Kaihan: Bizarre Crimes That Shook Japan – Tara A. Devlin
Review by Fiona Dodwell
As anyone who regularly reads my reviews on here will know, I love Japanese horror. I love anything dark from the country – be it the history, myths, ghost stories or urban legends. When I found out author Tara A Devlin had written and released another book (she writes wonderfully dark books about Japan) called Kaihan, I was immediately excited and was happy to receive it for my recent birthday.
Kaihan is a book (available as paperback and ebook) which focuses on the strangest true crime cases from Japan. I am interested in true crime, although I haven’t read many books on the subject. As I’m a big fan of Devlin’s work, I wanted to give it a go anyway and as hoped, it was a fantastic read. Fantastic, but dark. As you can assume from a book dealing with crime, it touches upon heavy subjects, such as murder, assaults and disappearances.
Each story is thoroughly translated from news sources from Japan by Devlin, and each account is written concisely and respectfully about the victims. There are some terrifying accounts detailed, such as people vanishing seemingly into thin air, and scary unsolved cases that have baffled Japan. Some are just so puzzling and weird that I had to read some pages again.
I found it really unsettling. It’s one of those books that’s hard to switch off from, it really haunts you and stays in your mind long after you finish reading.
If you can handle true crime (I know it’s not for everyone) then I thoroughly recommend this title. A brilliant, addictive read.
Kaihan: Bizarre Crimes That Shook Japan
An elderly couple appear on television hoping to gather information about their missing daughter, but it’s a mysterious note spotted during the segment suggesting a close family member may be involved that really catches the public’s attention.
An entire family is murdered the night before New Year’s Eve. A crime so brutal and shocking that it caused Japan to finally change its stubborn laws. Yet the criminal’s bizarre actions after the murders have yet to be truly understood or explained, and he remains free to this day.
Ever wondered if someone could successfully vanish into thin air? How about the strangest place a body could be hidden? Or what it would take for a single person to pull off the largest heist in Japanese history?
Kaihan: Bizarre Crimes That Shook Japan looks at 21 different cases from Japan that were so baffling, so bizarre, so mystifying that most remain unsolved to this day. From murders to disappearances to robberies, these strange crimes defy explanation and have puzzled both detectives and the public for decades. What really happened? Why? How were so many criminals able to get away with it? What makes them so strange and, the more you think about it, so terrifying?
Hit that Buy Now button to find out!
You can buy Kaihan: Bizarre Crimes That Shook Japan from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Fiona Dodwell
Fiona Dodwell is a horror fanatic who has been obsessed with the genre since she was a teenager. She has had several horror titles published, including Nails, Juniper’s Shadow, The Banishing and The Given. She also writes freelance for various websites and magazines, including Music News, Made In Shoreditch and Tremr.
Her new horror book, The Risen, will be released late 2020 with publishing company Arcanum Press. To find out more about Fiona and her work, you can follow her on Twitter at: @Angel_devil982
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