."..The theatrically constructed plot is soon swirling with the naked emotions of unattached, deeply unhappy people eager to express their yearnings for an idealized family life no longer possible in the fractured social structure of modern-day Japan." -The New York Times Book Review
"[Miyuki Miyabe's] true subject is the mystery of modern Japanese identity . . . she is a master of small gestures, the precise geometry of meaning as it moves between people . . . a subtle observer of a country on the cusp. Her American readers can only hope for more chances to see through her eyes." -The Los Angeles Times
"Nuclear family dystopia is at the center of Miyuki Miyabe's Shadow Family, a smartly observant police procedural about two Tokyo murders linked to the Internet . . . . Shadow Family blossoms into both a suspenseful murder mystery and an astute running commentary on the parallel cyberspace world inside which millions of people now spend so much of their time." -The Washington