Cozy Mysteries for Intermediate Learners

早朝始発の殺風景
(Souchou Shihatsu no Sappukei)
by 青崎有五 (Yugo Aosaki)

Author: 青崎有五 (Yugo Aosaki)
Japanese Level: Intermediate (N3-N2)
Genre: Cozy mystery, short stories, slice of life
Pages: 228

Bookwalker Japan: 早朝始発の殺風景

Japanese Summary

青春は、気まずさでできた密室だ。今、最注目の若手ミステリー作家が贈る珠玉の短編集。始発の電車で遭遇したのは普段あまり話さない女子。二人は互いに早起きの理由を探り始め……（表題作）。部活の引退日、男同士で観覧車に乗り込んだ先輩と後輩。後輩には何か目的があるようだが（「夢の国には観覧車がない」）。不器用な高校生たちの関係が小さな謎と会話を通じて少しずつ変わってゆく。ワンシチュエーション（場面転換なし）＆リアルタイムで進行する五つの青春密室劇。登場人物総出演、読んでのお楽しみのエピローグ付き。

English Summary (translation by Japanese Talk Online)

Youth is a locked room of awkwardness. This is a beautiful collection of short stories from the mystery author who isn’t good with all the attention they’re getting lately. “早朝始発の殺風景” (Early Morning First Train Monotony) follows a chance encounter with a girl the narrator doesn’t normally talk to on the first train of the day. The two start to explore why they’re both up so early… “夢の国には観覧車がない” (There Are no Ferris Wheels in the Land of Dreams) tells the story of a senior and junior in a Ferris Wheel on the last day of club activities. The junior appears to have ulterior motives though. There’s a small mystery in the relationship between the high-schoolers in that slowly changes as they talk. These are just some of the five one-room dramas that progress in real time without any scene changes. As well as a fun epilogue which brings all the characters together.

Why You Should Read 早朝始発の殺風景 (Souchou Shihatsu no Sappukei)

早朝始発の殺風景 literally means “Early Morning First Train Monotony” but the 殺風景 has the kanji for “murder” in it, hinting a double meaning. It’s also the last name of one of the characters in the first story of this collection.

The book itself is a series of five short “cozy” mysteries. Each story is around 40 pages with lots of dialogue, making this a very quick and easy read.

I would describe the mysteries as cozy because they’re not crime or murder mysteries, but mundane mysteries like “why are these two students taking the first train of the day?”

I liked that each story focuses on different characters and different locations, instead of “minisodes” focusing on one main character (like Medium or This is Not a Business Expense!) or one main location (like Before the Coffee Gets Cold).

The characters are all teenagers too, but I wouldn’t say the topics were vapid. There’s no romance, for one thing. They actually explore some very mature subjects with a focus on relationships between the characters. Characters then discuss these topics, weighing different sides of the discussion, which results in some pretty engaging and thought-provoking stuff.

The mysteries themselves weren’t anything mind blowing, but they were fun to experience along with the characters.

Why Japanese Learners Should Read 早朝始発の殺風景 (Souchou Shihatsu no Sappukei)

I think this is a great book for intermediate learners who are just starting to study N2 level Japanese. There’s furigana on a lot of the more advanced words, but the exploration of more mature topics means that none of the language is dumbed down.

Each story also has a lot of dialogue mixed with descriptive text, giving a good balance between colloquial Japanese and prose.

I think this book is great for intermediate level Japanese, but it’s a good easy read for advanced readers who need a break between more challenging books. It’s also short, which is good if you want something quick.

It turns out there’s also a live action adaptation! I haven’t seen it but it could be additional listening practice once you finish the novel.

Summary

早朝始発の殺風景 is a series of cozy young adult mysteries that’s well suited for intermediate Japanese readers. The language and topics can be mature at times, while the colloquial conversations between characters keeps the stories engaging.

A great little read if you’re an intermediate learner looking to push yourself, or an advanced reader looking for something easy to pass the time.

You can read a sample here on Bookwalker!