The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders is an interesting mystery set in Japan. The introductory portion of the book contains some heavy imagery, so be forewarned. This is not a 'cozy' mystery. While reading the introductory chapter, I couldn't figure out where the mystery was going to come in to play. Afterall, here the book is laying out what is going to happen. Or so I thought. The author writes the book in portions and lays out all the clues to the murder mystery for the reader. You are supposed to try and solve it before the book tells you who committed the crimes. In fact, the author breaks in a couple of times and issues a challenge for the reader to solve the mystery. Unfortunately, I think one of the major clues that helps the characters solve the mystery is an event that is or was unique to Japan. Once a character explains it to his friend, it makes it a lot easier to see where the story is heading, making it easier for the reader to solve the murders.