20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

Nishimura is a veritable veteran of the streets. His narrative voice is distinct and coolly detached, except of course when he’s talking about actual pickpocketing--then he describes criminal movements like an imperceptible dance through a busy Tokyo crowd.  “I imagined calling a cab, getting out in some busy area and sliding my fingers into the people’s pockets there--planting myself in the middle of the crowd, one wallet after another, my hands moving as swiftly and precisely as possible.” Atmospheric and gritty, Nakamura’s existential tale takes the reader through a shadowy underworld of corruption, sex and death.