Book Thirtyseven: All She Was Worth

All She Was Worth, Miyuki Miyabe



Huzzah for the Year of Mysteries! Double huzzah for Japanese mysteries! Triple huzzah for All She Was Worth! Nutshell plot: the distant nephew of a detective on disability leave comes to him asking for help in locating his fiancee, who has mysteriously disappeared. As the detective is looking into the disappearance, he discovers that she might not be who she claims to be. He also uncovers a complicated web of personal finance gone horribly awry, bankruptcy, debt, and possible yakuza involvement. At times there's a bit too much preachiness about the perils of credit cards and loans in today's consumer-driven world, but otherwise this was wonderful to read. It's also nice in that while it's a mystery, as you get further into the book you realize there's not a huge mystery in who committed the crime and how, but it's more about the why. The pacing of the novel is terrific, especially in how the bits and pieces you learn about the two women involved slowly come together to give you a picture of their lives and motivations. A+, gold star, thumbs up.