4 stories set in the world of the novel "Six Four" (published before the novel in Japanese and it seems like this book may have been published as a novel).

The stories are independent although there is a link between all of them - the ace of the Personnel department Futawatari is there either as a main character (in the first story) or as a helper (the second and the third) or just show up for a minute (the fourth). Each of them deals with a mystery that happens inside of the police department itself - a senior policeman refuses to follow the standard order, a station chief is hounded by rumors just before promotion time, a female policewoman disappears, a political liaison is not allowed to do his job.

The stories are very Japanese - the structure of the police department there and the way their promotions work is very different from anything else I had ever heard and the bureaucracy itself and how it influences everyone is as much a character as the real characters are. And because of that, the stories also touch on how Japanese society works.

If you liked "Six Four", you will enjoy these. They are slow stories, with slow solutions but they are worth the wait. And as slow as they are, they are never boring. If you had never read "Six Four", you can try them I guess but they may be a bit too alien. I usually prefer to read stories and novels in the order they were written but in this case, I found these to be enjoyable because I knew a lot of small details already from the novel. But your mileage can vary of course. ( )

4 short stories from the author of 'SixFour', which was such a hit. Written before that book, and before 'Seventeen', again they show Yokoyama's interest in police procedure. Interesting to see how he has progressed as an author. ( )