Return to Hiroshima

by Bob Van Laerhoven

-- Crime Fiction Lover

-- Bookwormex


1995, Japan struggles with a severe economic crisis.
Xavier Douterloigne, the son of a Belgian diplomat, returns to Hiroshima, where he spent his youth, to come to terms with the death of his sister.
Inspector Takeda finds a deformed baby lying dead at the foot of the Peace Monument, a reminder of Hiroshima's war history.
A Yakuza-lord, rumored to be the incarnation of the Japanese demon Rokurobei, mercilessly defends his criminal empire against his daughter Mitsuko, whom he considers insane.
And the punk author Reizo, obsessed by the ultra-nationalistic ideals of his literary idol Mishima, recoils at nothing to write the novel that will "overturn Japan's foundations"....
Hiroshima’s indelible war-past simmers in the background of this ultra-noir novel.
Clandestine experiments conducted by Japanese Secret Service Unit 731 during WWII are unveiled and leave a sinister stain on the reputation of the imperial family and Japanese society.


"Van Laerhoven’s Return to Hiroshima might well be the most complex Flemish crime novel ever written." -- Fred Braekman, De Morgen, Belgium



"A complex and grisly literary crime story which among other things refers to the effects of the
 nuclear attack on Japan."
 -- Linda Asselbergs, Weekend, Belgium



"Van Laerhoven skillfully creates the right atmosphere for this drama. As a consequence the whole book is shrouded in a haze of doom. Is this due to Hiroshima itself, a place burdened with a terrible past? Or is the air of desperation typical for our modern society?
" -- Jan Haeverans, Focus Magazine, Belgium



"Van Laerhoven won the Hercule Poirot Prize with Baudelaire’s Revenge. You’ll understand why after reading Return to Hiroshima.
" -- Eva Krap, Banger Sisters

"Author Bob Van Laerhoven pulls together an outlandish ensemble cast of peculiar personalities; fierce, fragile individuals who claw their way under your skin. Their predicaments –and their potential to unleash chaos – drag you into the narrative’s darkening abyss." -- Murder Mayhem & More

Genres: Crime

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Van Laerhoven made his debut as a novelist in 1985 and quickly became known for his colorful, kaleidoscopic novels, in which the fate of the individual is closely linked to broader social transformations. International flair has become his trademark. His novels blend literature and suspense.
AVID TRAVELLER
Bob Van Laerhoven became a full-time author in 1991. As a freelance travel writer, he explored conflicts and trouble spots across the globe from the early 1990s to 2005. Echoes of his experiences on the road also permeate his novels. Somalia, Liberia, Sudan, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Laos, Bosnia, Albania, Myanmar… to name but a few.
MULTIFACETED OEUVRE
All these experiences contribute to Bob Van Laerhoven’s rich and commendable oeuvre. He is a 20-time prize-winning author, translated into 12 languages: French, English, German, Spanish, Greek, Swedish, Slovenian, Italian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, and Amharic (Ethiopia)
AWARDS
AWARDS

Four-time finalist of the Belgian Hercule Poirot Prize for Best
Mystery Novel of the Year with the novels "Djinn," "The
Finger of God," "Return to Hiroshima," and "The Firehand
Files."

Winner of the Hercule Poirot Prize for "Baudelaire's
Revenge," which also won the USA Best Book Award 2014 in
the category "mystery/suspense."

The collection of short stories "Dangerous Obsessions" was
hailed as the "best short story collection of 2015" by the San Diego Book
Review.

"Heart Fever," the second collection of short stories, was a
Finalist in the Silver Falchion 2018 Award.

The quality UK book site Murder, Mayhem & More chose
"Return to Hiroshima" as one of the ten best international
crime books of 2018.

The novel "Alejandro's Lie" was the Best Thriller Book
Award winner in the category "Political Thriller 2021" on
BestThrillers.com.

The novel was a finalist in The American Writings
Awards 2023

The book won a silver medal in The Bookfest Awards 2023

"Alejandro's Lie" became the first runner-up in the "general fiction" Los Angeles Book Festival 2024 category.

"The Shadow Of The Mole" has become a finalist in the Best Thriller Awards 2022, Historical Fiction category, from Best‐Thrillers.com.

The Historical Fiction Company chose "The Shadow Of The Mole" as the winner in the "Historical Literary" category of the 2022 HFC Book Of The Year contest.

The book also won a silver medal in the Reader View "Reviewer's Choice Awards 2022-2023" competition in the
"Historical Fiction" category.


"The Shadow Of The Mole" is a finalist in the "Hemingway 20th-century wartime novels" competition of The Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA).

"Scars Of The Heart" received a New York Book 2024 Festival Honorable Mention in the category Anthologies/Compilations.

"Scars Of The Heart" received a Gold Book Award 2024 from Literary Titan

"Scars Of The Heart" is the Literary Global Book Awards 2024 winner in the category "short story collections."

"Scars Of The Heart" is the winner in the San Francisco Book Festival Award Category "Compilations/Anthologies."

"Scars Of The Heart" is the winner in the 2025 International Impact Book Awards in the category "Short Story Collections."

“La Mentira de Alejandro, » the Spanish translation of “Alejandro’s Lie,” received an Honorable Mention (aka Bronze Award) from the International Paris Book Fest 2025

“The Long Farewell” is the winner of a Literary Titan Gold Book Award 2025

Reviews

[Kirsty ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book through Rafflecopter. Sometimes it's worth it to request something out of your reading comfort zone because I don't normally read noir fiction and so would have missed a really intriguing book. 

It's very dark and compelling tale taking place during the 50th anniversary of Hiroshima. I don't really know much of Hiroshima beyond what I have occasionally read in newspapers or general war history books. Events of that time play a part in how the story eventually unfolds. It starts with a series of unconnected characters that slowly start to come together as the book progresses and there are so many layers to be unraveled. It definitely challenged me as a reader. 

Ultimately though I enjoyed it and would recommend it to any fans of crime, thrillers and noir stories.

[Rowena Hoseason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This complex and compelling novel of criminal intrigue contrives to be immense and intimate, simultaneously. The expansive narrative extends across time and philosophical space to pierce the psyche of a nation in turmoil, yet this sprawling story is told in intensely personal episodes.

Author Bob Van Laerhoven pulls together an outlandish ensemble cast of peculiar personalities; fierce, fragile individuals who claw their way under your skin. Their predicaments –and their potential to unleash chaos – drag you into the narrative’s darkening abyss.

Return To Hiroshima is told in short, sharp chapters, alternating between the international cast of key players. It’s set in the mid-1990s against the backdrop of Japan’s economic depression and the legacy of nuclear holocaust. That looming monstrosity hangs over everything; the actual use of nuclear weapons against a civilian population, and the bone-deep scars it left on the soul of the Japanese nation.

The writing feels convincingly Japanese; an impressive accomplishment on its own given that the author is European. ‘Hiroshima’ is every bit as brazenly brutal as Ryu Murakami can be. Yet it’s also as subtle and sophisticated as Haruki Murakami's early work.

Return To Hiroshima presents bleak and bewildering insights into Japanese society, and into the wider world of the emotionally fragile and the terminally maltreated. Leave your expectations at the door, because the plot and characters do not conform to any easily predictable path.

This is not the kind of crime-thriller which ends tidily with the case closed, bad guys doing time and the DI and his DS enjoying a pint in the pub. Hiroshima is a meaty, substantial piece of work which exposes its audience to sustained nervous tension and acts of cruelty. Some scenes are gruelling and even gruesome, but they’re balanced by instances of extraordinary tenderness, of sacrifice and salvation.

Laerhoven deliberately skews our perception of what occurs within the story, to explore the nature of what is real within fiction. In this story two truths may be equally valid but ultimately opposed. It’s sinister and stylish; an accomplished feat of storytelling.
9/10

There's a longer version of this review and many other crime/thrillers over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net

[Isobel Blackthorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a healthy appetite for noir fiction and found Return to Hiroshima a sumptuous and wonderfully grotesque feast. Centred in Hiroshima and written for a Western audience, Van Laerhoven paints a vivid and dark portrait of Japan, its culture and society, and an equally vivid and dark portrait, both immediate and fifty years on, of the aftermath of Little Boy - the atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945.

Through the eyes of a diverse cast of characters, the reader enters a deep-state reality, shadowy, deceptive, peppered with lies and brutality. The author slowly reveals in short sharp chapters, the twisted and corrupt interplays at work behind the scenes as Japan endures a cataclysmic economic crisis. The novel is set partly amid the abandoned high rises built atop the coal mines of Hashima Island near Nagasaki, where Mitsuko wrestles with the reality she is forced to endure, dominated by her monstrous father and mafia-boss, so-called Rokurobei. She escapes to Hiroshima and forms a friendship with Yori, whose drug-crazed and maniacal boyfriend, Reizo, is at work on his novel in a squat in a disused warehouse.

Soon, the reader meets German photographer Beate Becht, Belgian graduate Xavier Douterloigne and maverick police inspector, Takeda. Each shines a spotlight on Hiroshima, and each is of course instrumental to the plot. What unfolds is on one level a straight ahead race to save Mitsuko from danger and reveal hidden truths. On a deeper level, Return to Hiroshima challenges authorised versions of events and their causes and perpetrators, those versions reported by the press.

Superbly written in an easy, fluid style with characters that are complex and believable, Return to Hiroshima contains a taut and artfully constructed plot. The reader is kept on edge. At any moment the tension will release. Eventually it does, dramatically yet incrementally, intertwined with revelation upon revelation, carrying the reader through to the last page.

While there are a few confronting scenes in this novel, with various victims meeting their awful ends, the ultimate victim in Return to Hiroshima is truth, at once laid bare by the narrator and distorted by the characters. Driving the plot are themes of memory and remembering, childhood trauma and unhealed wounds. Gruesome mutations caused by the atomic bomb are set alongside those caused by secret medical experiments. In all, Return to Hiroshima is an elaborate and insightful depiction of obsession.

Younger readers may not recall the sarin attack in a Tokyo subway that took place in March 1995, and the religious cult, Aum Shinrikyo who claimed responsibility. They may not know of Unit 731 and the atrocities the Japanese meted out in WWII on their prisoners of war, atrocities ignored by the West as we focus all our attention on the Nazis. Cruelty is a global phenomenon, then as now. In addressing this, Return to Hiroshima and its author deserve to be acclaimed. 

[Fazila · Rating 4 out of 5]

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DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Blackthorn Book tours for providing me with a review copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Trigger warnings: Graphic violence; distressing historical scenes including torture.

Return To Hiroshima is a dark crime thriller by Bob Van Laerhoven. I am not one to normally read dark fiction, but the synopsis sounded interesting and I wanted to try out a genre that's outside of my comfort zone. Boy oh boy !! This was one of the darkest books I have read and made me want to puke my guts out a lot of the time. That's a compliment, by the way, for the darkness factor.

The synopsis sounded like a story with multiple storylines happening parallel to one another, with all of them woven together to form a complex story. The setting of the story is Hiroshima post the second world war and the atom bomb blast. Japan is in a financial crisis, corruption has eaten away at the country, with nationalists taking the helm of the nation to purify the country. Inspector Takeda is investigating the death of the strange, deformed baby with a symbol painted at the bottom of his foot. He finds some strange happenings in another event and gets embroiled in politics that endangers his life. Japan is under the influence of an underground recluse criminal lord who is, rumored to be the incarnation of a Japanese demon, Rokurobei. He is trying to defend his empire from crumbling because of his allegedly insane daughter Mitsuko. A series of classified documents and information regarding secret experiments that were conducted on the war prisoners by the special, military unit comes to the surface, threatening to unravel the sordid past Japan's Imperial family tries to hide. And many more characters that are equally compelling and brutally raw in their stories. The sordid secrets, the fine line between fiction and truths from different versions of the same event, distinction of truths, and deception all come together in this story brilliantly to portray human nature at it's worst.

The characters were morally gray, and their pasts, motivations, and mental illness all contribute to providing the groundwork in this exploration of what human greed and personal demons can do to people who are impacted by the mutations caused by the bombings during WW2. The writing is easy to follow through with alternating small chapters of POVS from the different characters. The pacing is fast and the book is what I would call a page-turner.

Overall, I liked the idea and its execution. The author tries to bring forward a story that reminds us of Japan's history, and the sordid past Japan has when it comes to war crimes. Unmasking the horrors Japan committed during WW2 will shock and horrify the readers, and so I would say, read with caution. The darker themes explored are not light by any means, and again, I say to proceed with caution. Make sure to check out the trigger warnings before getting to this book. Having said that if you love history and historically based literary style, dark noir fiction, I highly recommend checking this one out. I gave the book 4 stars, and it was an unforgettable read. Hopefully, I won't get any nightmares.

[E. Billups · Rating 5 out of 5]

Return to Hiroshima, by Bob Van Laerhoven, is a novel that falls between many genres, Noir, Crime Thriller, Mystery, Literary, and Historical fiction. This multi-genre story unfolds in many layers, shedding a country's horrific past. Mr. Laerhoven’s novel is replete with sinister characters, lost, damaged souls consumed with wicked, corrupt acts―greed, incest, lust, and a murderous psychopath of imperial blood, believed the incarnate of Rokurobei, a Japanese demon, and a master of lies. Lies so convincing, I question the truth throughout the story, a version that contradicts his daughter's, Mitsuko, who's escaped his control into the city. And the reason Rokurobei has resurfaced after many years―to find and silence his daughter's untruths.

Although the story takes place in 1995, Japan, the dark, urban setting feels post-apocalyptic. Unscrupulous characters indulge personal demons in clandestine places while a psychopath who believes he is one scours the city on a murderous mission to uncover his daughter.
World-War One’s Little Boy, Military Intelligence Service Unit 713’s ghastly experiments to create a master race, shadows and serves as a backdrop to modern-day Japan.
Sated with seedy nightlife, secret clubs (Suicide Club) living on the fringe of society, a corrupt government, amid a recessionary economy, and a suspicious bank robbery, the sinister plot thickens as Japan seems on the brink of collapse.

Undoubtedly, there are monsters in this story, not just grotesque abnormalities of war, and secret experiments gone awry, but regular people suffering personal demons. Mr. Laerhoven interweaves backstories effortlessly from 1945 to 1995, revealing how past misdeeds impact present-day character’s lives.

The author isn’t afraid to write mankind’s baseness or grisly details that repelled but compelled me to turn the page, no matter how repugnant. There is no light, no salvation in this Noir fiction. No happy endings, only darkness, death, Karmic retributions, black as toxic dust. I approached the last page with a heavy sigh and laid my head on the sofa with several maxims blitzing my mind. Karma is a bitch. The past always haunts the present. Demons exist in human form. Evil knows no light.

But there is always hope as the Peace Monument, an effigy of a young girl named Sadako Sasaki who remained hopeful until illness from Little Boy’s toxic dust claimed her life.
The Peace Monument stands today in Japan as a reminder of man’s darkness, hope, and light.

“. . . the bullet-shaped memorial to Sadako Sasaki, the twelve-year-old little girl who was standing on Misasa Bridge when Little Boy exploded above her head and toxic radiation descended on the city like a blanket. She died ten years later from leukemia. Sadako spent the last year of her life folding paper cranes because a clairvoyant had predicted she would survive if she reached a certain number. . . she had folded many more than the required number when she died with malignant bulges on her neck and throat . . . Nowadays, after every school trip, hoards of nervous, giggling schoolgirls leave behind a veritable mountain of finely folded paper at her monument.”

Return To Hiroshima, a well-written, page-turner, will stir you to the core, play on every emotion, make you deliberate man’s evil, and hope for some light amidst darkness. I highly recommend Return to Hiroshima but caution those faint of heart.

https://edenisebillups.com/2019/11/12...

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts out being a little difficult to get into because it switches characters from chapter to chapter. Once you get used to it, the story really sucks you in. The plot is complex, the atmosphere is dark, and the story really shows you an in depth look inside the culture of the Japanese and how the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima affected those who lived through it and also future generations. If you're looking for a read that's out of the ordinary, that is one part literary fiction and one part mystery novel, then you should read this book.

[lacy white · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com

tw: mentions of unsafe abortions, infant death, rape, graphic description of infant death, excrement, assault against women, use of word retarded

This was quite an interesting book. When I was first asked to read this book, I thought it was going to be more about the crime lords in Japan. What I got was so much more. It’s about twisted family dynamics, mental health, toxic relationships and just how far some would go to get justice. There were layers and layers to this book that I don’t think I caught the first time around. I’ll have to read this book again to really catch everything that this book had to offer.

One very prominent feature in this book is mental illness. Almost every character in the book, and believe me there was a lot, had some sort of mental illness. Some of them were more severe than others. It really made me feel quite sad for a lot of the characters. This book is a prime example of why mental health help needs to be readily available for everyone.

This book also talked a lot about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski. In case you didn’t know what these bombings are, they essentially ended World War II on the Pacific theatre side. They were two huge atomic bombs that were dropped on two separate cities in Japan by the Allied powers. It caused massive amounts of casualties and damage. This book talks about the lasting effects of what those nuclear bombs caused, often physical deformities. It was pretty heart wrenching to read at times.

Like I mentioned above, I enjoyed this book. But it was a bit tricky to get into. I actually had to start over because I just couldn’t grasp what was happening. Once I did that, things made a lot more sense. The author writes beautifully. It was prosey but not quite. It was like the author put a different spin on it. One thing that really helped me out is the author put information of whose chapter it was, who was in the scene and the date. That helped quite a bit and I wish other authors would do this.

Before I wrap this review up, there are some things I need to point out. This book, like I mentioned, isn’t easy to read. Not only because it’s an adult fiction book but because of some of what is mentioned in the book. There is a fair amount of sexual activities in this book. There is a rape storyline and the rape is graphically described. There will be a trigger warning list at the top of the review, like always, but I just wanted to put in a paragraph about it.

Overall, while I struggled at the beginning of this book, I found I really enjoyed this book. I wouldn’t mind rereading it so I can catch everything the second time. I wrote in my notes that this book reminded me of a puzzle. There were a lot of pieces that you knew belonged but you just couldn’t figure out where they went until the end. I highly recommend this book but I bring that recommendation with an age limit. I think someone my age (I’m 27 years old) and a little older would enjoy this book more than someone that is younger.

[Clued-in With A Book (Elvina Ulrich) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We're all insane, all capable of the most miserable things, but some of us do things in our dreams while others dream as they do what their warped minds dictate."

The Story: Set against the backdrop of Japan's 1995 severe economic crisis and fifty years after the horrific Hiroshima bombing, we see how the lives of seven individuals intertwine as their paths crossed and it all began with the discovery of an embalmed baby underneath the Peace Memorial.

My thoughts: Return to Hiroshima was my first book by Belgian author Van Laerhoven, and I enjoyed it immensely! This is an ultra-noir that blends thriller, crime and historical fiction with one dark and twisty plot. It is HEAVY and I am going to be honest that it is not for everyone.

Seriously, I LOVED everything about this book, from the plot to characters and the setting, they were absolutely amazing. The writing is spectacular and even with a slow-burn pace, it was engaging, suspenseful and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the melancholy haunting feel I get from this book.

Every character shines through in this story. It did take time to get to know them and I loved how their backstories fit into the main plot.

I enjoyed the Japan setting. The author did an excellent job in transporting me to Japan as the culture, customs and beliefs of the Japanese were well-portrayed. I learned quite a lot and it did motivate me to pick up my Japanese language lessons again!

I also liked the cult element in this story. Remember the Aum Shinrikyo cult?

You may feel that everything and everyone in this story is disconnected in the beginning but press on my friends! Because when the pieces of this complex puzzle finally fit together, you will be stupefied with chills up your spine.

In a nutshell, READ this book. It is unlike other thriller or crime novels. It is unique, heavy and raw.

CW: rape, violence, gore

***Thank you Blackthorn Book Tours and author Bob Van Laerhoven for having me in Return to Hiroshima Book Tour, and for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. ***

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Return to Hiroshima is a novel with lyrical prose and interesting characters. My favorite is Mitsuko who escaped from Hashima Island. This island just outside of Nagasaki and Hiroshima is covered by a ruined factory and concrete buildings, mostly apartments. Mitsuko used to find a place by the ocean to read - her only escape. At 21, she fleed from her crime lord father. I love the references to rafts in this book. "I’m drifting on an ocean of remembered fragments, not a raft in sight. If it goes on like this, I’ll drown."

There is a half Dutch Japanese man who serves on the police force whose father was a guard in a WWII prison camp. There is the young, homeless Japanese man who belongs to a cult and is trying to write a novel. There is a Belgian diplomat's son who is tall, blond, attractive to Japanese women and knows it. There is a German photographer who's photojournalist father never approved of her Gothic erotic photographs.

Like the surf on the Japanese beaches, it will pull you in.

[Lel Budge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Japan, many years after the horrific bombing of Hiroshima. This is historical fiction with a difference.

There are several plot lines running together, which at first may seem a little disjointed, but it all comes together in this incredibly dark tale.

Not only does it tell of the life and culture of Japan, it tells of a darker side. The side effects of the bombing are described in gruesome detail. There’s also murder, mystery, brutality, rape, torture and a lot of violence but also about family and relationships.

It’s so hard to put this into any specific genre as it really has a bit of everything. Beautifully written and almost poetic at times but it’s dark, very dark too.

Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours for the opportunity to take part in this review tour, for the promotional material and a free ecopy of the book. This is my honest and unbiased review.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the cover for this book is quite grim and sinister looking. The story inside is as equally as grim and definitely more sinister than I was expecting and also very intense. It did require a lot of concentration on my part for the beginning 25%. Characters were quickly introduced in rapidly alternating chapters. At times it was a struggle to keep up with who was who and what role they were going to play. Then suddenly I started to get a feel for them, starting to recognise them easier and started to be able to pay more attention to the story instead and then I really was able to enjoy it at a whole other level.

The story is one of a dark and drug-fuelled nature with corruption and the search for power and dominance. There was a heavy feel of Japanese culture and society throughout and the expectations of the different generations. Expectations of themselves as well as others. I found the concept of anyone not being 100% Japanese and therefore seen to be an outcast, a hard one to read about, though I do understand it as part of the culture of the time.

Society clashes between the older generation and their demand of respect and obedience against the new younger culture seeking their own lives and enjoyments to be very interesting. It was a good blend and balance of the old and the new. There is some hard reading when dealing with the camps and research centres during WWII. Some horrific experiments and treatments tried and given to prisoners was appalling, but I understood its place in the story. This period in history, that includes the Atomic Bomb, is a hard part of human history.

This is definitely a book that you can say has a plot that is definitely multi-l;ayered. As I have mentioned the prison camps and atomic bomb have a part in this story, as well as the 1995 Sarin gas attack in Tokyo. Te author has mixed and intertwined fact with dark and disturbing fiction to create a intricate, mysterious and intense reading journey.

The characters are as intense as the plot itself. A Yakuza boss who believes he is a Japanese demon, a Police Officer who is of mixed race, A German Photographer, a Belgian diplomats son are just the tip of the iceberg. It seemed that each character had a secret or something to hide and I wondered who I could trust and if any of them were actually telling the truth. Even now I am not completely sure who was truthful or in fact were they believing their own idea of their own version of the truth.

There is no mistake this is a dark noir read, the descriptions and vivid imagery are amazing and do at times make for uncomfortable reading. This is not a book I would recommend to readers who are after a quick read. If however you are after a book that requires patience and concentration, especially at the beginning, then this is the one for you. I found myself taking regular breaks as I read to be able to absorb the details.

This is a book I would recommend to readers who like crime, thriller, and mystery that is dark and definitely on the noirish side.

[Hugh M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Return to Hiroshima” has ruined several nights of my life. It’s an intricate, challenging, eye-widening, and confronting novel that defies all genres, and it possesses a hard-to-analyze dark magic. The story is set in 1995, Hiroshima, Japan, but each page is drenched in an atmosphere of the doom that was installed 50 years earlier when the nuclear bomb “Little Boy” exploded above the city, and changed human history forever. Van Laerhoven uses several clever story-lines that ultimately come together in a maze that has the obduracy of Fate. A ghastly deformed baby lying dead at the foot of the Peace Monument, a reminder of Hiroshima’s war history, is one of the most mysterious – and symbolic – threads in the story. In many ways, “Return to Hiroshima” has the stylish allure of a modern parable, but at the same time Laerhoven presents us a tense and superbly plotted crime story that explores, among other topics, the hidden vaults of Nationalism, and Mysticism based on Superiority, lurking underneath the mercilessly competitive Japanese society. (Far too many countries are currently on the same path, making the novel very relevant for our time) The strikingly eccentric, but well-rounded, characters are another asset. With the yakuza-boss Rokurobei, the author takes a daring, but slyly accomplished, risk when he suggests that this enigmatic and ruthless character sees himself as the incarnation of the Japanese demon Rokurobei, aka Lord of Lies. And just when the reader is convinced that Rokurobei, in spite of all his irony really believes in his own myth, the story hints at an even more bizarre origin for him, linked to the horrendous experiments of The Japanese Secret Service Unit 731 on human prisoners during WWII.
We’re dealing with a multi-layered novel here, not only in the set-up of the plot, but also in the make-up of the characters. This becomes crystal clear during flash-backs that describe the very first minutes after the detonation of “Little Boy.” In those eerie, heart-shattering, and truly frightening scenes, one understands why Van Laerhoven used Hiroshima as the setting of his novel. The city becomes a symbolical character in itself, a testimony to a horror that goes way beyond classical warfare. The reader feels the chill in his bones; the overwhelming realization that mankind has unleashed a terrible curse on itself. There, at that point, this elegantly written literary crime novel turns into pure horror. The horror of a kind that accompanies us in our darkest hours and whispers deep in our minds: “I am here to stay.” An unforgettable novel, this one. It should become a classic, but not everybody will be able to stomach it.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Return to Hiroshima



An array of unique characters marked with personalities, pasts and each with his/her own way of dealing with life, Return to Hiroshima, set in Japan takes us back to remembering the atomic bomb dropped on that city and the consequences even now if a bomb were to be dropped there once again. What are the long-time effects of a nuclear bomb fallout? The  year is 1995, a year that is odd and non-descript, where something happens that takes us back the what happened during WWII. A Japanese religious group unleased a sarin gas attack on Tokyo. Most of the action takes place in 1995, which keen Japan-watchers remember as the year when an obscure. Japan is an interesting country and the characters are unique unto themselves as we meet Mitsuko whose voice we hear from the beginning and whose father is a Yakuza lord. He created his half cult like empire and left Hashima. Not wanting to deal with his dictatorial manner and ways, she goes to Japan where her appearance she hopes won’t bring attention to herself. As a result of the radiation fall out, she has physical deformities that are quite pronounced. Pretending or stating that it her physical issues came from past relatives.
We meet a young girl that enters a medical facility thinking she is about to have a child and the startling revelations at the end of her visit make you wonder what comes next might be related to the incident. The doctor claimed she was never pregnant and imagined it, yet he put her under quite a while and the result leaves the reader wondering what is the truth?
.An interesting character that adds color to the plot is Inspector Takeda who is called to investigate a mutilate body of a newborn child found almost as if it were an offering on the Peace Monument in Hiroshima. His mother was raped in a Japanese POW camp and wants to fit into Japanese Society. Xavier Douterloigne is an interesting addition as we meet him with Yori the fiancé of Reizo a character riddled with drugs and whose actions prove dangerous to Xavier who is just hoping to comprehend his sister’s death and only wanted to keep her company. He is the son of a Belgian diplomat who resided most of his early life in Japan. Yori and Reizo are living in a so-called Suicide Club squat and when you hear his voice and listen to how he wants to create his novel you wonder just how sane he is. Then we meet Beate Becht and Mitsuko a photographer also part of the Suicide squat. Each character is self-absorbed with their own issues and the situation in this area is dangerous and can erupt at any time as there are others living there. Nationalists, terrorists and religious extremists are must some. The Japanese mafia is part of this plot which is called in Aum Shinrikyo. This plot is filled with historical facts both real and fiction, conspiracies and unique police action.
Throughout the novel each chapter focuses on one character whose voices are heard differently each time. The police inspector is an honorable man who only want to solve cases and when he realizes that the bank raid has more to do than just a simple raid, hiss boss puts him down. The mutilated child haunts him as the other cases including what happened to Xavier bringing Yuri and the photographer into light. Reizo was the one who poisoned him, and the author lets us hear Xavier’s voices when in a coma and then when searching for answers and finding them for his sister’s death. The truth is startling. Reiko claims to fake his insanity but in reality as we get to hear his voice and his movements we know that he takes drugs, they affect his thoughts and his hate for the overlord is apparent and kidnapping Mitsuko is a culmination his anger and defeat in some way.
How can these people live in fear of their own thoughts, remembering the destruction of the past and the ashes that you can smell even now? The author even includes through inspector information about the Japanese Secret Service Unit 731 conduction on prisoners of war. The horrors are real and what was inflicted on the people horrific. Hashima Island is the primary setting and as we hear the voice of Mitsuko, we learn about her father who fashions himself or calls himself Rokurobei the mafia boss and his treatment of her is tantamount to abusive and more. Mitsuko became so enthralled with this suicide group and forms a friendship with Yori and Reizo is her boyfriend and thinks he will write the greatest novel in the world but instead faces his own demons, blames his failings on her father and then takes her prisoner. As the inspector befriends the German photographer Beate Becht and Yori he enlists the help of the police doctor to check out something on one of the corpses that Beate photographed but the end result will shock readers as we get to know the hidden truths and lies behind the police corruption.
Characters that are so flawed that they don’t see their own strengths and good points. Each chapter is another voice and the author come back to each one at different intervals in the story.
The author takes us back in time to 1945 to the birth and the early life of this overlord and we get to understand and see why he felt so alone, tortured and the evilness inflicted on so many. The inspector learns more about the corruption related to the chief and his alliance with the Germans and the man everyone comes to fear as this same man takes the lives of those close to Takeda hoping to learn where Reizo took his daughter. We learn the hidden truths about Mitsuko or as her father relates them, the documents that she has proving her birthright that Yori stole from her and the truths behind who she really claims to be as her father claims that she is ill with a brain tumor and that she is delusional. As you read her words penned in her prison, you the reader will decide what is truth and what is deception. As Takeda finds the body of someone dear to him burned, Beate and the inspector must decide how and where to hide as the commandant might send others after him. The truth behind the bank raid and who initiated it and where the money was deposited is revealed and the final scenes in this book will haunt you and your visions forever.
Reading about the past and learning more about Prince Norikazu and his background, Unit 731 and the experiments and what was done to the patients we begin to see how it flows over in the present and is related to Mitsuko.
The ending is quite startling and the truths become more evident as the Lord of Lies tells his own child what she wants to hear and we feel the pain inflicted on so many that can reveal the truths behind the heritage and life of this man and that of Mitsuko’s father. Hearing his rendition of her life, learning what he perceived as the truth the hidden truths and lies become clear but where will she finally wind up and will anyone rescue her from her prison in the metro service tunnel? Some prisons are within the minds of a person as each character falls prey to their own fears and their own wants. One would soar greatly and become well renowned while others will take their guilt and use it for their own destruction. Author Bob Van Laerhoven takes us back to a time when so many were reminded of the past, the bombings and the sarin attack in 1995 as the timeline for the novel takes place within a few days but the final outcomes and the ending will let readers understand what happens when so many decided to Return to Hiroshima.
Fran Lewis: Just reviews
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[Cassandra MADEUP BookBlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was far from the type of story I was expecting when I initially picked this book up, in fact this was so very different from what I expected that it took me a while to decide what exactly it was that I felt about it.

This story follows multiple Characters, and each has a reason for being in the story. There wasn’t a perspective that didn’t make sense, no. Characters whose story didn’t link to the intriguing conclusions the tale was brought to.

Each perspective had a reason for being there, a logical flow to their perspectives and tale, and an interesting part of the story to be told. As the story draws closer and closer to the close, we see more of why each angle was vital to the storyline, why they needed to be there.

The story itself is full of rich and wonderful descriptions, painting a gloriously vivid picture of Japanese life and cultures. Although far from a pretty story, this is nonetheless full to bursting with stunning imagery that will stick with you long after the final page has been turned. The tale is far from lighthearted, but it is thoroughly engaging, and I found myself engrossed in the wondrous prose from the beginning scenes.

The story doesn’t take expected turns, and the conclusions are not what you may come to expect or suspect. As with the situations throughout this brilliant book, the scenes are surprising, and at times create a dark and haunting image of life at the time.

This isn’t a book that I normally would have read, and I am incredibly grateful for the chance to read this, and it is certainly something I would want to return to at a later date. The chapters are short and filled with suspense in the way they approach situations, and I found myself eager to see where each scene would take me.

Well worth Picking up, whether the Genre is one you would usually read, or not something you have considered before.

[Ankita Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I had to write a one sentence review, I'd say that "Return to Hiroshima is not a book you should take lightly." With scenes describing the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bomb blasts and the destruction thereof, it was a gruesome, goosebumps raising read. 


I'm not much of a Historical Fiction buff, and the ones that I do read, I usually don't enjoy. But Return to Hiroshima was a welcome change, and it made me think that I just might enjoy the genre if I read books set in histories that might interest me. 


I appreciated the details, since I'm completely unfamiliar with Japanese culture and geography, but sometimes, the descriptions felt like they could've been avoided.


Also, one of the characters, Xavier, was almost unrelated to the main plot, and I couldn't understand what was his role in the story. Also, his sister's death—which was a topic of suspense until the end—wasn't clarified, and it annoyed me to not know what happened. 


All in all, Return to Hiroshima was gruesome, chilling and real, and I'm glad that I got a chance to read it. 

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Return to Hiroshima is a dark, gripping novel, filled with a beautifully real-feeling Japenese culture and society along with corruption and the search for power. The story is very grim and sinister, and at times, very intense. There are some difficult topics covered in this story, with research centers and camps during WWII, but it fits with the theme over the novel and is necessary for telling the story.

One part of this novel that threw me off a tiny bit was the rapid character introduction in alternating chapters. It takes some getting used to and concentrating. Once things came together though, the story becomes immensely powerful. So, when reading this one, you just have to power through that part, and it becomes well worth it.

A multi-layered plot, with intense characters and powerful themes, Return to Hiroshima is one you don’t want to miss.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

[P.A. Rudders · Rating 5 out of 5]

A darkly poignant dive into the underbelly of Japanese lore and mystery ...

Steeped in intricacy and too many horrors waiting to jump out of the shadows as each element of the story begins to find its place, it would be impossible to do justice to any sort of plot summary here. Suffice to say, the reader is taken on one hell of a dark and often upsetting journey: a seven-foot woman haunted by either real or imaginary memories of childhood horrors and abuse, an investigation into the murder of a newborn child, a secret and clandestine wartime medical experiments, and Japanese suicide cults are just some of the pieces of this internationally flavoured noir thriller.

Despite this being a translation from the original, the writing is fluid and well-crafted, with clearly a great deal of effort having gone into maintaining the tone and feel of the original text. The complexity of the story is cleverly broken up into short, easily digestible chapters, each with their own little prelude as it were. I liked too the way the author alternates the point of view between that of the central and mysterious female character, Mitsuko, and the third-person perspectives of the other characters amid the wider story and sub-plots going on. 

This is a book that challenges the reader to step outside their comfort zone in terms of what they might be familiar with culturally, and perhaps their perceptions of Japanese culture and society. Quite apart from the story of Mitsuko, the author skilfully contrasts the western view of Japan (or Nippon as he refers to it in the narrative), managing to incorporate the Japanese fascination with Karaoke bars, manga comics, and the deeper philosophical and religious beliefs that underpin people's lives in that part of the world, alongside an enduring sense of nationalism even among its younger generation. The reader gets to witness Japanese society from the perspective of its native population, visiting westerners, and, as in the case of police inspector Takeda, who despite being half-Japanese, doesn't quite fit in with or enjoys the full 'acceptance' and respect of his peers.  As can probably be guessed from the title, the historical significance of Hiroshima and the aftermath of the nuclear blast are a recurring influence in how the story unfolds, though more as a historical backdrop and vehicle in which it has shaped the current story being told. Set in the mid-1990s, many of the characters still possess first-hand experience of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima while the next generation are equally affected by the resultant and continuing birth defects and associated cancers. Alongside the inevitable darkness such elements bring to the story, there is plenty of equally dark and horrific content emanating from the characters themselves: rape, violence, torture, murder, and a number of grizzly death scenes are described quite graphically at times, ironically almost on a par with how they might be portrayed in a manga comic. Like any good writer, the author doesn't show his hand too soon in the story, encouraging the reader to reasonably draw their own conclusions and assumptions before allowing the real truth and direction of the story to emerge.

The farther and deeper you progress into this often disturbing and yet captivating tale, the more you will be rewarded as the different and complex strands eventually draw together. Be warned though, this is no easy story to read and one that demands the reader's full attention and concentration. Nor as I've intimated is this a book for the faint-hearted or those who prefer neatly packaged happy endings or a book filled with easily identified characters you're supposed to either like or hate. Nonetheless, a powerful and multilayered story for those willing to stray from the more conventional thriller style and setting.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wild ride we are given by Mr Van Laerhoven in a novel where Sin City meets Glass meets No Country for Old Men - a story of stories. In Return to Hiroshima we are drawn to the frontline of several lives being intricately woven together and then filleted right before our eyes. This is a dark, complicated and challenging read set during the 50th anniversary of Little Boy being dropped on Japan, the past and present evident in every decision made. 

We are thrown into the middle of a battle of completely differing morals. Mitsuko is fleeing her father, Rokurobei, the leader of an underground crime organization who she has witnessed murder several people. Including her own mother? On the other hand, Rokurobei is tracking Mitsuko down not because of her knowledge of his unsavory affairs, but due to her mental health and the problems it has caused. Including murdering her own mother? Upon meeting Yori and Reizo who offer her a place to stay, Mitsuko soon learns that she has more to fear than just the wrath of her father.

Yori and Reizo are part of the “Suicide Club”, a group of young squatters avoiding reality with jobs as pickpockets and street performers. Yori is drawn to the madness of the psychopaths around her, like that of none other than her boyfriend Reizo for whom she helps lure a foreigner to try and poison. The reason for this? A story to tell. And we will find that Yori is a sucker for a good story...

Of course, in any stories as dramatic as these the police are involved which is where inspector Takeda comes in. He is determined to solve several crimes that he has been told to leave alone by his superiors. He quickly gets a target on his back due to not following orders, putting those around him in danger as well. Are all these good intentions to help redeem himself for previous actions of his own? But of course. 

Rokurobei quickly traces Mitsuko to the Suicide Club where he encounters Reizo, who leaves him with a cryptic clue to the location of Mitsuko…and then Yori, who is as smitten by the madness of Rokurobei as she was Reizo…and then inspector Takeda and the police doctor's investigations into crimes that should not concern them...and then, and then, and then. He is on a cover up spree, and it seems that no one will be spared.

It is soon revealed that Rokurobei also means Lord of Lies, and we quickly learn that it’s hard to tell who, if anyone, is telling the truth or just their truth. It seems, due to the differing sets of morals mentioned above (Rokurobei’s mirroring those of Anton from No Country for Old Men), that everyone completely believes their own versions while simultaneously being drawn to the voice and ideals of Rokurobei. We see this several times as people easily place their trust in a madman even as they become witness to the wake of his horrific acts.

Bob Van Laerhoven writes in quick, detail packed chapters in alternating points of view. There are several characters contributing the each other’s stories even though these are people that never should have met except for fate. Fate is a strong theme throughout the course of this book as everyone is back in Hiroshima to meet theirs. From Xavier Douterloigne, a diplomat’s son that grew up in Japan, to a German photographer on a mission to prove her talent, to police inspectors and commissioners, to underground crime organizations. It seems everyone is connected, even when they come from worlds apart.

The extreme dualities of the characters extends to the overall story itself as well. Bob somehow managed to seamlessly connect noir crime fiction with historical fiction. As soon as I type those words I realize that of course the two genres should go hand in hand, yet how often have I read a story like that? This is the first.

[Frankie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is certainly one of those books which really makes you think, I have to be honest and say that by first glance it isn’t a book I would have picked up usually, as I am quite picky when it comes to noir fiction, I am pleased I went against my usual reservations and gave this book a try, as it tuned out to be a very compelling and intriguing book, completely different to what I usually read, but even now after reading, I am still in two frames of mind about it.

It’s not that I hated it, I didn’t, but yet I can’t say I loved it either, I do feel as though I am sort of stuck in limbo between the two – which is something that has never happened to me before. I enjoyed the ‘thriller/mystery’ element of the story but then we have the other factions entwined which at times did make me stop reading and start on something lighter just to flush my mind of what I had read, this is seriously dark and one I would read with huge amounts of caution for those intrigued enough to pick up.

I have read a lot of historical fiction especially from WW2, I have read some truly horrific true live accounts of those who somehow managed to survive some of the worst things people can do to another, some books which don’t hold back on the horrors which people had to endure, I thought after reading the memoir of a survivor of Treblinka that I had read the worst imaginable, but this is something completely different, this is quite disturbing at times, and yet it still grabs you, which is an odd mix.

There was something which I can’t explain that pulled at me and made me want to read, again I can’t put my finger on what. But, saying all that it is a very intriguing and gritty book, it’s expertly written and if you love the darker, more lurid aspects of noir fiction then this one is the book you should read. Personally as well written and original as it is, with a complex cast of character’s it wasn’t for me.

[Olga Miret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the author for providing me a paperback copy of the book that I freely chose to review.
I read and reviewed Baudelaire’s Revenge some time ago and I was fascinated and intrigued by it, so I did not think twice when the author told me he had published a new novel. Van Laerhoven’s work has won awards, been translated into several languages, and he has a unique voice that stays with the reader long after finishing the book. I don’t mean the stories and the plots of his books are not interesting (they are fascinating), but the way he writes about the historical period his stories are set in, and the characters he follows and analyses are distinct and unforgettable. His words are, at once, poetic and harsh, and they perfectly convey both, the utmost beauty and the extremes of cruelty and dejection that can be found in human beings.
When I reread my previous review, while I was preparing to write this one, I realised that much of what I had written there (apart from the specifics about the plot and the characters) applied also to this book. The author once more writes historical fiction, although this time it is closer to our era. The main action takes place in Japan in 1995, although, as the title might make us suspect, the story also goes back to 1945 (and even before) and towards the end of the book we have scenes set in that period, with all that involves.
The story is mostly narrated in the third person from the points of view of a variety of characters, a police inspector (who has to investigate the murder of a baby, a strange attack at a bank with a large number of casualties, and a bizarre assault on a tourist), a female photographer, a young man and a young woman members of a strange sect, a strange man/God/demon (who is more talked about than actually talking, although we get access to his memories at some point). There are also fragments narrated by a woman, who is in hiding when we first meet her, and whose identity and mental state will keep readers on tenterhooks.
Apart from the mystery elements and from the bizarre events, which at first seem disconnected but eventually end up by linking all the characters, I noticed some common themes. Families, family relationships, and in particular relationships between fathers and sons and daughters, take centre stage. The inspector’s search for his father and how that affects his life, the young woman’s relationship with her father, at the heart of the whole plot, the photographer’s relationship with her father, another famous photographer, and her attempts at finding her own identity as an artist… While some characters seem totally amoral (perhaps because they believe they are beyond usual morality), others are trying to deal with their guilt for things that they did or did not do. Some of the characters might feel too alien for readers to empathise with, but others experience emotions and feelings fully recognisable, and we feel sad for some of them at the end, but relieved for others. The claustrophobic and pressured atmosphere running against the background of the atomic bomb and its aftermath are perfectly rendered and help give the story an added layer of tension and depth.
This is a book of extremes and not an easy read. Although the language used is lyrical and breath-taking at times, there are harsh scenes and cruel behaviours described in detail (rape, drug use, torture, violence), so I would not recommend it to people who prefer to avoid such kinds of reading. I’ve seen it described as horror, and although it does not easily fit in that genre, in some ways it is far more unsettling and scarier than run-of-the-mill horror. This novel probes the depths of the human psyche and its darkest recesses, and you’ll follow the author there at your own peril.
I wanted to share some samples I highlighted that should not provide any spoilers for those thinking about reading it:
Books protected me from reality. I remember them as a choir of pale shapes, sometimes hysterical, other times comforting, vividly prophetic, or disquieting, like a piano being played in the dark. I’ve always been convinced that stories influence the mind: they haunt regions of the brain where reason has lost its way.
This one I find particularly relevant to this book (and I think most writers would know perfectly well what it’s getting at):
“Writers are like God. They love their characters, but take pleasure in the suffering they put them through. They torment themselves through the puppets they create and in the midst of the torment they discover a sort of rage, the rage you need to create. There’s a lot of sadomasochism in the universe and literature has its own fair share.”
Here, one of the characters talks about how she feels when she is depressed:
Her malady gave her the impression that the buildings and the people she saw were nothing more than pixels of energy bundled together by an insane artist who could shift around the worlds inside him like pieces of chess.
This ‘ultra-noir’ novel, as the blurb aptly describes it, is an extraordinary read, but is not a book for somebody looking for a typical genre thriller with slightly twisted characters. This is far darker than most of the thrillers I’ve read. But don’t let that put you off. As I said in my previous review of another one of the author’s novels, ‘if you’re looking for a complex and challenging historical novel and don´t shrink from dark subjects, this is a pretty unique book.’

[Kriti | Armed with A Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed thoughts posted on Armed with A Book

I have always been fascinated by stories set in Japan and that is why I chose this book. There are a number of characters in the story, many of them with hidden identities. We start off with Mitsuko, a young woman who has run away from her home on the Hashima Island, escaping from her father. She is pregnant and does not want to lose her child. Soon after, a baby is found by the peace monument, embalmed with a chrysanthellum flower on its foot.

This is a fast-paced novel, dark, at every turn, with twists that I did not see coming. As the name suggests, the story starts to develop when Mitsuko, Xavier and Beate arrive in Hiroshima. The characters are well thought out, all of them struggling with their past. Since there are so many of them, it can be hard to keep track of them all. I actually ended up creating a mind map to represent their introductions and connections (will share that in my blog post later).

I am not quite sure why Xavier's story line was relevant in the grand scheme of things and I'm also unsatisfied by the conclusion, but over all it was a good read that kept me glued to my spot.

I am thankful to Black Thorn Book Tours for a complimentary copy of the book as part of the blog tour.

[Elias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Return to Hiroshima is the first book I've read by author Bob Van Laerhoven and it did not disappoint. I'm extremely thankful he was kind enough to reach out and see if I would give this book a go. I just hope I do it justice in my attempt to review. 

Goodness, I seriously can't think of where or how to begin. This is an intricate and very well thought out novel. Hiroshima tells the story of Japan's current culture while it somehow holds onto the past. In following several characters and their journies, we as readers get a well-rounded perception of life In Japan. 

Shrouded in darkness and mystery right from page one, I was intrigued to progress through the text to see what I could uncover while somehow remaining cautious and a little timid to find out what would happen. It may be fifty years post-bombing in this novel, but the ominous feeling lingers heavily for the people in their day-to-day. 

Whether I was with Mitsuko (who I really loved despite her dose of crazy) in the search for her father's identity, or Inspector Takeda going deep into Japan's corruption and underbelly during a murder investigation, Xavier and his experience with his return home after being away for some time, Rokurbei the historic demon who may have taken on human form as he wanders the streets, or Reizo and his excentricities during his time writing his novel, I was in for a dark adventure. 

The characters were intricate and the plot was heavy, but because of that weight I felt as I was reading, I also felt the need to push on and learn more. There was an eerie element woven through this entire tale that seemed to leap off the page and wrap around me. Yet, I got an inside look to another angle of Japan's culture and grim history. 

I loved so many things about this book. The writing was stunning and while I made my journey through a subject matter I didn't know much about, I was completely informed and entertained. While the doom and gloom may not be seen as a positive aspect of a text in many regards, for me, it was exactly that. The history mixed with fictional elements built this really intense tale that read like a solid mystery or horror novel. It had all the elements to teach you a little something while also sending chills down your spine. 

There's a lot to be learned and retained from a novel like this one, and I'm glad I got a chance to read it when I may have otherwise not known about it. Bravo and kudos to Bob for being so creative and insightful and building such a fantastic yet terrifying world. What a ride! 

[L.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently read the memoir of a survivor of Hiroshima, I was "in the zone" and keen to read this book.

The story began slowly as the author introduced us to lots of characters, each with their own chapter and story. The transitions from one chapter to another were abrupt and choppy; this was a book that demanded concentration to keep up with the many characters and how they would eventually fit together. I did find it quite difficult to follow, but as the story developed and more was revealed about the characters it became almost compulsive reading to see what happened next. By the midpoint I was totally invested and intrigued. The author's quirky style had won me over.

Without a shadow of a doubt I can say this story had a varied cast unlike any other book I've ever read ( to name but a few there was a Japanese "demon" figure (both masked and unmasked quite a terrifying character), a detective who is singled out for not being 100% Japanese, a fearsome German photographer with an eye for dark subject matter and ready to take risks for the right shot, a giant daughter figure with a dubious version of the truth, and her manga-influenced friend). Their back stories were detailed and complex, and - for me - a little too in-depth at times. Although I admired how the author tied together the past and the present, bringing the traumatic events of 1945 to life as he mingled the aftermath into the lives of his characters. I'll be honest, though - with some characters I'm still not overly sure who to believe as many their stories contradicted each other and I couldn't see the truth for the blurring of the lines. Definitely a story to keep you thinking!

There are some gory and violent scenes, and while these make for some uncomfortable reading, I'd consider these scenes pertinent to the overall tone of the story. I will admit that at times I didn't understand all aspects of the plot, but the author's intricate details kept me interested, and I rooted for Detective Takeda all the way. The twist at the end was dramatic and unexpected, yet also sublimely appropriate. This was certainly not a story where anything was predictable.

[Jessica Bronder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about Mitsuko, the daughter of Rokurobei. Rokurobei is considered the reincarnation of a Japanese demon runs the Yakuza. He feels his daughter is insane and has to protect his empire from her. Mitsuko can handle the abuse no longer and leaves and finds herself staying with Reizo, an author that is writing a novel that will change everything.

We also have Xavier Douterloigne that is trying to come to terms with the death of his sister while visiting the country he spent most of his youth in. And Inspector Takada who finds the twisted body of an infant at the Peace Monument and strange assaults on tourists.

This is an amazing story with so much happening. Each player has their role to play and at first it doesn’t seem to connect between each person and the time periods. But the more you read the story starts to circle around and around and mesh everyone together. I admit that I didn’t see how things were connected but the more you read the more you are drawn into the web.

If the people were not enough, we also go through time with Unit 731 and the experiments that were done during World War II. Something that I had an idea of what was done but is over shadowed by the atrocities from the Nazi’s. This plays a huge role along with the dropping of the atomic bombs too.

I am not that big into history normally but I really enjoy a good story that blends history like Return to Hiroshima. It has so many layers from simple family connection and our interactions with people. But then you add in the history, the events that took place, and how it has effected the world them and today which adds another dimension.

I loved this brutal story and recommend everyone check it out. I am really curious to read Bob Van Laerhaven’s other works.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed Mr. Laerhoven’s work in the past and was equally impressed by “Return to Hiroshima.” The author has a knack for digging below the surface to expose the darkness that lies beneath—in this case, underground Japan. We all know the story of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but what this book explores is the aftermath for the Japanese people, their society and culture, and the physical and psychological impact for both. This is all intertwined in a suspenseful mystery filled with characters whose lives are as multi-layered as the world around them. The quality of research in this novel is astounding. The author puts the reader in Japan in the 1940s and the 1990s. And the characters are so believable that it seems as if the author crawled in their heads and recorded their every thought and dream as they went about their daily lives. And what twisted lives they lead! From a deformed former prince and his princess to a jaded police inspector and several street kids, this story offers a unique blend of horror and mystery that, I must admit, was truly terrifying. I love reading a book that makes me “feel,” and “Return to Hiroshima” did that and so much more. I highly recommend this and all Mr. Laerhoven’s books.

[Leelynn (Sometimes Leelynn Reads) ❤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Crime Wave Press and Blackthorn Book Tours for this free copy.

Books like this, where the setting or the content of the plot, something to do with the book basically, has some sort of meaning to me, are hard to read sometimes. I don’t even know if that sentence above made sense to me or whoever is reading this, but basically having this book take place in Hiroshima and having the main characters and some of the other characters feeling the effects of what happened back in WWII just stirred up emotions in me that I don’t always feel. For one, learning about this part of history and having family members on both sides of the war makes it difficult to be on one side or the other. I don’t think it’s even really about sides at this point, but that history hurts.

I honestly don’t think it was very clear what else happened in Japan, or even China and Korea during WWII that wasn’t widely known or told. I think we are still in the dark about a lot of the horrors that they had to face on a daily basis. So it was hard for me to read a book where one of the main plot lines dealt with experiments that were done during WWII. Even if they were real or not, if these were hidden to the point that how the world would look at both the Imperial family and society as a whole would completely change, that just sounds terrifying to me.

Now for the actual book, now that I got that part out of the way.

Something about this book was truly haunting, and I am actually really impressed and grateful that Van Laerhoven did justice to the Japanese people and culture in this novel. Coming from someone who has absolutely no Japanese blood in him, or even explicit ties, it could have been a hit or miss. This was definitely a hit, and I think he did a great job at making sure that this book didn’t become problematic with the representation.

I’m not used to crime thrillers, or ultra-noir books like this one is, so I really had to take my time with it. I had to make sure that I was understanding the subtext and the nuances that were going on in here that isn’t explicitly stated for me like I’m used to. Sure, I can deal with symbolism and foreshadowing and stuff like that, but I’m never one to be completely thrown off by the plot or a twist that comes up later on, or a direction that a book ends up taking. This was one of those where I dedicated a lot more of my time and attention to make sure that I was appreciating the book the way it was intended.

There’s always the slight chance that exploring such a dark period in history – especially since this wasn’t that far in the past – could lead to being insensitive or just portrayed disrespectfully. I think Van Laerhoven took that chance, and he did the research that he needed to, in order to ensure that he wasn’t either of those things. This was not a light read by any means, despite the short chapters. The subject is gruesome, the content is difficult, and I would say that one would need to go into this book with a clear mind, and be in the right mental mindset to deal with something like this. Now, once you do that, sit back and go through this journey. I don’t think you will regret it.

[Alga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi everyone!!! Me again with another book review! (No spoilers, I promise!) This time, I'm reviewing a book gifted to me by Blackthorn Book Tours, "Return to Hiroshima," by Bob Van Laerhoven.

Book TW: Murder, gore, torture, infanticide, and mentions of incest and rape.

TL:DR: If you're into dark, grisly stories, you'll love this book. "Return to Hiroshima" is set in 1995, when Japan is struggling with having lost WWII and the effects of the atomic bombs and the economic crisis. The story follows many characters in the course of a few hectic, violent days. There's inspector Takeda, who tries to fit in as a second class citizen while dealing with the consequences of working within the corrupt police force. A Yakuza-lord who will do anything it takes to get what he wants. Mitsuko, the daughter of the Yakuza-lord, who struggles telling dreams and reality apart. Reizo, an ultra-nationalistic writer capable of doing anything to get inspiration for his masterpiece. This book is extremely graphic when it comes to the deaths, and not for the faint of heart. While the ending was not my cup of tea, it fits the tone of the story perfectly.

Prose: Fast-paced and urgent, but slow enough to get the descriptions to wrap around you. I felt as if I was right next to the characters and could imagine every single scene with no problems. There were, however, many pages with no paragraph breaks, which makes it a bit tiring to the eyes. All the expressions and words in Japanese get explained, and the author does not need to use complicated words (overuse of synonyms, anyone?) to get across his amazing writing skills.

Story: I'll be honest, I hated the ending, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad ending. On the contrary, it fits the story's tone perfectly. (I won't say more so as to not spoil something accidentally.) As I said before, this is a fast-paced story taking place in a timeframe of approximately a week. I had a hard time predicting what would happen in the story, something that rarely happens.

Characters: There's not a single character in this book who isn't flawed, and despite that, you can't help but love most of them. They all have something going on for them: past traumas, tragic pasts, mental illnesses, and/or just being born in less than fortunate circumstances. Every single one of them is interesting in their own right, and even if you hate them, you can't get enough of them. What will they do next? How will they react? Will they be able to get away with it? There are no good or bad guys here, just humans like you and me with questionable moral compasses of varying shades of grey.

Who is this book for?
This book is for those who are looking for a dark and gritty story set in what feels like a post-apocalyptic world but is actually 1995 Hiroshima. If you're into Noir, Crime Thrillers, Mystery, Literary, and Historical Fiction, I recommend this book to you. (But do mind the TW when you do.)

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no doubt in my mind that this book is demanding. There are terrifying true subjects involved here like the effects of the bombing of Hiroshima on its people and their descendants, the sickening history of Unit 731, and the Yakuza. There are also views into the lives of several characters that are gritty, insane, despondent, and sometimes beautiful. The prose is exceptional and drew me in right away, but was contrasted with the onerous content. It was often hard to read. I still loved it.

The main storyline that connects all of the characters is about a girl named Mitsuko and her father, who is called Rokurobei after a Japanese demon because of his serpent-like neck and features that seem to embody his monstrousness. They are both physically unique due to the effects of the bombing at Hiroshima (Mitsuko) and ‘testing’ that was performed (Rokurobei). Mitsuko describes her genetics, “My parents were little more than infants when the bomb exploded and the radiation threw their endocrine system out of kilter, leaving me with an inherited genetic defect that made me grow up differently.” Mitsuko also describes her father’s attitude towards her and the reasoning for his own appearance, “My father wanted to create the perfect human being because it had been attempted with him – unsuccessfully.”

I found the relationship between Mitsuko and her father almost artificially folklorish; where they live, how they live, and the ideas that Rokurobei made up about himself that took a disturbed human Yakuza leader and made him into some godly figure. Mitsuko said, “My father’s mind worked like a Tibetan prayer wheel, turning high on a desolate mountain, and powered by a force he considered divine.” Her aversion to him was not unfounded and neither was her desire to escape him. It is clear that they are both filled with mental unrest though, most likely due to their physical ‘deformities’ that go beyond the flesh.

We get to meet other characters who have run-ins with Mitsuko as she attempts to share the truth about her father with the world. There is a German journalist/photographer who is drawn in by the fallout of Hiroshima and the dangers surrounding uncovering it, a devout Yakuza follower who believes he can become godly himself and imitates madness to strike fear in his ‘Suicide Club’, a policeman with a good heart but sexually violent urges, and a Belgian diplomat who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You follow them and bounce between their stories in each chapter, which keeps you engaged but somehow detached. You are simply aware of the web that connects everyone and how it will continue to connect new people long after these characters are gone.

Once Rokurobei realizes he must follow Mitsuko to stop her from unveiling him, we get to learn more about what he thinks and how deep his madness goes. The question between what is divine and what is insane is often played upon, leaving you feeling frightened and unsure of if there has ever really been magic in the world or just varying cases of megalomania. Rokurobei said, “The method was devised for the ancients, doctor. They were much closer to themselves and to nature than we are. Modern human beings are apparently unable to cope with the magic of earlier days… But sooner or later science will try to create a demigod once again. It’s part of us, doctor. We’re hardwired to reach beyond ourselves.”

Reading this book during the current COVID-19 pandemic, I had to stop myself for a moment to enjoy the policeman’s comment while he was riding a train, “Decent people wear a mask out of respect for their fellow travelers when they feel a cold coming on.” This moment, to me, symbolized Japan’s intelligence that seems to stem from learned experience, which the rest of the world should take heed of. However, it is almost contradictory in some ways because the author spends a lot of time discussing how ‘saving face’ in Japanese culture is often more important than the truth.

The Belgian diplomat Xavier has an intriguing but small part in this story and the prose was the most beautiful when the chapters were touching on his parts. A line I pondered for a few minutes was, “Xavier pictured death as a long journey over stormy oceans filled with monsters and the like.” This character spends most of his time thinking about his sister who ended up in a wheelchair and later committed suicide. Their bond was strong, and as simple as this particular character development seemed, it actually encapsulated the whole story beautifully. Xavier describes the Japanese concept of “Shoganai,” which means ‘it can’t be helped.’ If something is out of your control, it’s better to quickly accept it and move on. That is the word of the day for this whole book, but ironically. While many of the things these characters endure seem like they cannot be helped, the opposite is also true. If humanity and the individuals that make it up had been more diligent and compassionate to themselves and one another, almost all of those terrible things that occurred could have been helped.

A very big thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours for providing Horror Bound with a copy of this novel for review!

[B.J. Tiernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Return To Hiroshima is no vanilla novel. Rather, it is a complicated, decadent, dark-chocolate tale revealing the caliginous side of the human affair. The specific, concrete imagery and regional flavor that the author uses, vividly captures the pre and post-war setting of Japan and quickly sets the mood - a dark, gloomy, disquieting mood - a Cimmerian darkness that can be felt through and through, first page to last.

At times, the novel is difficult to read. It is hard to look at the human condition and what can happen when people lose their moral compass. Maybe the human experiment has failed. For me, this novel was personal. It reminded me that it is not humanity as a whole, but individuals who must rise up to a pinnacle of morality, and each individual must make the effort to do so on their own. In that sense, Return to Hiroshima is a training ground for those who wish to rise above the violence, prejudice, jealousy, greed, judgment, and corruption we keep bumping into in this world gone mad.

One of my favorite quotes in the book is, "Afterwards, when the fantasies subsided, shame inevitably rushed in, filling me with a sense of my own emptiness." This is real life. How many times have we humans experienced this empty void? Perhaps to escape our stygian nature, we must first look at our actions and the actions of others. Return to Hiroshima gives the reader a chance to take that look. What I love about Van Laerhoven's writing is the way it reveals our human fragility. Whether or not we choose to take a look in the mirror the author holds up is another matter entirely.

Warning. This is not a novel for the faint of heart, but if you are looking for a delicious mystery, complete with fatalism, cynicism, and ambiguity, this is the perfect read for you.

I end this review with a quote from Carl Jung. "Nature is awful, and I often ask myself, should one not interfere? But one cannot really, it is impossible, because fate must be fulfilled. It is apparently more important to nature that one should have consciousness, understanding, than to avoid suffering."

Maybe it's time we all take that look.

[Linda McCutcheon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never in my life has a book given me as much distress as Return to Hiroshima by Bob van Laerhoven. It is filled with very descriptive horrors of torture by the Japanese to POWs during WWII. It has painful details of the Nazi like Japanese Unit 731 scientific experiments on humans as though they were lab rats. Its short crisp chapters include depression, suicide, rape, drug abuse, pornography, matricide, insanity, and nuclear holocaust. I could not read this book at night. It left me sleepless.

However, this book is a masterpiece in story telling. I am glad I kept reading. The story has meaning. It has importance.

This non linear story takes place between 1945 and 1995. It centers around Mitsuko daughter of Yakuza mob boss known as Rokurobei. She believes her father is evil personified and wants her dead. After all his well earned name is for a demon known as The Lord of Lies. He thinks his daughter is insane. She thinks its part of his evil plot to keep her silent about all his crimes including those against her.

There are many integral characters to this story of how a nuclear bomb ended a war but also ended future lives for many generations.
Throughout the book our many narrators are unreliable and what is true is not always seen but the unfairness of the life they were born into is crystal clear.

This is not a book for everyone. It has triggers. Yet it tells an amazing story about family, perseverance, and even hope. Not every book is funny, romantic and happy but neither is life and Return to Hiroshima reminds us that there are consequences and Karma is real.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.