I was privileged to receive a preview of Will Ferguson's latest novel Officer Shimada and the Disappearing Girl. Published by Goose Land Editions, the novel is a delightful twist on the buddy cop story. Superintendent Mamoru Kaito comes from Okinawa to Hateruma Island in extreme southern Japan to inspect the police operation of Officer Shimada. Mr. Ferguson describes the relationship between the younger Kaito and the nearing retirement Shimada layered with the cultural work life balance specific to Japan. The plot is driven by the search for the disappearing girl of the title who is the sister of Superintendent Kaito.
Kaito's search for his sister Chloe is the motivation to meet Shimada and they soon set off on a "vacation" together first to Nagasaki City where she first disappeared. There are echos of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie to be heard, but my mind was drawn to Janwillem van de Wetering and his Amsterdam cops Detective-Adjutant Grijpstra and Sergeant de Gier.
The tone of the book is wonderfully balanced, which can be a difficult task given a missing person story. I always like learning something while being entertained by a story and the descriptions of Japanese culture, police, and family dynamics really added to my knowledge of Japan. Officer Shimada and the Disappearing Girl gets my highest recommendation.
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