. ( )
  Peterlemat | Jun 26, 2023 |
The titular key belongs to the K Apartment House, a building intended exclusively for women to live in. The building has existed since the end of the Second World War and some of the occupants have been there since the beginning. A lot of neurosis hangs in the air, and a lot of secrets lurk behind closed doors. The storytelling is, as the Goodreads summary has it, “spare” and “unembellished”, which comes through in Simon Grove’s translation. The story is told in a slightly non-linear way, beginning with the present day, when the entire apartment house is being movedm and then jumping back seven years to bring the reader up to speed on the secrets and the lives of the women who live in the building. Each chapter is clearly marked with the time (e.g., “Four months before the building is moved”) and tends to follow one occupant of the building. I found this a very quick read, and I did not anticipate how one of the storylines would play out. Recommended if you’re interested in Japanese crime fiction. ( )
  rabbitprincess | Apr 23, 2023 |
* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review an advance copy of this book. *

The K Apartments are a tower of residences reserved for single women. The young ladies in residence since the war, and the staff, have now grown to become old maids.

The book's opening recounts a car accident in which someone is killed outside the K Apartments. Surprisingly the victim, dressed as a woman, turns out to be a man. What was a man doing in the K Apartments dressed as a woman?

Togawa twists this initial mystery as he introduces us to a series of unhappy women who were involved in this scandal and its aftermath. Resentments and jealousies between them lead to acts which compound the scandal, all of it set against a backdrop of an impending construction project that may reveal the grim secret of the K Apartments.

This is an unusual crime story. There is no central investigator character and the plot gets developed through the agency of several characters who gradually learn more about what is going on. For most of the book I felt that this was pretty mundane, but Togawa pulled off some plot twists towards the end that totally reversed my opinion. I'm definitely going to seek out more of his work.

This book is being released in a new series of international crime novels from Pushkin Vertigo. I've read this one and Emma Viskic's Resurrection Bay and both were very good, so it looks like this imprint is worth keeping an eye out for. ( )
  gjky | Apr 9, 2023 |
The front cover of the new edition from Pushkin Vertigo boldly states this is 'A Prize-Winning Japanese Murder Mystery Classic'. For me, it's more of a mystery, with very strong gothic/Shirley Jackson vibes. The premise is set up fro the start as two women bury the body of a child in the basement of a building, unaware that they are being watched. As one of the women leaves the apartment block something happens which jolts the whole scenario askew, and from then on we are in an eerie, creepy and sinister series of connecting character stories, all linked by their living in a Tokyo boarding house for single women. The building itself is being moved - literally. In order to make way for a new highway the buildings foundations have been dug up and the building is to be physically moved. The lives of everyone in the building are, literally, in upheaval!

As the book progresses, and we go back and forward in time, the lives of everyone in the building get more and more complex, as connections and secrets are revealed. It's impossible to go into plot details without spoiling it, but let's just say that there are at least two plot twists that you will not see coming, and the ending will leave you wondering just what the heck you have read.

Superbly crafted, with a cast of characters that is oddly endearing, this is also a book of fascinating cultural importance. Written in 1962, the status of single women in Japan, and the wider Japanese society post-WW2 and Westernisation, set a backdrop which many will find of interest.

Just a joy to read, and a superb example of a genre-defying classic. 5 stars. ( )
  Alan.M | Jan 4, 2022 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Masako Togawaprimary authorall editionscalculated
Grove, SimonTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:The prize-winning debut mystery from one of Japan's best-loved crime writers
The K Apartments for Ladies are occupied by over one hundred unmarried women, once young and lively, now grown and oldâ??and in some cases, evil.
Their residence conceals a secret connecting the unsolved 1951 kidnapping of four-year-old George Kraft to the clandestine burial of a child's body in the basement bath-house. So, when news comes that the building must be moved to make way for a road-building project, more than one tenant waits with apprehension for the grisly revelation that will follow. Then the master key is lost, stolen and re-stolenâ??and suddenly no-one feels safe.
Fiendish intrigue, double identity and an ingenious plot make this a thriller worthy of comparison with the work of P.D. James.
The Master Key is the seventeenth book in the Pushkin Vertigo line of crime fiction but can be read as a standalone novel

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