Kaihan: Bizarre Crimes That Shook Japan: Volume One

Kaihan #1

by Tara A. Devlin

Not all is as it seems.An elderly couple appear on television hoping to gather information about their missing daughter, but it’s a mysterious note spotted during the segment suggesting a close family member may be involved that really catches the public’s attention.

An entire family is murdered the night before New Year’s Eve. A crime so brutal and shocking that it caused Japan to finally change its stubborn laws. Yet the criminal’s bizarre actions after the murders have yet to be truly understood or explained, and he remains free to this day.

Ever wondered if someone could successfully vanish into thin air? How about the strangest place a body could be hidden? Or what it would take for a single person to pull off the largest heist in Japanese history?

Bizarre Crimes That Shook Japan looks at 21 different cases from Japan that were so baffling, so bizarre, so mystifying that most remain unsolved to this day. From murders to disappearances to robberies, these strange crimes defy explanation and have puzzled both detectives and the public for decades. What really happened? Why? How were so many criminals able to get away with it? What makes them so strange and, the more you think about it, so terrifying?

Hit that Buy Now button to find out!

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Horror, Japan, Japanese Literature

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 24, 2020

About the author

Tara A. Devlin studied Japanese at the University of Queensland before moving to Japan in 2005. She lived in Matsue, the birthplace of Japanese ghost stories, for 10 years, where her love for Japanese horror really grew. And with Izumo, the birthplace of Japanese mythology, just a stone’s throw away, she was never too far from the mysterious. You can find her collection of horror and fantasy writings at taraadevlin.com and translations of Japanese horror at kowabana.net.

Reviews

[Kathryn Grace Loves Horror · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devlin does it again. She has written multiple books on Japanese legends and hauntings, and in this book she turns her pen to true crime, chilling and tragic cases - most still unsolved - from the mid 20th century to much more recent. This is perhaps the most fascinating book I’ve read from her yet, and I hope she revisits the subject in the future (“Vol. 1” being a part of the books title, it seems she intends to).

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty quick read compared to Tara A. Devlin's other books. She's as thorough as ever (and I saw no typos in this one): each case is categorised as Disappearances, Robberies, Murders, and the like. She also provides a list of references at the end of the book.

Some of the cases presented here are popular enough to have made the rounds of true crime and mystery youtube--in fact, that's how I knew of the last case mentioned in the book. But I didn't know it was a case that was instrumental in abolishing of the statute of limitations for murder in Japan. True crime youtube definitely never mentioned that 😂

Most of the cases are unfamiliar to me, though, and they're just as bizarre as advertised. Not bad for $3!

[Paula Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Devliin book but this time focussing on crime. For a country that prides itself on lack of crime, these stories are really quite harrowing. From poisoning, to forced cesareans, to bodies in a toilet (yep, you read that right), the stories are confounding. It also shows the Japanese police to be very blinkered in their research, especially with one case. Devlin has included the case that reformed the criminal justice system - the Miyazawa family murder.

If you like true crime with no conclusions, then try this book!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are like candy: simple, delicious, but somehow unsatisfying. A great selection of true crime from Japan written in a clear and engaging style. Some oddities and typos due to (I assume) self-publishing. For instance, untempered remarks about Koreans and equating women and girls. Also ends rather abruptly. Yet I somehow couldn’t put it down …

[corri stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

I love Japanese culture and I enjoy true crime. Getting to read about both was a great plus. This book offers a lot of different stories that are worth reading. Tara did a great job with this book. I hope there's another one soon.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of tales of true crimes in Japan. Some of them are quite horrible. Others of them show that the police there work a lot differently than they do here. Good for the true crime fan, if you don't mind the lack of solutions.

[Regi Caldart]

Incredibly informative and well researched. I would love to see a volume two!

[ericka glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good read

I love true crime and this book left me wanting me wanting more . A must read!!!. I love Japan and true crime so this is a real treat.