In the Miso Soup   

Author: Ryu Murakami

Publisher: Penguin Books

American release date:  March 28, 2006

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Psychological Fuctuib/224 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Twenty-year-old Kenji works as a guide for tourists who come to Tokyo and wish to enjoy the seamier side of the city. He knows the “best” places to go to get the most bang for your buck and which places to avoid, no matter what it is you’re looking for. He knows what women do what for how much, and he is also a translator, speaking English pretty well.  But there’s something about this tourist, the American named Frank, that is frankly off-putting, although Kenji can’t put his finger on just what it is. On the surface, he seems like a regular guy. But then, at times, there is… the Face.

Frank is… for lack of a better word, different.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but Kenji has been reading about the recent deaths of young women. A serial killer is on the loose. Could Frank be the guy they’re looking for? And is Kenji in more danger than he’s ever been in before?

This is one heck of a ride, a great read from beginning to end. I was never sure how this one was going to turn out until the very end. Murakami is great at digging into his characters’ very souls, and making us question what is normal and what is not. Horror does not have to be in the form of a chainsaw-wielding maniac or a guy in a strange mask carrying an axe or knife. Horror can look like an average Joe. And it’s all the scarier for it.

I am really enjoying getting to know this author’s works and look forward to more. I recommend this to anyone who appreciates a good horror story.