The crime genre umbrella has many subgenres that are easy to define and categorize, like puzzle mysteries and detective fiction. But on the flip side, there are the slippery ones like suspense and noir. The former can be defined by a feeling that readers can interpret differently, and as for the latter, well, there’s a history.
Noir refers to a specific genre of film from the ‘40s and ‘50, with the later revival of that style being labeled neo-noir. While many of the original noir films were adaptations of books, film noir is heavily recognized by its mood and aesthetic. Adding a bit of complication is the confusion created by hard-boiled fiction often being interchanged with a noir label, even though they are not really the same.
While film noir is heavily associated with American culture, you can find the term used throughout the world, like with Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s early works (Drunken Angel and Stray Dog) and the massively popular Scandinavian books known as Nordic noir.
So what does it mean when a book has the “noir” label? Think of noir as nihilistic, dark, seedy, a spectrum of gray-area morals and criminals, all in the absence of a detective doing the right thing.
While many crime readers are quick to slot Nordic noir first in the category and to think of Japanese crime novels on the lighter side of the genre—with odes to Agatha Christie or detective-level work that invokes Sherlock (shin-honkaku)—there is a Japanese subgenre called Iyamisu. The subgenre is literally translated as “eww mystery/unpleasant mystery” and deals with dark human behavior. Most importantly, it does not aim to leave readers comforted, which sounds like it could be buddies with noir! So if you’re looking for a crime novel on the darker side of the spectrum, translated from Japanese, here are four criminally good reads.
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In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami, Ralph McCarthy (Translator)Here’s a dark crime novel that doesn’t use guns as it explores Japanese subculture and compares U.S. and Japanese societies. It begins with Frank, an American in Japan who hires Kenji, a tour guide for the sex industry in Tokyo. From the jump, Kenji finds that something is off with Frank, and while he doesn’t care at first, as the night unfolds, he starts to question whether he himself is in danger … |
 Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino, Rebecca Copeland (Translator)While Natsuo Kirino might be best known in the US for Out, she has more dark novels to dive into. I couldn’t not pick the aptly titled Grotesque. This time around, you get a layered novel that also has a murder mystery component that involves Yuriko and Kazue, Tokyo sex workers. But before the brutal murders, Yuriko and Kazue attended a prestigious girls’ high school, a tale told by Yuriko’s unnamed older sister. |
 The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura, Satoko Izumo (Translator), Stephen Coates (Translator)This is a crime novel—with no mystery component—that follows a masterful pickpocket (said thief!) with the trope of a past friend showing up with a job opportunity that sounds too good to pass up. Clearly, this just brings all the danger. |
 Penance by Kanae Minato, Philip Gabriel (Translator)Here’s a dark, character-driven novel that unfurls from a crime that remained a mystery. Ten-year-old Emily was murdered, and her mother’s subsequent threat changed the course of four girls’ lives. The novel is constructed in a way where each of the girls —Akiko, Sae, Yuka, and Maki—tells their point of view from the day of the murder, along with their lives 15 years after the still unsolved murder. |
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf and see 2026 and 2027 releases! Until next time, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Multitudes Contained.
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