"[Yokoyama's] novellas wring soulful suspense out of cop office politics . Yokoyama's characters are not lost but adrift, swept up in inner longing, dissatisfied with or even broken by many of the aspects of their lives . For Yokoyama the [police] department is first and foremost a political landscape . Fascinating." -- David Ulin, Los Angeles Times "A regional Japanese police precinct in 1998 is the setting of Prefecture D , a quartet of novellas by Hideo Yokoyama. These four tales explore the satisfactions, frustrations, and base and noble emotions of those who devote their lives to a profession where saving face is a priority and ethical conundrums are a frequent challenge. Yokoyama, a journalist-turned-author whose novel Six Four was published in American in 2017 to much acclaim, immerses us in an environment at once familiar and exotic; his stories' mysteries are solved in a manner that surprises the mind and moves the heart." --Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal "[Yokoyama is] the dean of Japanese noir .

Fans of hard-boiled fiction will enjoy seeing how Japanese cop shops work." -- Kirkus Reviews [starred review] "[Yokoyama] somehow manages to pack each approximately 80-page story with the same amount of intensity as his epic-scale fiction." -- Booklist "Compelling . Both [ Prefecture D and Six Four ] easily stand alone, but to read both offers enhancing insights. Each novella presents a mystery that exposes the labyrinthine relationships within Prefecture D 's sprawling police department . Yokoyama's dozen years' experience as an investigative journalist undoubtedly enhances his already sharp fiction with unexpected minutiae that proves essential. Beyond cleverly solving mysteries, he adroitly exposes gender inequity, career climbing, personal sacrifice, dysfunctional relationships, power imbalances and abuses. Who needs actual criminals when Prefecture D is already abuzz with lawbreakers?" -- Shelf Awareness.