THE JAPANESE CORPSE

by Janwillem van de Wetering ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1977

Dutch Detective-Sergeant de Gier goes to Japan, along with his superior, the ""commisaris,"" leaving Detective-Adjutant Grijpstra to man the home front; their project--track down the Japanese yakusa (read: classy Mafia) who are smuggling art, dope, and nastiness (a dead art dealer) into Amsterdam. The notion--not very believable--is that de Gier and the commisaris will pretend to muscle in on the yakusa territory and will thereby bring the yakusa biggies out of Oriental invisibility. What they do bring out are a variety of threats--bloody mask, dead cat, dead bird--and de Gier's near-psychotic temper, which he's been suppressing ever since his favorite girlfriend and favorite cat (he preferred the cat) got killed back home. Grijpstra and de Gier are certainly unusual coppers--with their flute/drum duets and their falling asleep--but this is routinely plotted, awkwardly speechified, and of possible interest only for its geisha-Ginza tourism.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1977

ISBN: 156947057X

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1977

Categories: FICTION