I’m pretty sure that this is the first murder mystery I’ve read where the detective isn’t introduced until 60% into the novel. 

Kenzo, who just happens to be the younger brother of police chief Daiyu, is sucked into a murder case in the mysterious world of tattoos in post-war Japan. There’s interesting commentary on how the war affected everyday Japanese (though maybe acknowledge that uh… they’re the aggressors?) and the taboo that is tattooing. 

With a limited number of suspects and a few bright red herrings, the subterfuge wasn’t too tough to figure out though the details were filtered through Kenzo’s POV so some things in the reveal were a bjt annoying (though I guess if both tattoo experts react…). The mysteries themselves are fairly straightforward and as far as protagonists in these types of stories go, he’s fairly emotional and inept, but not unlikeable.