Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
An alternate cover edition that uses the same ISBN can be found here.

深夜のファミリーレストランで突如、男の身体が炎上した! 遺体には獣の咬傷が残されており、警視庁機動捜査隊の音道貴子は相棒の中年デカ・滝沢と捜査にあたる。やがて、同じ獣による咬殺事件が続発。この異常な事件を引き起こしている怨念は何なのか? 野獣との対決の時が次第に近づいていた――。女性刑事の孤独な闘いが読者の圧倒的共感を集めた直木賞受賞の超ベストセラー。

520 pages, Paperback Bunko

First published April 1, 1996

33 people are currently reading
525 people want to read

About the author

Asa Nonami

105 books55 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
67 (14%)
4 stars
146 (31%)
3 stars
183 (39%)
2 stars
51 (10%)
1 star
21 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
Profile Image for mollusskka.
250 reviews160 followers
July 5, 2020
Honestly, this book didn't provide me with lots of thrill or excitement I used to get when I read a mystery book. It's pretty boring to me. But then I realized that this book tried to describe the realness of a murder investigation. How the police or detectives jump from one investigation to another but none of them leads to anything matters to the case. What a hard work and that's just how the case could be so boring and frustrating, just exactly like what I felt when reading this book. Where is this going to? What if it's never gonna be revealed? But of course it's finally revealed. And I'm glad there's a dog (a wolfdog) in this book that made the reading process less boring. Still, I like this book and appreciate some information the author gave me about police investigation and especially about a wolfdog.

Review bahasa Indonesia bisa dibaca di blogku: https://mollusskka.wordpress.com/2018...
Profile Image for Rachel (TheShadesofOrange).
2,887 reviews4,798 followers
February 1, 2021
3.0 Stars
This is a gritty police procedural that started out strong, but unfortunately became slow and dull. The most interesting parts of the case involved learning about the animal involved. I also did like the main female detective who was strong and tough as she battled with sexism in the police force. Otherwise, I found the story quite forgettable. Admittedly, I mistakenly thought there was a supernatural element to the mystery and so was disappointed when that was not the case. This is definitely a mystery novel, not a horror novel.
Profile Image for Okuta Otherside.
137 reviews24 followers
December 15, 2017
Rating aslinya 3.5 tapi karena ga ada setengahnya jadi aku bulatkan ke 4 😂

Pertama, aku suka covernya. Keren, dan aku suka karena tulisan kanjinya tetap dipertahankan. Menambah daya tarik desain covernya. Menurutku.

Kedua, aku suka gaya penceritaannya. Berasa nonton dorama-dorama polisi. Kalau suka nonton dorama yang bergenre seperti itu pasti bisa dibayangkan gimana jadinya novel ini kalau dijadikan versi dorama. Seru, dan agak-agak reverse harem. Soalnya satu detektif wanita di tengah-tengah kumpulan detektif pria 😁

Ketiga, aku suka tokoh-tokohnya. Aku suka hubungan mitra antara Takako dan Takizawa. Love hate relationship. Meski sebenernya ga ada lovenya lol.

Keempat, aku suka kasusnya. Tapi yang kasus pertama, yang kasus pembakaran. Soal kasus yang serangan anjing menurutku malah jadi terlalu mengarah ke fantasy dan supranatural. Walaupun sebenernya tetap menarik cuma rasanya aneh, modus operandinya terlalu beda jauh. Dan dalam bayanganku, anjingnya berasa terlalu ajaib. Tapi aku suka anjingnya, aku juga mau pelihara satu 😁

Kelima, aku agak terganggu sama terjemahannya. Banyak kata-kata yang aneh, seperti histris dan mistrius. Juga ada cetakan yg sepertinya salah ukuran dan jenis fontnya. Lalu soal nama anjingnya, kenapa diterjemahkan jadi itu sih, kan jadi hilang kesan kerennya. Walaupun kalau diterjemahkan memang itu artinya 😂

Keenam, buku ini ada kisah lanjutannya ga sih? Penasaran kalau memang ada lanjutannya.

Udah segitu aja. Tapi menurutku buku ini lumayan bagus, tidak terlalu dark dan termasuk bacaan yang ringan menurutku.
Profile Image for John.
Author 537 books183 followers
October 9, 2019
To use the term "police procedural" to describe this novel might be a little misleading, because the normal implication would be that this is a piece of realism. Yet the truth is that it is a police procedural and even that it's arguably realism, in that there's nothing inherently impossible here; it's just that the m/os of the crimes are totally outwith normal experience, and the "weapon" used for most of them -- a wolf-dog -- is to say the least unusual.

Those m/os are uncovered fairly quickly and, since we're given a little more information than the cops have, it's not too hard to work out the culprit and motive for one set of crimes. That leaves us with the forensic pleasures of watching the cops and their procedures, the appeal of observing the evolving relationship between the two principal protagonists, and the genuine thrills of one longish section of the tale.

A man dies in a Tokyo diner of what appears to be spontaneous combustion, and the ensuing conflagration destroys the building in which the diner occupied the ground floor. It's a baffling case, and the Tokyo PD deploys a major team of detectives to investigate it. Among them are Takako Otomichi, a motorcycle cop recently elevated to the detective division and one of the rare females in the department, and Tamotzu Takizawa, a crusty veteran detective. Of course, these two are partnered; of course, they spend much of the novel either not getting along or in a state of outright hostility; of course . . . no, in fact they refreshingly don't fall for each other and into bed for mad passionate raptures, as would have assuredly happened had they been working in, say, Hollywood. By the end of the book and the dissolution of their partnership, they've dredged up a certain degree of liking and mutual respect, but that's about it.

What's also very refreshing about this depiction of a frosty relationship is that the frostiness isn't entirely the older cop's fault: Tamotzu is something of a misogynist, true, but not nearly as much or as deep-rootedly as Takako thinks he is, and her persistent refusal to react to any friendly overtures he makes -- for fear of showing signs of weakness, you see -- while in a way understandable is also a major contributor to the prickliness between them. In other words, each is guilty of stereotyping the other: she thinks he's a chauvinist pig and he thinks she's an irredeemable prig.

The other major character in the novel is the wolf-dog, Gale, with whom Takako soon very much identifies -- at least, she recognizes in the dog the version of herself that rides wild and free on her motorbike, the independent Takako rather than the subservient cop. The longish thrill ride that I mentioned above relates a chase along the nighttime highways of Greater Tokyo, with Takako on her bike pursuing an animal that's capable of cruising at 30mph and up.

Juliet Winters Carpenter's translation is very good, and in places surprisingly colloquial (presumably in reflection of the original). But that didn't stop me coming away from the novel with the feeling that all the things I liked about it -- and there were quite a few -- were colored (discolored?) by the sense of stodginess I experienced in parts of it. To an extent this was for the silliest of reasons -- Kodansha's edition has smallish type, narrowish margins and no page-breaks for chapter divisions, so the text can look pretty intimidating. But mainly it was because Nonami chose to include the boring bits of the police procedure -- the lines of investigation that led nowhere, the meetings in which nothing was achieved, etc. -- alongside the rest. This is of course realistic (as noted above) but unless it's done by someone like Ed McBain, whose sparkling dialogue and turns of phrase distract your attention from the fact that not a lot has happened in the last chapter or two, it doesn't exactly make the pulse pound.

Even so, when I closed The Hunter I found myself making a mental note to look out for more by Asa Nonami. And I continue to be impressed by Kodansha's crime fiction list.
Profile Image for Bella Azam.
645 reviews101 followers
December 8, 2025
Pretty good story as a whole but the amount of misogyny in here really irked me
Profile Image for Kyuukou Okami.
10 reviews3 followers
June 2, 2013
Oke, dimulai dari cover!
Harus saya akui, saya sukaaaa banget sama desain covernya, goresannya menggambarkan jalan raya tokyo yang dreary but somehow melancholy. Dan saya suka dengan gagasan kanji ‘Kogoeru Kiba’ dan nama pengarangnya yang tetap dipertahankan. To be honest, kanji-kanji inilah yang mencuri perhatian saya dan membuat saya mengambilnya dari setumpukan buku-buku new arrival di toko buku saat itu.

Move on to the story.

Secara garis besar, novel ini berkisah tentang seorang polisi bernama Takako Otomichi di mana pada saat itu, kaum wanita yang bekerja di kepolisian masih merupakan hal yang belum terlalu umum. Suatu hari di awal tahun, seorang pria ditemukan terbakar secara mengenaskan dengan ikat pinggang berpengatur waktu yang dicurigai sebagai alat pembunuhan. Untuk membongkar kasus tersebut, Takako yang masih digolongkan anggota junior kepolisian, dipasangkan dengan Tamotsu Takizawa yang berperakan besar, dengan wajah agak kasar dan sering Takako samakan dengan Penguin Kaisar. Namun tak sampai di situ saja, pembunuhan lainnya pun terjadi dengan melibatkan seekor hewan yang diduga anjing yang sangat besar terjadi pada beberapa orang dan tugas mereka berdua pun beralih untuk menangkap hewan apa pun yang melakukan pembunuhan tersebut.

Oke, pertama dari segi penulisan.
Untuk novel yang diterjemahkan langsung dari bahasa aslinya (bener kan?) saya angkat topi. Ada beberapa pemilihan kata-kata yang kurang pas sebetulnya, tapi itu bisa saya maafkan. Namun, tolong ya, saya sangat benci membaca nama si anjing serigala yang diartikan itu! TOPAN. Memang apa salahnya mempertahankan nama dalam naskah aslinya, HAYATE, dan malah men-translate-nya?! Lantas kenapa nggak sekalian aja Takako diartikan jadi ‘Gadis Berderajat Tinggi’ dan Takizawa jadi ‘Aliran Air Terjun’ atau entah apa, saya nggak tau kanjinya. Well, inilah pertama kalinya saya nemu cerita terjemahan dari jepang di mana ada nama tokoh yang di-bahasaindonesiakan. Mungkin saya yang kurang membaca atau apa, sehingga saya baru tahu, tapi yang jelas nama itu, TOPAN, SANGAT TIDAK ENAK dibaca. Titik.

My next complaint goes to the editor!! Histris, mistrius, dan sederet typo lainnya, kadang membuat saya mikir, “Ini si editor sebenernya magabut atau gimana?” I wondering if she or he knows the meaning of EYD.. Lalu, ada beberapa pilihan kata yang kurang tepat dari sang penerjemah, dan hal itu sepertinya luput begitu saja dari mata jeli sang editor.

Selanjutnya, mungkin inilah yang paling penting, dari segi cerita.
Saat membaca ini, saya seakan mendengar suara Candil yang bernyanyi “Polisi jugaaaa manusiaaaa…”
Yap, betul. Penokohan dan penceritaan benar-benar manusiawi, mengupas tentang sisi-sisi yang nggak pernah kita ketahui ternyata juga dimiliki oleh para anggota kepolisian. Bagaimana mereka menghadapi kasus dan berusaha sekuat tenaga menyelesaikannya di samping pada, saat yang bersamaan, kehidupan pribadi mereka pun tak kalah bermasalahnya. Novel ini membuat saya paham bahwa pekerjaan polisi dan detektif dalam melaksanakan kewajiban mereka tidak serta merta dapat dilakukan begitu saja, melainkan harus melalui banyak proses dan seringkali mencapai jalan buntu yang melelahkan. Bahwa kita tak bisa seenaknya berkata: “Apa aja sih yang dikerjain polisi itu?!” hanya karena kasus kita tak selesai dalam sekejap mata seperti yang kita harapkan.

Namun di samping itu, jujur saya merasa agak kecewa.
Kata-kata “memenangkan penghargaan Naoki yang bergengsi” itu lewat begitu saja dalam benak saya. Untuk meraih pernghargaan se-bergengsi itu, menurut saya tidak ada yang fantastis dalam buku ini. Kasusnya biasa, penceritaannya biasa, dan saya masih bertanya-tanya, apa hubungan antara ketiga korban yang telah dicabik habis oleh Hayate (saya nggak mau pake nama TOPAN di sini) tersebut? Mengapa tidak turut diceritakan? Apa hal ini luput begitu saja dari penulis yang memenangkan penghargaan sebesar itu? Dan walau pun saya juga membaca beberapa resensi tentang buku ini yang kesemuanya menyebutkan tentang adegan-dramatis-yang-dapat-mengurai-air-mata-pembaca di akhir cerita, kenyataannya saya hanya mencibir dan menutup buku keras-keras ketika menamatkannya.

Yah, untuk plot-hole-nya (yang entah bagaimana dilewatkan begitu saja oleh si pemberi penghargaan bergengsi), untuk kedataran emosi di klimaks ceritanya (menurut saya), untuk penjabaran tentang kehidupan para polisinya, untuk detail keterangan tentang anjing serigalanya (this is special for me, since I love wolves), over all, saya beri nilai 7.

Pour the water on coffe and grab The Hunter in your hand at the rainy evening, not so bad, though =D
Profile Image for cindy.
1,981 reviews156 followers
January 7, 2013
A novel that (for me) potraying police works with more genuine gesture, not just the heroic action and the success of cracking the case, but also the long-frustated-draining energy (physicaly and mentally) investigation process and the paper works. I also like the fact that till the end, Det Otimichi and Det. Takizawa, eventhough they were much more respectful to each other, are still not fit to one another *forget friendship, not even buddy* :p Maybe it just a slack for sequels, or maybe this novel just different.

****

Sebuah novel yang (menurut saya) memotret kerja polisi secara lebih real, bukan hanya aksi heroik dan keberhasilan memecahkan kasusnya namun juga proses-proses penyelidikan yang panjang, membuat frustasi, menguras energi dan kekuatan fisik dan mental dan juga tugas-tugas membosankan seperti membuat laporan, dimarahin atasan dan disirikin teman sesama detektif polisi. Yang lebih membuat beda, sampai akhir kasus, pasangan detektif Otomichi dan Takizawa yang tidak cocok, meskipun timbul rasa hormat antara keduanya, tetap saja tidak cocok ataupun berteman. Mungkin ini sekedar celah untuk pembaca dapat berharap adanya seri-seri selanjutnya, atau mungkin juga, novel ini memang beda....

Review lengkap di bit.ly/ZX2goS
#1/2013
Profile Image for Mike.
511 reviews136 followers
June 3, 2013

This is one of those random-chance books. It was sitting out on a library shelf and caught my eye. In the past few weeks I finally read the first Parker novel (also The Hunter) and watched the movie made from it starring Lee Marvin (Point Blank). Then, it was time to tackle The Hunter by Nonami-san.

It’s a police mystery/procedural set in Japan. The protagonist is a tough female cop who is a highly rated motorcycle division member. The case that begins the book begets a large investigation which brings in ancillary units (like the Mobile Police group that she belongs to) to put more feet on the ground.

The author throws her in with an older, male officer who does not really know how to behave around her (d’oh) but won’t show any “weakness” because of it. For more than half of the book they perform a passive-aggressive dance around each other as they pursue leads and question witnesses. The woman is used to harsh treatment since females are a small percentage of the police force and women officers don’t look out for each other, if anything they compete even more strongly.

The author switches viewpoints from one to the other so that we get both internal dialogues. I thought that was a pretty useful device given the male-dominated society (both Japan and the Tokyo police force) that the woman is immersed in. Each has their secrets that they keep from the other. They virtually never engage in small talk, but during the course of the investigation they learn little facts here and there. Occasionally a crack appears in their wall of mutual dislike and not-too-surprisingly their skills are superadditive when this happens. There is a lot of internalization (i.e. soul-searching) that both characters engage in. Although they do not know it, both are struggling with the aftermath of similar events. Perhaps in a future tale they will uncover each others stories.

The original crime (a death by fire) has been linked to a seconds series of murders (large animal attacks) and they are shifted onto this new thread. Of course they make many of the key discoveries in the cases (well, they are the stars of the show, after all). Their work takes them all over Tokyo and the surrounding suburbs. I enjoyed reading the names of many locations I’ve been to, or know of.

The story itself is pretty well constructed. I liked the inventiveness of the original murder and the research behind it. The author brings in a lot of facts via the investigation. Likewise with the animal attacks, the reader learns a lot about the type of animal and how it might have been trained (no spoilers!) I have to give Ms. Nonami-san high marks for originality and thoroughness.

As the cases progressed, I was very interested in how she was going to a) link them up for the police and b) get the police to solve them. I have to admit that the crucial transition was a bit disappointing. Not that it itself was bad, or silly, given the richness of the story up to that point, I was expecting something more convoluted. But, by doing so, the author allowed the last 25-30% of the novel to begin a new part of the story, which was also well-written and interesting. So, I won’t take off any points for her plot device as in hindsight it gave the book a new focus.

From the jacket, I know that the protagonist must appear in other novels. From the way she is introduced, I believe that this is the first one in the series (I’ll check after writing this.) I also expect that she and her temporary partner may cross paths again in the future. There is enough “set-up” to suggest that we haven’t seen the last of him even though their “team” is disbanded before the end of the book.

This book was originally written in Japanese and translated into English by a teacher who also lives in the Tokyo area. Initially, I was unhappy with some of the “dialogue” that was given to the male partner, as I thought it was slanted to appeal more to western (American) mystery/detective fans. I outgrew most of that, but I still think it may have been a bit too “westernized”. Otherwise I would give the translator very high marks for producing a great English-language edition.

The Japanese title is Kogoeru Kiba, but in any language this is a solid 4 Star (4) book. I’ll bee looking for more titles by this author in the future.


Profile Image for Sara Scanavini.
6 reviews
June 19, 2025
Libro abbandonato a circa 160 pagine. Non mi esprimo sulla storia, ma la resa in Italiano (non posso valutare la traduzione, non conoscendo il Giapponese) è talmente piena di errori da rendere difficoltosa la lettura.
Profile Image for Elyssia.
183 reviews3 followers
November 6, 2025
Misogynistic son vs homophobic daughter.

A Japanese detective thriller about the murder mystery of a man with a bite mark of a wolf who was burned alive in a restaurant. Female MC.

The whole book is dripped with negativity, pettiness, and prejudice. The two main characters hated each other so much in a way I've never seen before, especially for a detective fiction. Put a lot of enemies to lovers to shame. 😁

I love the atmosphere, but the murderer's reveal was a bit letdown. I expected a better motive for the murder, which turned out to be quite stereotypical.

Overall nice and I really like the wolf! 🐺
Profile Image for Prima Agustina.
114 reviews6 followers
September 11, 2024
Aku enjoy baca ini. Meskipun ga terlalu page turner, agak bertele-tele di pertengahan dan ga terlalu banyak drama. Bukunya tebel, sekitar 500an halaman dan bagian yang paling seru adalah bagian sepertiga terakhir buku itu. Sedikit gore dalam hal deskripsi pembunuhannya, tapi ga terlalu serem.

Kalo kamu suka misteri yang intens dan ngebikin kamu deg-degan sepanjang cerita, buku ini bukan buat kamu. Buku ini isinya misteri yang lebih fokus ke character-driven. POVnya gantian antara FMC dan MMC (btw, mereka ga romantically involved ya). Yang ngebikin aku agak terganggu, pergantian POVnya kurang jelas. Setuju sama review lain yg bilang kalo buku ini editannya kurang maksimal.

Spoiler

Ga usah baca kalo ga mau kena spoiler

Di review lain ada beberapa yang bilang kalau ada 3 orang yang terbunuh. Sebetulnya ada 4 orang, dan berbeda dari 3 orang sebelumnya yg proses pembunuhannya diceritakan dengan detail, orang yang ke-4 hanya diceritakan sepintas saja. Mungkin karena itu orang-orang jadi ga ngeh.
Profile Image for A..
125 reviews63 followers
April 12, 2020
I greatly enjoyed this. The particulars of the mystery itself aren't very impressive, but the characters are so tightly drawn that it didn't much matter. A compelling look at sexism and complex family dynamics. The sort of spiritual connection that Otomichi develops with Gale was moving - I teared up some reading the epilogue. What a disappointment Kodansha never brought the other books in the series over!

Warning for a couple brief lines of homophobia, for misogyny, and for domestic violence.
Profile Image for Rere.
192 reviews
June 23, 2016
"Pekerjaan kita sudah cukup banyak. Para penjahat itu tidak ada habisnya di luar sana, dan perbuatan kriminal terus bermunculan. Pekerjaan kita adalah mendapatkan penjelasan yang masuk akal dari mereka dan mengumpulkan cukup banyak bukti untuk mendakwa mereka di pengadilan." (Tamotsu Takizawa - The Hunter, hal. 372)

The Hunter adalah novel bergenre misteri dan crime karangan Asa Nonami sensei. Novel ini menceritakan serangkaian kejadian mengerikan yang terjadi di Tokyo: Dimulai dari terbakarnya Teruo Hara di sebuah restoran yang ramai pelanggan di tengah malam, lalu diikuti serangkaian penyerangan pada tiga korban lainnya yang ditemukan mati tercabik-cabik dan peledakan rumah Kasahara. Kepolision Tokyo harus berusaha keras memecahkan kasus ini karena MO tiga korban pertama berbeda, di mana Hara terbakar sedangkan dua korban pertama mati tercabik-cabik. Lebih lanjut di dalam novel ini memasangkan Takako Otomichi dengan Tamotsu Takizawa, keduanya detektif yang sama-sama memiliki pemikiran mereka sendiri. Takizawa, dengan pendapat khas polisi Jepang bahwa detektif dan polisi adalah pekerjaan laki-laki. Dan Otomichi, yang tidak ingin dipandang rendah oleh mitranya hanya karena dia perempuan. Novel ini tidak hanya menyuguhkan dua sudut pandang dari Takizawa dan Otomichi tentang satu sama lain, namun juga konflik pribadi keduanya: Takizawa dengan anak-anak, dan Otomichi dengan kenangan akan mantan suaminya dan keluarganya sendiri. Lalu, bagaimana akhir penyelidikan polisi? Yah, silakan membacanya. I am not going to give spoiler here.

Pendapat saya? Novel ini panjang sekali. Dimulai dari sudut pandang Otomichi, lalu beralih ke Takizawa, kemudian berganti-ganti antara keduanya. Selain itu tidak hanya menyajikan tentang penyelidikan rangkaian peristiwa tersebut, novel ini juga menyajikan konflik pribadi kedua tokoh utamanya. Dan itu menambah panjang novel ini. Awal membacanya saya lama-lama jadi cukup bosan, lalu saya beranikan untuk membacanya sampai akhir.

Selain ceritanya yang panjang dan plotnya yang tidak berfokus pada penyelidikan kejahatan saja, terdapat beberapa kata terjemahan yang membuat saya bingung. Nama anjing serigala milik Kasahara yang, dalam bahasa Jepang, dipanggil 'Hayate' di sini diartikan menjadi "Topan." Saya jadi bingung apa memang penerjemahnya dan penerbit memang mengartikannya begitu. Kalau menurut saya, lebih baik dipertahankan saja nama Hayate, dan nanti diberi keterangan kalau artinya "Topan". Lalu kata "mistrius". Di akhir novel, kata itu berubah menjadi "misterius". Seriously. Did they edit this or not? "Mistrius" bahkan bukan kata baku, dan yang benar "misterius." Dan saya hanya menemukan kata "misterius" yang benar di akhir novel ini saja. Kemudian penulisan nama. Bagaimana bisa ada nama "Kasahara" ada yang ditulis "Kasaha" saja? Saya hanya memberikan saran. Tolong penerjemah, editor dan staf penerbit memperhatikannya. Saya memang sudah membeli novel ini cukup lama, tapi baru sempat membacanya. Dan menemukan kesalahan-kesalahan seperti ini membuat saya jadi cukup bingung.

Yah keseluruhan saya menikmati penyelidikan kejahatannya. Namun saya tidak terlalu suka ada unsur konflik pribadi yang dimasukkan dalam novel ini. Tidak seperti The Tokyo Zodiac Murders - Pembunuhan Zodiak Tokyo yang benar-benar murni penyelidikan kasus kejahatan dan membuat saya jatuh cinta pada karya Soji Shimada, novel ini membuat saya bosan lama-lama.

2 bintang sudah cukup. Tidak terlalu suka, juga tidak terlalu tidak suka. Hanya bisa dinikmati sekali saja.

P.s.: I could imagine Hayate running like a real wolf with Otomichi in my head and it's beautiful.
123 reviews14 followers
May 5, 2011


At ten minutes to midnight, a man walks into a family restaurant in Tokyo. Masayo, a waitress, escorts him to a table, hands him a menu, and moves to deliver coffee to customers at another table. “…she set a bottle of beer and a glass on a tray and started toward the man’s table. The words “Sorry to keep you waiting” were in the middle of her throat when it happened – flames shot up, right before her eyes….At first, Masayo was too stunned to realize what was happening. The next instant, she was screaming in terror.” The flames burned hotter and higher as customers and employees tried desperately to escape the fire. Masayo gets knocked to the floor and crawls, blindly, toward the wind. But the wind feeds the flames and soon the restaurant is engulfed. It seemed as if it only took a minute for hell to take over.

One thing the arson investigators and the police know with certainty. There is no such thing as spontaneous combustion. The man at the center of the inferno either set himself on fire or somehow, someway, someone else did it.

The public are hysterical, fearful of the unexplained, so the police department calls in every available body from the Tokyo police and from surrounding communities. Partners are assigned seemingly randomly and, from the point of view of one member of a pair, seemingly without thought to which two people might actually be able to work together. Takako Otomichi is the only female member of the motorcycle squad. Sergeant Tamotsu Takizawa is experienced, determined, and furious that he was been partnered with a girl.

The pressure increases significantly when more bodies are found, seemingly killed by a wild beast. The odd couple struggle along, he always walking fast and away from her, she always keeping up, he always making comments about her to her, she pretending she doesn’t hear them. When, finally, they have to interview Masayo in her hospital room, and she will only talk to Takako, the sergeant acknowledges that maybe a female can be an asset.

Strange as it first appears, the police believe that the death in the restaurant is connected to the killings that show the signs of an animal attack. Takako and Takizawa follow leads that take them to Tokyo’s red light district, to nightclubs, drug dealers, and a teenage prostitution ring. How could any of this be connected to the attacks of a wild animal?

THE HUNTER is fast-paced and it is a fast read. Both police officers are likeable and the story has a satisfactory ending. The murders are grisly but the details can be easily skipped. There are no details about the prostitution ring or the drug dealers.

Unfortunately, no other books in the series were made available in English.
Profile Image for Susan Devy.
40 reviews24 followers
June 12, 2013
The Hunter began with an incident happened at a restaurant, a man was burn alive in front of waiter, the plot moved quickly to police investigation conducted by a team which was included Sergeant Tamotsu Takizawa, then came along beautiful and young Takako Otomichi who was the only female member of the motorcycle squad, and Takizawa and Takako became a partner for solving this mystery

Takizawa was unhappy with this situation, gender issue was still a big deal in police department, and Takizawa had been an asshole and never tried to be friendly with Takako.

I like the development of characters in this novel, I realized that somehow between Takako and Takizawa will never be any romance nor friendship, but what really matter is they get their jobs done.

also this novel reminds me that to solve a murder or mystery, you need a WHOLE team, so this is NOT a ONE MAN SHOW, because you rely on your friends and you also MUST help your friends to get this done.
so no more Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, this is about a TEAMWORK.

and I really love about the beautiful description about the unusual relationship between Takako and "The Hunter" (a half breed wolf dog), they both trust each other, but they both have different motives.

beautiful phrase I noted from this novel :

"True Happiness could never come from other's Grief and Sadness"


all and all, this is a nice and enjoyable novel, very good for a bedtime book.
Profile Image for Farah Fitria Sari.
228 reviews10 followers
February 19, 2015
Gue suka banget sama buku ini! Mungkin karena alurnya ya, yang bikin gue mikir atau emang gue suka genre yang begini tapi pokoknya ini buku bagus. Walaupun nggak bikin gue nangis, ini buku bagus karena gue ngerti definisi perasaan kecut, asem, acuh tak acuh dua karakter utamanya. Penokohannya bisa dibilang nggak ada perubahan ya, maksudnya dari awal sampe akhir nggak ada event yg ngubah kepribadian karakter di buku (dari jahat terus eh sadar jadi baik misalnya). Mereka berdua tetep kecut pada akhirnya. Ini buku kea motong bolu panjang di tengah-tengah, dari awal sampe akhir karakternya sama, nggak berkembang, kesannya jadi cuma ngasih tau sekelumit cerita idup mereka aja. Tapi tetep, bagus! Jadi ngebuat gue mau punya anjing serigala mirip Hayate. Unyu abis ehe. Ya pada akhirnya gue dapat menyimpulkan satu hal dari buku ini: novel Jepang tuh punya satu karakteristik yg paling jelas, yaitu banyak sebutannya! Pinguin kaisar! Haha! Di buku-buku Jepang lain yg udah gue baca: Botchan, Norwegian Wood, dkk gue juga menemukan hal itu. Dan itu menggelikan! Nggak garing. Eh kok ngelantur lol.
Yang jelas ini buku sesuatu banget. Gue nggak nyadar itu buku 500an halaman. Gue jadi tau jadi polisi itu gimana. Nggak ngebosenin. Gue baca di acara kondangan keluarga juga dapet 20an halaman (saking bagusnya gue jadi fokus). Sampul edisi Bahasa Indonesia-nya keren. :)
Profile Image for Wayland Smith.
Author 26 books61 followers
June 24, 2016
What a thoroughly depressing book. Detective Otomichi is a female detective in Tokyo, a city evidently comprised of people who think she shouldn't be a detective. In addition to massive sexism, her own family isn't particularly supportive about her career choice, nor sympathetic about her earlier divorce over her husband's infidelity.

She catches a bizarre case in which a man is burned to death by unusual methods. As a major case, the department pushes for a quick wrap up, and shuffles personnel around, pairing her with yet another strong sexist. Confusingly, more murders follow, but by a very different method. Is there a connection? Who is behind it? What links the victims?

In the end, the story hinges around a very odd mystery, and a truly unique police chase I'll give them that. There's a happy ending for pretty much no one. It's a bit dark all the way around. As a police story, it's a bit lacking. As a general story, the "all males are bad" bit gets old fast.

I heard good things about this book. In my personal opinion, it didn't live up to them. Also, don't read if you're a dog lover.
Profile Image for Rebecca Copeland.
Author 17 books29 followers
June 7, 2022
In The Hunter Asa Nonami creates a strong, convincing female character who has to learn how to navigate not just a sexist, ageist society, but a workplace that only intensifies those biases. Takako Otomichi, a former motorbike patrolwoman-turned-detective, is partnered with an older detective who has incredibly misogynistic views. Asa Nonami really plays on the stereotypical "buddy" narrative so typical of a police procedural. Takako doesn't know who to trust. Her gutsiness only makes her more endearing.
There are a few elements in the story that stretched credulity. I won't mention them to avoid a spoiler. Regardless, Takako Otomichi remains one of my favorite characters. So refreshing to have a bold, aggressive female character for a change.
Profile Image for Primadonna.
Author 50 books374 followers
May 27, 2013
I have issues with Indonesian translation. Translation is smooth enough, however I cringe a lot reading overused "di mana" and "mistrius" and "histris". And why oh why did the translator have to translate Hayate into Topan?

I dig the main character. Takako is realistic. She has issues with her life. Her family. Her workmates. She refuses to give in, and I find myself rooting for her.

I can't wait to read the next installments.
19 reviews
August 26, 2010
There was an interesting balance of the main character's personal exploration and the mystery she's investigating. The mystery took an unexpected turn, which felt a bit disjointed from the first half of the book. I don't know if this is a result of the translation into English, but there were sections that read a bit dryly, or at least without emotion. Overall, it was a good, quick read.
Profile Image for Elfira.
53 reviews
March 15, 2015
I like how the investigation was conducted and how none of super heroic acts took place in the story. Solving crime was portrayed very tiring and I think that's the way it would be. I got bored somewhere after halfway of this book but the chasing chapter woke me up and now I want a wolf dog like Hayate, I would name him Thunder though.
Profile Image for Jade17.
440 reviews55 followers
March 25, 2009
A very forgettable thriller. It wasn't until halfway when I realised that I've definitely read this book before maybe a couple of years ago.
Profile Image for Shienny M.S..
Author 26 books281 followers
January 18, 2015
Harus nya 4 bintang kalau Hayate gak ditranslate jadi Topan ??? Dan of course kalau Hayate gak mati #cries #abaikan TT___TT
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sidik Jati.
17 reviews2 followers
January 12, 2016
lumayan seru tapi kurang greget !

seperti itu, cukup sekian..
Profile Image for Nadia.
43 reviews12 followers
July 5, 2020
Alasan pemberian bintang 5 adalah, karena buku ini menawarkan banyak sekali issue yang diangkat secara halus. Juga, jika buku ini memenangkan perhargaan Naoki Prize, berarti ada sebuah issue di dalam buku ini, yang mendapat "rasa setuju" dari masyarakat Jepang.

Buku yang memenangkan Naoki Prize
"the best work of popular literature in any format by a new, rising, or (reasonably young) established author."

Dengan mendapatkan penghargaan itu, berarti buku ini populer di Jepang, di saat Asa Nonami masih merupakan penulis pendatang.

Saat membaca buku ini, selain memokuskan diri pada wacana-wacana yang ada, aku menyadari banyak isu isu yang diangkat dalam novel ini. Seperti, gender, perasaan yang dirasakan petugas kepolisian, kota-kota di Jepang dengan berbagai perubahannya, seekor Wolfdog yang "hidup liar di jalanan aspal". Isu itu diangkat secara ringan, tanpa dipaksakan, mengalir begitu saja. Sebuah protes halus.

Aku juga menyadari bahwa buku ini menawarkan rasa penasaran terhadap dua kasus. Menggambarkan pula dua sudut pandang dari 2 opsir polisi. 2 penjahat yang berbeda. 2 metode pembunuhan. 2 alasan yang berbeda. 2 gender yang berbeda sebagai mitra. Namun semua itu memiliki sesuatu yang memaksa untuk berjalan berdampingan. Ini juga sebuah issue yang diangkat dalam buku ini.

Kemudian digambarkan bagaimana seorang polisi perempuan, berjuang untuk mempertahankan identitasnya sebagai perempuan, agar tidak tertelan pengaruh laki-laki. Selain itu, pembaca juga diajak untuk menikmati perkembangan hubungan antara pria yang membenci wanita, dan wanita yang membenci pria.
Profile Image for Shin Donghae.
2,256 reviews8 followers
February 22, 2022
Saya (mengulang) membaca buku ini beberapa minggu yang lalu, dan itu masih memberi saya kesan yang cukup baik :)) Mungkin cukup baik juga utk mengakui kaau novel ini diganjar Naoki Award 96 hhe.

Yang saya suka adalah karakternya, bahwa semuanya adalah manusia yang memiliki masalah masing2. Takako Otomichi digambarkan sebagai wanita yang "tidak aman" namun tangguh. Takizawa juga memiliki masalah pribadinya sendiri. Para korban memberikan alasan mengapa mereka menjadi sasaran. Antagonis juga, memiliki alasan sendiri untuk melakukan kejahatan mereka.

Ceritanya sendiri lumayan bagus. Tentu saja, siapa yang mengira bahwa keturunan setengah serigala bisa dilatih? Ceritanya sendiri mengungkap kebenaran kotor dalam masyarakat Jepang, namun tetap manusiawi.



Profile Image for sofiaidrish.
145 reviews26 followers
January 31, 2018
Dari segi narasi, terjemahan The Hunter ini ada beberapa terjemahan yang masih kaku dan typo di sana-sini. Diksinya bukan sesuatu yang masuk ke kategori yang benar-benar kusukai. Beberapa detil-detilnya diungkapkan sekaku laporan kriminal/ensiklopedia. Plot-plot awal lebih fokus pada hubungan kerja dua detektif yang saling tidak menyukai ketika mereka harus menangani kasus yang sama. Tidak ada yang menarik perhatianku sampai sosok 'The Hunter' muncul di tengah-tengah kasus pembunuhan yang janggal. Aku belum mendapatkan hal menarik di bab-bab awalnya. Mungkin kalau kalian bertahan membacanya hingga ke tengah, kalian bisa menebak jalan ceritanya. Cerita bagus namun kurasa ditulis dengan kurang bagus (bisa jadi ini karena terjemahannya yang kurang mantap juga). Sayang sekali, seandainya bisa bahasa Jepang aku mau baca versi Jepangnya.

Tapi daya tarik dari cerita ini ada pada inti ceritanya. Jika kalian menyukai cerita-cerita anjing yang setia dan cinta pada majikannya dengan sepenuh hati, mungkin kisah ini menjadi satu alternatif yang tidak hanya bittersweet tetapi juga kelam. :(

Sejak baca ini aku jadi pingin nulis tokoh dengan nama Hayate atau Topan. :(
Ada perkembangan baik dari reading slumpku. Dua hari berturut-turut menyelesaikan dua buku dengan tebal 400-500 halaman. Mungkin kekuatan gerhana bulan *melolong ke langit*
Profile Image for Daria Fujino.
339 reviews159 followers
October 24, 2023
Авторка дуже вдало передала атмосферу і настрій осінньо-зимового Токіо, оточення і ситуації з якими жінці поліцейській/детективці доводиться стикатися щодня. Дуже реалістично та на диво інформативно - цікаво було як влаштована робота поліцейських, а про собако-вовків я взагалі ніколи й не чула.

Багато деталей і подробиць буде не зрозумілими якщо ви ніколи не були в Японії і не розумієте нюанси японської культури. Може саме тому в цієї книги така низька оцінка на гудрідс.
Окремо хочу виділити наскільки мені сподобалась головна героїня. Мабуть головним моїм інтересом в цій книжці було не розслідування, а характер і історія головної героїні. А остання сцена переслідування взагалі змусила відкласти книжку і трохи подихати, настільки емоційно це для мене було.

Дуже шкода що продовження не перекладено (чи не написано). Японській літературі дуже потрібні такі сильні жіночі персонажі як на мене.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.