Murder Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Oh, it all started with the silly phrase 'No smoke without fire.' People have been saying that ad nauseam.

"The Moving Finger"

As a non-smoker, I had not even ever heard of cigarillos before...

Mori Asako works as a freelance tourist guide in the ancient capital of Kyoto and the last two days, she's been the exclusive guide to J.P Bernas, a wealthy Filipino who runs a cigarillo farm. Bernas came to Japan to talk business, as he hopes to extend the export of cigarillos from the Philippines to Japan, though that is difficult due to import quota on tobacco products, and the fact most of that quota is used for American tobacco. But as a lover of Japan, the trip isn't all business, so he has privately hired Asako so he can get a good look around Kyoto. After visiting Kiyomizu-dera Temple, he asks Asako he forgot to buy an English pamphlet as a souvenir, so he asks whether she could return and buy it for him. Aasako leaves her client for a minute, but when she returns, she finds the street is brimming with people, and an ambulance and the police: Bernas lies dead on the street, having been stabbed in the back with a knife! Asako is of course taken in for questioning, though she can't tell Inspector Kariya much about Bernas' businesses. However, Kariya does reveal to Asako that Bernas was holding tight to a 10 yen coin when he was found dead, and he wonders whether that has any significance, though Asako assures Kariya Bernas knew the worth of a 10 yen coin (not much), so it's not likely he was being robbed and he refused to give up that coin. When Asako returns home and discusses the murder her husband Ichirou, who is an investigative reporter, they really that Asako had visited Byoudou-in Temple with Bernas the day before, and that temple is featured on the 10 yen coin. Asako recalls Bernas had been acting a bit weird at the temple, after seeing something, or someone. Meanwhile, Inspector Kariya dives into Bernas' business partners at Tainan Bussan Ltd., where he learns that Bernas' son died last year in an accident with a Cessna: the son had been travelling with the Manilla manager of Tainan Bussan Ltd. to have a look at the tobacco fields of Bernas, when the plane crashed. Kariya suspects Bernas' death might have to do with his son's death, and perhaps some internal political struggle regarding wanting to import more cigarillos, but he can't seem to connect the dots together. Ichirou and Asako also start their own investigation, with Ichirou hoping to get a scoop, but the Moris soon learn there's a larger conspiracy hiding behind everything, and they are starting to attract attention to themselves in Yamamura Misa's Cigarillo no Wana ("The Cigarillo Trap", 1977).

It's not like I read Yamamura Misa's work often, but I have to say I was a bit confused when I started this book and learned the protagonist was called Asako, because that was also the name of the protagonist of the Yamamura novel I read last time, last year... Ichirou is also a name you see often in her works I think.

Yamamura Misa is a name you'll hear about sooner or later once you start reading up on Japanese mystery fiction, because she was extremely prolific and at a time, very often featured on television and video games due to various adaptations of her work, or new stories based on her work. Her main themes were women protagonists and the ancient capital Kyoto (and Japanese culture), which of course provided an entertaining for adaptations on television, and it made her name synonymous for the two-hour suspense drama television special set in Kyoto or perhaps some other touristic destination featuring a dramatic finale with the detective confronting the murderer at a cliffside looking down at the sea. I very occasoinally try out her work, but in general, the mystery plots are very light, though some books like Hana no Hitsugi, were more like the reasonably solid puzzle-focused books I generally read. 

My attention was drawn to this particular book, Cigarillo no Wana, because I saw it mentioned in a list with taped locked room murders: locked room situations where all the exits/entrances have been sealed with tape from the inside. Note that it didn't say whether it was good or bad or original or anything, just that it featured one, but that was enough to make me interested in the book, as taped locked room mysteries are not that common. I didn't read this particular version of the book by the way, but I like this cover better...

Cigarillo no Wana is certainly a typical Yamamura Misa work, with the focus on Asako, a fairly strong female protagonist who is actually married to a horrible husband who barely cares about her and is only thinking about his scoop, and then there's of course Kyoto as the setting, with various famous touristic destinations in the ancient capital playing an important role in the story. If you want to escape into fantasy and become a tourist in the pages of a book, Yamamura basically always has you covered when it comes to Kyoto. Inspector Kariya was originally a secondary character in Yamamura's work, but he kept on making appearances in several of her series (with women protagonists), and eventually became a leading protagonist himself too (even has his own live-action drama series!), and you could argue he shares the spotlight with Asako here.

The first few murders (yes, there are multiple murders) in the book are fairly simple in terms of practicality, with people just stabbed to death and things like that. The first half of the mystery is split in two interconnecting narratives, with Asako and her husband trying to investigate the case from their side (in order to get Ichirou his scoop), and Inspector Kariya (a recurring character in Yamamura's work) doing an official investigation. Because both sides have access to different information and means, they tackle the case from different angles, but slowly do come closer. Because Kariya suspects strongly Asako and her husband are intentionally not telling him the whole story, he starts to suspect them too, and that creates a rather fun read, with the two sides in reality working on the same case, but for different purposes which frames them as rivals. On both sides a lot of guesswork is done, but it results in both sides uncovering there's a rather big, political plot lurking behind Bernas' death, and it reaches surprisingly high in society. I remember that was also the case in Egypt Joou no Hitsugi ("The Tomb of the Egyptian Queen"), the Yamamura I read last year, and it reminds me of Matsumoto Seichou's work, who very much championed the mystery story about political intriges leading to murder among the common man. There's a distinct social school vibe going on her, though Yamamura does lean a bit more on the "classic" mystery tropes than Matsumoto would.

So a lot of the mystery revolves around figuring out why Bernas was killed, and that gets revealed bit by bit as the two sides start digging. It's a complex web of political intrigue, which I found entertaining enough, but it's not really the type of mystery I usually read or enjoy, so I do find it hard to describe this as a book I'd recommend. Nearer to the end, we have the taped locked room murder that first led me to reading this book: a man is found dead in his car parked near a cliff (it's always a dramatic cliff in these stories!), with the exhaust hooked up back inside the car with a hose, making it appear like a carbon monoxide suicide. The doors and windows have been taped tight from the inside and there's of course only the victim inside the car, meaning he must have done this himself, right? Of course not, because it was murder (it's always murder), but I have to say the trick was rather disappointing, as it's the same as the trick of a famous instance of the taped locked room murder: as I mentioned before, there aren't that many of them, so it stands out even more when you utilize the same trick. I do like what Yamamura did to ensure the trick would work within this specific story in terms of practicality, as in, I can imagine it working here, with the way she placed her props and set the scene. But still, I wouldn't be recommending this book per se if you're specifically looking for taped locked rooms, because you're likely already familiar with the better known instance.

Cigarillo no Wana isn't in any way much worse, or much better than the other Yamamura Misa works I have read until now. It's exactly the type of story you'd expect to be written for a two hour television mystery special you'd come across while zapping: nice shots of Kyoto, an inoffensive tale that is relatively easy to follow with a few twists and turns and by the time the special has ended, you'll already have forgotten most of the story. Not the Yamamura I'd recommend, but also not one I'd tell to stay away from.

Original Japanese title(s): 山村美紗『葉煙草（シガリロ）の罠』

The Legend of the Murder Hotel

Nancy and Helen mounted the wide steps and entered the center hall. Its paneled walls, old staircase, and beautiful cut-glass chandelier made them feel as though they had stepped back into an earlier century.”

"The Mystery of Lilac Inn" 

As announced last week, here's the review of Houjou Kie's latest work... I'm doing a relatively good job at reviewing these books soon after their release, right?

The Amulet Hotel is a completely regular hotel with normal guests... at least, when we're talking about the main building. The annex is a completely different story. The annex of the Amulet Hotel tailors to a very specific clientele: criminals. All those in the industry who need to know, know the annex of the Amulet Hotel is a safe haven for criminals. The hotel is members-only, and guests who stay at the hotel, know they can sleep safely without the hotel calling the police. In fact, the hotel can provide services normal hotels won't, as long as you pay the fee: room service can bring you pistols, disguises or even get rid of dead body for you. The hotel serves as neutral grounds for all criminals and therefore, there re two iron rules that are enforced very strictly: 1) one is not allowed to cause damage or harm the hotel and 2) One is not allowed to harm or murder someone on the hotel grounds. These rules ensure that even the biggest of rivals stay safely here in the hotel together without having to worry about being ambushed. However, like with normal hotels, some guests think they can violate the rules anyway. However, the Amulet Hotel has the means to deal with such guests. The night manager Kiryuu also acts as the hotel detective and has full authority to investigate any incidents that violate the hotel house rules. Incidents are not only covered up, but the people who violated the rules are also dealt with by Kiryuu, who in a previous life, was a feared assassin who's used to cleaning up loose ends. The reader returns to the Amulet Hotel in Houjou Kie's 2025 short story collection Amulet Wonderland.

The original Amulet Hotel was one of my favorite reads of 2023, with Houjou using the immensely fun setting of the 'hotel for criminals' to come up with original mystery stort stories, that relied on the fact basically all the characters were criminals themselves. The hotel basically acts as a great closed circle, due to the heavy security measures, and because Kiryuu is instructed to work in the interest of the hotel (i.e. protect its reputation as a safe place for criminals), stories often have rather dark conclusions as the best way to ensure 'wrap up a murder case' is to cover everything up and make sure the culprit doesn't get away alive, to make sure all future guests also understand they shouldn't try to violate the rules. Houjou is pretty open about John Wick being a huge inspiration for the series, so that should give you an idea of what kind of setting she's using for these stories. I had been looking forward to this second volume, which collects four stories originally published in the magazine Giallo between 2024-2025. 

Our return to the hotel starts with Do Not Disturb, where, in a very rare situation, Kiryuu is summoned by  Hattori, the assistant manager, to solve a jewel theft that occured in the restaurant of the main, normal (non-criminal) building. The restaurant has been reserved for a piano recital party in honor of the world-famous actress Strangelove. A couple of jewels, property of a jeweler who is trying to become the exclusive supplier to Strangelove, have been stolen during the party, and Hattori wants the whole deal hushed up before the party ends. It turns out that she has video evidence of the actual theft: a thief nicknamed the Wombat who has wormed himself into the party disguised as a food critic is actually caught on camera, but Hattori can't find the actual jewels that prove he did it. Wombat also happens to be such a low-level criminal he doesn't actually know the Amulet Hotel is the legendary hotel for criminals, which explains why he dared to pull off such a stunt, even if it's in the main building. Kiryuu and Hattori very quickly discover where the jewels are and the two are headed for the annex to report the incident to the owner, when Kiryuu is called on to solve a murder that occured in the hotel. A criminal influencer, Kiku, had been live-streaming himself on SinTube (a video sharing site for criminals) from room 813 of the annex, which is said to be cursed (people who stay there... get arrested). During the stream, Kiku was attacked by a figure. The owner of Amulet Hotel happened to be watching too, so he hurried to the room with back-up and when they entered, they found Kuki stabbed to death. They also learn Kuki's twin brother Yarai was staying at the hotel. The two brothers had been partners in crime until very recently, but after Yarai messed up a job, the two got in a huge fight and they seperated. Yarai however has an alibi for the murder, as he had been in the bar during the live-stream. So who killed Kuki and why?

This story does feel like the 'first story of a second season', as the story slowly reintroduces the setting of the Amulet Hotel, slowly explaining the special rules of the hotel via the relatively minor jewel theft part of the story. This mystery is solved pretty quickly, and seen in a vacuum, not particularly exciting considering the heights this series has reached in the past. The second part, following the live-stream murder on Kuki in room 813, is of course more interesting. Houjou fleshes out a lot of the criminal world of the Amulet Hotel series here by introducing us to a lot of warring crime factions, veteran thiefs and concepts like SinTube, a members-only criminal take on YouTube with special rules like not being able to hide your own identity (so no VTubers on SinTube). While the Amulet Hotel annex, due to privacy reasons, doesn't have that many security cameras hanging in the communal areas like the hallways, witnesses do make it clear basically nobody could've killed Kiku in room 813 and gotten away without any of the witnesses catching sight of them, and with a twin brother hanging around, suspicion soon falls on him, but how did he do it? The main trick is perhaps not super surprising, but I do very much like the mystery-embedded clue pointing to the twist. I do think the story requires a bit of suspension of disbelief in regards to character motivations (was that plan really the only way to get out of that?). The ghost story of room 813 is integrated in an interesting way with the murder by the way and I loved how the story fleshed out more of the staff members of the hotel (which is a running theme of the collection in fact).

The second story, Otoshimono Gassen ("Battle for the Lost Item"), for example revolves mainly around the recently hired Yazaki and veteran Izumi, who work in the bar lounge Black Kaiser of the annex. Black Kaiser also functions as the Lost & Found counter. Because all the guests are criminals (many of them thiefs), it is likely multiple people will try to claim a lost item as their own. This always leads to multiple people trying to argue with the staff, so they moved the Lost & Found counter from reception to the bar in the back of the ground floor. They also have a strict rule: anyone claiming a lost item must describe it in detail and you only get one single chance. A bag is delivered to the bar: Nomura, one of the guests, happened to spot the bag inside the grand piano of the lounge. Yazaki and Izumi examine the bag to find a doll of a platypus inside a sock and an expensive necklace with embedded jewels. Because the bag was found inside the piano, they deduce the bag was meant to be found by Otomaru, the piano player who will come in later in the day. They suspect it might be meant as a kind of veiled threat. Because Nomura has now delivered the bag to Lost & Found before Otomaru found it, it is likely the threatener will now reclaim the bag. However, to Yazaki and Izumi's surprise, no less than three people come to claim the bag, though only the last person manages to make a perfect description of the contents of the bag, with the previous two each mistaken certain points. Kiryuu happens to swing by the bar and upon hearing about the lost item, deduces there's something much grander going on in the hotel, which will require immediate action of the hotel detective.

This is a story that really shows off why the Amulet Hotel setting works so well. A mystery story revolving around multiple people claiming a lost item is pretty alluring on its own, but of course, when everyone is a criminal used to deceiving others, things become more interesting, and the absolute rule of allowing everyone only one single chance to claim an item of course only goes in the Amulet Hotel. While something criminal is definitely going on in this story, this story comes very close to a everyday-life-mystery in this setting. I think part of the mystery doesn't work as well, as it relies on the knowledge of the existence of something: I happened to know about it, but I don't think it's very common knowledge, and especially of a writer like Houjou, I do expect really meticulously clewed stories, so having part of the mystery revolve around a 'fact' that isn't really telegraphed well, feels a bit disappointing. That said, the rest of the story builds pretty well, with the mystery of the bag and its many claimers slowly being developed into something bigger and Kiryuu appearing to make sense of all of it.

Youkoso Koroshiya Compe ("Welcome to the Asasssin Competition") brings us closer to a John Wick world with perhaps the best story in the collection. Morooka, owner of the Amulet Hotel, has summoned his right-hand Mizuta, Kiryuu as well as security heads Suzuki and Tanaka to the Room of the Titans (see final story of first volume( for an emergency meeting. Morooka has learned Sofia, head of the Italian mafia organization Jupiter, has started an assassin contract competition to be held in the Amulet Hotel annex. Jupiter is trying to get a foothold in Japan and is now looking for a suitable assassin for some jobs, but in order to decide on their assassin of choice, they have invited a number of assassins and given them an assignment: the one to perform this assignment will win the contract. Morooka suspects the invited assassins will be trying to kill his right-hand Mizuta: Mizuta and his sister were once members of Jupiter, with Morooka being their ace "chaser" (tracks targets), but when the siblings left the organization, his sister was killed by an assassin sent by Jupiter. Mizuta took revenge by killing Jupiter's boss, but now his daughter runs the organization. Morooka guesses Sofia is hoping to bring down two birds with one stone: she'll have the assassins target Mizuta, and the winner takes the contract. Morooka isn't going to have his dear assistant killed and he has a fair amount of confidence in the security of his hotel, which doesn't allow for outside weapons to be brought in, but there are some pistols and other weapons kept in the hotel, like in the Room of the Titans, which they have to secure before the assassins get to them. They get amushed in the Room of Titans however, but manage to chase the assassin away for a moment. Kiryuu deduces where the assasssin is heading for... only for them to find that assassin killed by... another assassin. Thus starts a long quest for Kiryuu to deduce who all the hired assassins staying at the hotel are, and figure out which of them have actually already committed a murder, meaning they violated the hotel rules, because no matter what happens, they must pay with their lives.

A very action-packed mystery story that feels a bit like Houjou's novel released last year, which had a lot of smaller mysteries happening in a sequence, as opposed to the more "grand scale mysteries with a start, middle and ending" of her Ryuuzen Clan series. Here we have Kiryuu constantly confronted with new mysteries, which are solved and then lead the group to a new mystery. For example, Kiryu notices very quickly they're being ambushed, which turns out to have been foreshadowed by various clues. They follow the assassin, because Kiryuu deduces that based on the assassin's actions taken during the ambush. When they find the first assassin killed and have a short fight with the second assassin (who is masked), they gather enough clues to identify them from a list of suspected assassins currently staying at the hotel, which leads them to their hotel room, which again leads to a new mystery etc etc. While I do have to say I generally like Houjou's "grand" stories better, this story is really fun to read, as it constantly keeps you on your toes, with new mysteries being flung at you all the time, but they follow each other in a logical manner. There's actually quite some scenes with old-fashioned deduction chains based on physical evidence too, though not as long as we've come to expect from the Ryuuzen Clan series. Ultimately, I think the main large twist won't be too surprising once you see a certain pattern emerging, but I very much like how Houjou then uses it to add some more mysteries that ultimately build to a fantastic conclusion. 

Bomber no Satsujin ("The Bomber Murder") is told from the perspectives of both Morooka and Kiryuu this time. Morooka is attending a wedding reception that is held under his personal auspices: the "Romeo and Juliet" of the criminal world consisted of the son of the (Japanese) Swindler King, and the daugher of one of the high-ranking members of the Italian mafia group Jupiter, which has been trying to get a foothold in Japan. Their relationship was of course strictly forbidden by both families, leading to an elopment, and eventually Morooka and some other big names in the industry with a heart started mediating, resulting in a wedding reception held at the Amulet Hotel, with both sides playing nice at least for now. Morooka is of course attending the reception, while Kiryuu is acting as the night manager and making sure the whole hotel is safe for the criminals, when Morooka is suddenly served an anonymous call by someone (with a scrambled voice) who demands Morooka to sign over the whole of the Amulet Hotel over to them. 

To show he's serious, the caller ignites first a small bomb, and explains he has fifty bigger bombs hidden in the wedding reception hall: if they all go off, over a hundred people are likely to get killed, and all big names in the criminal industry. It would kill the reputation of the Amulet Hotel. The bomber has also enlisted the help of Aramaki Norika, the daughter of Morooka's ex-wife and also an Underworld Arbitrator: these arbitrators act as neutral judges among the criminals in a world where thieves have no honor, and ensure that deals between criminals are upheld, or else you call upon the wrath of the Court of Arbitration and the rest of the criminal world. Norika has a contract to sign everything over to her anonymous client, just waiting to be signed by Morooka. Once Morooka has signed the papers, the caller will tell Morooka the ten-digit code needed to disarm the bomb, to be typed into the control panel connected to one of the the bombs. Morooka has one hour to decide what to do, before the bombs go off. Meanwhile, the caller has also sabotaged all the lifts, meaning Kiryuu can't reach the reception floor and there's more trouble: a murder has been committed on Norika's father (a personal friend of Morooka) on the sixth floor and it's likely connected to the bomb threat. Can Kiryuu solve this murder and find the killer, and can Morooka find and disarm the bombs?

Again a story that is very dynamic, with both Morooka and Kiryuu being forced to deal with multiple smaller mysteries in a sequence. Morooka needs to locate the bombs and find the one with the control panel in a limited time, figure out the disarm code, without the guests noticing what is going on (because it'll only lead to a panic, as the lifts don't work). Meanwhile, Kiryuu has to solve the murder on Morooka's friend, who was found in an unused hotel room, lying near the door with his throat slit and for some reason, with mahjong tiles in his mouth. The story alternates between the investigations of both Morooka and Kiryuu, allowing for some tense build-up and a nice rhythm of one side investigating something, another side solving an aspect of the mystery and then the other way around. The Kiryuu part is the most 'classical mystery', with a crime scene investigation and deductions regarding the actions of both the victim and the murderer, based on the physical clues left by them. This eventually allows Kiryuu to deduce who the killer is, which turns out to be one of three suspects who all have a beef with Amulet Hotel. I think as a mystery story, I liked the third one better, but this works great as a finale to the second season.

This second volume is very much about extending the world of Amulet Hotel: we see more recurring staff members of the hotel and learn more about their background and it really helps sell this world. While Kiryuu wasn't the only recurring character in the first volume, it's clear Houjou is expanding the cast while also painting in more details in her image of Amulet Hotel, with the reader learning more about all the restaurants in the hotel, but also things like how lost items are handled in a hotel with mostly liars as guests. It certainly makes the prospects of a third volume even more promising, with this become more an 'ensemble cast' type of series, with Kiryuu acting as the main detective, but other characters also being allowed to carry some of the weight of protecting Amulet Hotel.

Anyway, I enjoyed Amulet Wonderland a lot, as expected. As a pure mystery story, I do think the first book is better overall and you should certainly start from there, but you can easily see Houjou's having a blast playing around in the hotel and slowly introducing new ideas and characters in the setting, and while I think she intentionally made a move to make the stories closer to "entertainment" on a Mystery vs Entertainment spectrum compared to the original stories, she's still a master at her craft and there's still a lot of great mystery moments to be found in this wonderland.

Original Japanese title(s): 方丈貴恵『アミュレット・ワンダーランド』:「ドゥ・ノット・ディスターブ」/「落とし物合戦」/「ようこそ殺し屋コンペへ」/「ボマーの殺人」 

Death on the Way

"I suggest you murdered your father for his seat reservation."

 - "I may have had the motive, inspector, but I could not have done it, for I have only just arrived from Gillingham on the 8:13 and here's my restaurant car ticket to prove it."

"Monty Python's Flying Circus"

Never been on a night train before, so I'd like to try it one day... night...

Former prosecutor-turned-private-detective Namba Kiichirou is requested by the lawyer Sakurai to re-investigate the mysterious double murder on the Funatomi couple, as his client, Takizawa, is the main suspect and will be tried soon. The wealthy Funatomi Ryuutarou and his wife Yumiko had been staying in The White Waves Inn in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, but one morning, Yumiko was found horribly murdered in their room, while Ryuutarou's body was completely missing, though enough blood was left in the room to suggest he wasn't among the living anymore. Suspicion soon fell on Takizawa, a young man who had until recently been the fiancee of Ryuutarou and Yumiko's daughter Yukiko, but recently, the parents saw more in Susa Hideharu, who was a close friend of Takizawa, but the latter probably changed his mind after introducing Susa to Yukiko and his own engagement to her was cancelled. The police soon set their eyes on Takizawa, because it was more than clear he had made his way to Shirahama that night: he left his work in Osaka early, claiming Ryuutarou had called him to discuss his engagement with Yukiko again and he was seen by taxi drivers going to the train station, and also arriving at Shirahama. Apparently, Takizawa had then met Ryuutarou, but the latter claimed he never called Takizawa, and he was extremely irritated by Takizawa's appearance, which in turn angered Takizawa, who felt embarrassed and insulted, and he stormed off into the arms of Bacchus. So when Takizawa was arrested, he claimed he had been so drunk he had no memory of the previous night, but that wasn't going to satsify the police of course, and now his trial is imminent. 

Namba agrees to look into the case one final time, and the lawyer Sakurai recommends Susa as Namba's assistant, though the former isn't too keen on having a related party helping him, so he only occasionally uses Susa as a soundboard while investigating the possibility someone might have manipulated Takizawa's movements that evening for some reason. But each time Namba thinks he has an idea who the murderer might be, a new death occurs, changing his views on the case, and as things develop more, Funatomike no Sangeki ("The Tragedy of the Funatomis", 1936) seems to head straight towards an unsolvable state, until the international detective Akagaki Takio appears in front of him...

Funatomike no Sangeki ("The Tragedy of the Funatomis") is one of the most important mystery novels in Japanese mystery history, as it is commonly seen as the very first Japanese mystery novel involving a railway schedule-based alibi trick. The author is Fujita Yuuzou (1909-1975), though he used the pen name Aoi Yuu, and it should be noted some sources say his given pen name was read Takeshi, so you'll see both Aoi Yuu and Aoi Takeshi when they bother to write out his name in hiranaga or romaji. Aoi was an engineer for a power company by profession, but was also a big fan of mystery fiction, and debuted in 1934 with a short story published in the magazine Profile. The following year, he decided to write his first full-length novel to compete in a competition for unpublished novel manuscripts. It was Edogawa Rampo who was a huge fan of the story which was originally titled Satsujinma ("The Murderer"), but retitled as Funatomike no Sangeki when it was published in 1936. And as I mentioned earlier, it is commonly seen as the first Japanese novel that involved an alibi trick based on railway tables in the spirit of Freeman Wills Crofts. Post-war authors like Matsumoto Seichou and of course Ayukawa Tetsuya were greatly inspired by Aoi's work.

As a first novel, and one in the context of 1930s Japanese mystery fiction, I'd this book is insanely ambitious, and while I don't think Aoi manages to pull off everything perfectly, it's genuinely impressive how Aoi does a lot of things authors like Ayukawa and Matsumoto would also do, only two, three decades earlier. The one thing I have to say first, is that Funatomike no Sangeki is packed. A lot happens, and Aoi really does his best to keep the reader entertained by having many story developments and twists and turns, and also revealing parts of the mystery little by little. Unlike Rampo's 1930s output, Aoi is obviously going for Croftian realism, and he meticulously explains how Namba is conducting his investigation, but a great advantage of that style is that you are constantly making progess in terms of unrafeling the mystery: like the Croftian police procedural, Namba keeps making small steps, solving parts of the mystery that allow him to move forward to find new clues that again allow him to make other discoveries. The scale of the story is huge, as we move from the western part of the main island of Japan to the central parts and visit many cities and towns, as take as many train lines on our way there. Namba is actively trying to locate the 'invisible' murderer is and it often feels like he's close on their trail, so there's always a feeling of tension, as for all we know Namba could only be a few steps behind the murderer.

At the same time... Aoi writes in a rather dry and slow manner, and I have to admit, while I think the overall plot was interesting, his writing did tire me a lot, and I felt the book could have been told in a much more entertaining manner (oh, how I wish Rampo wrote this based on Aoi's plot). Of course, I understand he was going for the Crofts style, but you do really need to be in the right mindset to be reading this, because while it's perfectly readable, sometimes you do wonder why the story is told in such a dry, and yet at times roundabout manner...

Aoi's talents as a mystery writer are clearly visible in this work though. While a lot of the ideas showcases in this book will feel outdated and too tropey for the modern reader, some ideas I genuinely find surprising to find in a 1935 Japanese mystery novel. And then there's of course the railway schedule-based alibi trick, apparently the first original Japanese one and one which would thus influence writers like Matsumoto Seichou, Ayukawa Tetsuya and Nishimura Kyoutarou. It's a bit sad how nowadays we can just use map and navigation maps to find all kinds of combinations of public transport modes to find the fastest way to get from A to B, because it takes a lot away from the surprise in these kinds of books. Here too some of the "the killer used this other route that was actually also available!" surprises feel a bit underwhelming partially because you can't shake the feeling it's a bit weird nobody thought of that earlier, but also because of Aoi's writing style,where he throws these reveals at you without much build-up ("Namba looked at the map and suddenly realized there was another route"), so you don't get the sensation of satisfaction when the solution is revealed. Still, Aoi uses the alibi tricks in a clever manner/for a clever purpose, so on the whole, I think the book works.

Though I don't really get Aoi undermining Namba right from the beginning, because we have Namba in the list of characters, but then at the end we see the name of another detective in the list, and he's introduced as an internationally renowned master detective... The cast of characters is also rather limited despite the book's length, so it might be a bit easy to guess who the murderer is because not many people on the list are still alive at the end of the story... The book also makes reference to a certain 1922 mystery novel that is utilized in an interesting way in this story, though it's a bit of a borderline case whether mentioning the title out loud will spoil part of Funatomike no Sangeki's mystery, so I'll refrain from doing so now...

So while I do think some of Funatomike no Sangeki might feel a bit outdated now, both in writing and the mystery tropes it uses, it is a surprisingly ambitious first novel by Aoi Yuu and as it is commonly recognized as the first in a looooooong tradition of Japanese railway-based alibi-deconstruction mystery stories, I'd say it's worth reading it if you happen to come across it.

Original Japanese title(s): 蒼井雄『船富家の惨劇』

The Shadow of the Goat

"Cry havoc and let slip the goats of war."

"Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse" 

Houjou Kie has been a personal favorite of mine ever since she made her debut. While she initially focused on novel-length stories, she has lately also been releasing short stories serialized in magazines, which are then later collected in one volume. Next week will see the release of the sequel to the amazing Amulet Hotel, but today, I want to take a brief look at two new series by Houjou. At least, one of them is confirmed as a series, the other might be developed into a new series!

Maison Initier no Kai ("The Mystery of Maison Initier") is a 2025 short story published in All Yomimono and starts with a freelance writer on the occult going inside an apartment building in Hachiouji as he films himself. There are rumors that the elevator in this building connects to different worlds. While there are many of such rumors, with elevators often going down to the underworld, this rumor is connected to a more specific story: twelve years ago, a murder was committed in the hallway of the top, seventh floor. Rumor has it that if you push in a certain combination in the elevator, you'll be brought to that scene fifteen years ago. Our writer pushes the buttons accordingly and when he arrives at the seventh floor... he finds a dead body lying in the hallway, killed in the exact same way as the victim fifteen years ago, stabbed with a kitchen knife.

Superintendent Hachijou Miku is the crime scene investigator in charge of the case, though she immediately regrets this when she learns who discovered the body: for Ikoma Soramichi is only a freelance writer on the occult in his spare time, as he is a real police superintendent himself too. Only with a love for the occult. However, even he realizes he didn't go back in time, and that the body he found is in fact "fresh". The parallels to the murder 15 years ago however are clear: 15 years ago, the owner of the building had been stabbed with a kitchen knife on the seventh floor, and a priceless jewel was stolen. The new victim however has a note planted on his body, saying "Pay for your sins with your life", once again suggesting a strong connection between the two cases. While Miku is investigating the case however, Ikoma is intent on finding proof the occult is involved one way or another...

Whereas Houjou specializes in writing mystery stories with special settings (time travel, vr-worlds, a hotel for criminals, ghosts), she this time opted for a realistic setting: while Ikoma hopes there are ghosts and other occult occurences, as if this first story we don't really have any reason to believe they exist. In fact, Houjou mentions having to rely on her editor for knowledge on real police investigations/organization structure, as they usually don't really play a significant role in her other stories. The story is fairly simple in design, with the mystery revolving around why the two murders resemble each other. I don't think the story showcases Houjou's strenghts (densily plotted mysteries) very good, as the story is relatively short and the riddle of the two murders, and the clues leading to the revelation, feel not as meticulously plotted as her other stories. That said, the story is highly readable, and I think this story is probably more appealing to "non-hardcore" mystery fans than some of her other stories.The banter between "science is everything" Miku and "I wish there were ghosts" Ikoma is fun... because it's actually Ikoma who solves the case! In stories with these "science vs occult" setups, it's usually the science person who prevails, but this time we find it's Ikoma, in his quest to find real supernatural phenomena, who quickly sees through the human deception. I think the actual truth behind the case is pretty interesting though, and I'm curious to see how this series will develop further.

Houjou also recently wrote a piece of mystery flash fiction for the anthology GOAT, which has a very cute goat on the cover (even though the title actually refers to the acronym "greatest of all time"). She wrote this for a special on travel, and she was offered a stay at the Book Hotel Kyoto Kujo for inspiration, so unsurprisingly, her Rakugaki ("Scribbles" 2025) is actually set in that hotel.  The story is about five pages long, so I can't really write too much about it: a woman staying at the hotel finds someone has scribbled on her book while she was gone for a moment, and a... book sprite? helps her figure out who did it. Very short, kinda cute... and apparently, Houjou's editor liked it so much they are now developing it into a full series, with this story either being the proper "first entry" of the series, or it'll just be the prototype and be developed into a new story. I'm always into bibliophilic mysteries, so I'm looking forward to whatever may come!

This were pretty brief write-ups on these stories, so perhaps they feel a bit lacking in information on the stories, but... consider them more like previews, as we'll likely see more of these two series in the future. Next week is Amulet Wonderland, which I'm really looking forward to, so I'll try to read that and start on my review as soon as possible!

Original Japanese title(s): 方丈貴恵「メゾン・イニシェの怪」/「落書き」

Out of the Past

"That is where the rare plants and the butterflies are, if you have the wit to reach them.”

"The Hound of the Baskervilles"

While I like reading short story collections, I generally don't really like writing the reviews, because they take up much more time. For some reason I read four short story collections in a row, with today's book being one of those four, though I switched the order in which I wrote these posts.

Chou to Shite Shisu ("He Died A Butterfly", 2022) is a historical short story collection by Hanyuu Asuka, starring as its main detective Taira no Yorimori, half-brother of Taira no Kiyomori, who established the samurai-dominated administrative government in Japan. While Yorimori had military success in his career at one time, the centralization of power to Kiyomori's own men soon meant Yorimori was sidelined, finding his career hitting a stop and now living a peaceful life in Kyoto as the Lord of the Lake. Because Yorimori's sharp mind is not being used on the battlefield anymore, he intends to use his analytical skills to resolve incidents taking place in the place, as hoping to regain the favor of his half-brother. This collection holds five adventures for Yorimori, set in different parts of his life as he tries to climb back up the career ladder in a highly volitile military environment in the Heian period.

Hanyuu Asuka won the 2018 Mysteries! Newcomer Award with the short story Kabane Sanemori ("The Corpse Sanemori") included in this book, but even though this award of publisher Tokyo Sogensha is meant for unpublished authors, they were not really one: Hanyuu had been active since 2010 as a writer of children's fiction under the name Saitou Asuka, but after winning and publishing enough stories with Yoritomo to collect in a volume, they changed their name to Hanyuu Asuka, perhaps also to differentiate between the actress and former Nogizaka46 member with the same name. Before winning in 2018, Hanyuu had also made it to the final judging round of the Mysteries! Newcomer Award in the previous year with Kaburo-Goroshi ("Murder of a Kaburo"), which serves as the opening story of this collection. The citizens of Kyoto have been complaining about the kaburo Kiyomori has set loose on town: these boys with a page cut serve as his spies in the city, reporting all the on-goings to him. When one of these kaburo is found murdered near a temple, the people in the neighborhood are afraid they'll be blamed for the death of one of Kiyomori's men, so they send someone to warn Yorimori: they hope the Lord of the Lake will solve this case for them, as they know Yorimori is waiting for any chance to do self-promotion to his half-brother. Yorimori swiftly examines the scene, and soon finds out the murder on the kaburo might be hiding something bigger. This story introduces the format all stories in this collection follow, with a rather lengthy introduction that provides the historical context, followed by a rather short mystery and Yorimori swiftly solving it, and then ending with a historical contextualization of the case. This story has Yorimori solving the murder on the kaburo surprisingly easily, with the major clue being simple, but quite fair, but I have to admit I found the process a bit too short. But I do really like the historical contextualization of the case, and that is in general where these stories shine: Hanyuu is excellent at presenting history and using tidbits like the kaburo to create mysteries that only could have happened in that time period, in that specific cultural/political environment. So the act of the murder of the kaburo wasn't very memorable on its own, but the way it builds on actual history to provide unique motives and other parts of the mystery, is great.

Aoi-no-mae Araware ("Pitiful Aoi-no-Mae") has Yorimori investigate the death of Aoi-no-mae, a former servant who had been loved by the emperor Takakura, but died a mysterious death. When Takakura learns about a certain poison, he realizes the symptoms resembles the one Aoi-no-mae showed before she died. He asks Yorimori to investigate her death, as he has no idea how Aoi-no-mae could have been poisoned, as they ate and drank together. This impossible poisoning case is a bit simple to solve, as not only does it revolve around something you'll often see in poisoning stories, it basically only works due to the (lack of) knowledge back in the Heian period, while you'd be far more likely to think of it in this day and age. So while it works as a historical work, and very well as that, as a detective story read now, it might lack a real surprise.

In Kabane Sanemori ("The Corpse Sanemori"), Yorimori is asked to identify the body of general Saitou Sanemori, a warrior who fought in the Gempei War and died on the battlefield at age 73. During their retreat, his men had buried his body in a make-shift grave as they weren't able to bring his body along during their retreat, but when they later returned to retrieve the body, more bodies had been buried at the same place. Now Yorimori has to identify Sanemori's body out of five candidates. I was not too big a fan of this one, as it felt a bit too... clinical? Like, a clue being Sanemori's age, so an obviously younger looking corpse being ruled out and things like that. While one clue is good, because it is rooted in actual history and Saitou Sanemori's character, I felt the mystery was less important than the surrounding historical story. While these stories generally manage to get the right balance between history lesson and mystery, I felt this one was the one where the mystery felt a bit tacked on, even though the problem itself (the difficulty in identifying a specific person on the battlefield) is one I like, like the one in Kokuroujou (AKA The Samurai and the Prisoner).

The fourth story is Tomurai Senju ("Thousand-Armed Mourning"), which I have already discussed when it was featured in the anthology Honkaku-Ou 2021, so I will be skipping it here. Please refer to that post to hear about that (pretty good!) story.

Rokudai Hiwa ("The Secret of the Sixth") is set much later in Yorimori's life, after the Taira are basically defeated by the Minamoto clan. The Minamotos are hunting for the grandson of Taira no Kiyomori, Taira no Takakiyo, who is also known as the Sixth as he was the sixth generation since Taira no Masamori, who facilated the rise of power of his clan. The hunt leads to Yorimori's manor: Yorimori is leading a retreated life now, having converted himself to being a monk and having cut ties with the Taira. However, the Minamotos suspect Yorimori has hiding the grandson of his half-brother, by having Takakiyo pose as one of his own sons. Yorimori of course denies the accusation, but how can he prove that? In essence, the problem is one that is similar to the aforementioned problem with Sanemori: in an era with no real identity records or photographs, how do you prove a person is actually that person, and not someone else? While I am not a big fan of the main proof provided by Yorimori to show he's not hiding Takakiyo, I do like the minor tricks he plays on the Minamoto hunters to put them on the wrong trail. 

Chou to Shite Shisu dives deep into actual real history and each story starts with basically a history lesson (and you'll be looking up a lot depending on how much (little) you know about this era), so while some might love this book for that, others might find it a bit tiring. While the core plots can be a bit simple at time, Hanyuu does a great job at linking these cases into actual historical context, and you're almost inclined to be believe it really happened like this, because it all fits so nicely. Yorimori is also an interesting detective, someone who is really trying to prove himself, not because he is a believer in truth or justice, but because of the political background, and seeing him trying to manouver himself into certain social positions in a volatile and often outright hostile environment is interesting, especially as we know he ultimately never really managed to arrive at where he wanted to be. Hanyuu has written a scond volume in this series, a full-length novel, and I will probably read that one in the future too!

Original Japanese title(s): 羽生飛鳥『蝶として死す』: 「禿髪殺し」/「葵前哀れ」/「屍実盛」/「弔千手」/「六代秘話」

The King's Club Murder

The king is dead, long live the king! 

Huh, now they went for the color yellow for the book title for the third time in a row.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. I didn't vote for any stories this year as always. But I did manage to go to the Honkaku Mystery Award ceremony for the first time! Finally got to meet some of the authors I have translated and also met some other authors I have been a fan of for a long time!

I have been reviewing the annual summer anthology Honkaku-Ou ("The King of Honkaku") since it started in 2019, so long-time readers of the blog should be familiar with the series now. The pocket-sized anthology collects the best honkaku short stories published the previous year, as selected by the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. It practically functions as a companion release to the Honkaku Mystery Award, which is awarded to the best published book (novel or short story collection) each year. Short stories are still often published in magazines and other time-limited (paper) publications in Japan, so sometimes it can be difficult to trace a short story xx months after the magazine it originally appeared in was released. Anthologies like this help in keeping this stories easily available. Honkaku-Ou 2025 ("The King of Honkaku 2025") follows the same format as always, consisting of six stories, as well as a short introduction by the current president of the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan (Maya Yutaka) and an afterword by Inui Kurumi.

Occasionally I already know some of the stories collected in this book and if I'm lucky, I even have discussed them already on the blog. While I had already read two of the stories in this year's anthology, I haven't actually written the review of that story yet, so I guess I'll do it here... But the story I have already read, and have already discussed is Hayami Shirou wo Oikakete ("Chasing after Hayami Shirou") by Mamon Kouhei, which was included in Bokura wa Kaishuu Shinai ("No Pay-Off for Us", 2024), so I refer to that post for the write-up on that story. The tale was actually not my favorite of Mamon's book, but it has some interesting clues so I can see why it'd get high praise.

Gainen Tantei ("The Concept Detective") by Shiotani Ken starts with the strange tale of Manami, who explains that when she was a child, she saved a spider-like creature at the beach, which turned out to have god-like powers. Grateful for her help, it says it will grant Manami one wish. She wishes for a great detective like from the novels. As it would be a bit weird to just "give" her a living person, the being grants her a special power, that allows her to turn anyone she wants into a great detective, complete with amazing deductive powers and the police willing to listen to the lengthy explanation scenes. Fast-forward to a grown-up Manami, who is now in university. She's still a huge mystery buff and hopes to film a mystery film. She also has her star in mind: Houga Hiromichi, a fellow member in the university's mystery club. She's been trying to get an OK from him, but he's reluctant, saying he's not suited to be a great detective. One day, after a party with most of the members of the club, the members return to the club room, only to find two of the members lying dead at the table: the couple had taken poison together and died. The Romeo and Juliet couple came from fueding families, which is why their fathers were against their dating at first and the two had made up their mind to elope. So why did they commit suicide togehter? But was it really a suicide pact? If only there were a great detective around...

This is an interesting premise for a series, so I'd like to see Shiotani develop this further. It has some parallels with Ooyama Seiichirou's Watson-ryoku, where everyone within the radius of the Watson Force becomes a great detective, but here it's Manami who (unconsciously) can turn a specific person into a great detective, so it'd be cool to see how that'd work out in a series with recurring characters. The story itself is a solid puzzler whodunnit, that follows Queen-esque deductions of determining certain characteristics of the person who could've poisoned the two star-crossed lovers and then determining which of the suspects fits the bill. 

Steam Dragon no Kisou ("The Enigmatic Ride of the Steamdragon") by Kasumi Ryuuichi stars the private detective Kurenaimon who is hired to keep an eye out during the maiden ride of the illustrious steam locomotive C63 0, also known as the Steamdragon. The C63 0 was a  steam locomotive that had been designed, but never built. Decades later used car mogul Aratani Goichi and his two sons (of different monthers) Sentarou and Reiji have used their fortune to build the locomotive and have it run on their own private railway in Hokkaido, a surprisingly large network of rails which was purchased after it became obsolete. Some great train anoraks have been invited to be on the maiden voyage too, but because sometimes such enthusiasts can become a bit too intense, Kurenaimon was hired to keep an eye on things. Reiji has a rather unique train fetish, so he likes to... get naked and meditate to become one with the train, and he has a luxurious carriage all to himself to indulge in his pleasures: it is the very last carriage. Kurenaimon and his friend see Reiji enter his carriage and the two hang around in the carriage before that. When after a while, Sentarou comes looking for his brother, but when they enter, they find only Reiji's head. This is fairly short story, with most of the story dedicated to the set-up rather than the investigation after the discovery of the murder, but it features an interesting train-based locked room mystery with a solution that is just believable enough while also a bit silly when visualizing it. The good kind of crazy!

Aosaki Yuugo's Nawa, Tsuna, Rope ("Cable, Line, Rope") was written especially for an anthology to celebrate Arisugawa Alice's 35th anniversary as a novelist, and is a pastiche of Arisugawa's Writer Alice series. In the foreword featured in this anthology, Aosaki actually says it feels weird to him this story was selected, as he tried to mimick Arisugawa's style the best he could, so did the story win on his merits, or those of Arisugawa? I do really understand why this story would be picked though, as it's a really solid whodunnit. Criminologist Himura Hideo and mystery novelist Arisugawa Alice are assisting the police in the investigation of the murder of a woman, Yasumi Nodoka, who was found washed up on the shore, with clear signs of having been tied. A witness saw a figure carrying something tied up in rope to the waterfront in the night, so it is quickly determined Nodoka had been killed in her apartment and her body dumped in the sea. The motive appears to be a rare trading card Nodoka owned, but is now missing. However, security footage also helps determine the murderer must be someone inside the apartment building, i.e. one of the fellow residents. Because the witness saw Nodoka had been tied up, the police guess the culprit must have thrown the rope that was used away, as it was garbage day for burnables the following day. They examine the security camera footage of the garbage collection site of the building and determine three persons threw away ropes/lines/cables. But which of these three residents killed Nodoka?

This is a very solid story, both as a pastiche and a standalone whodunnit. Aosaki mimicks the style of the Himura stories perfectly with the familiar banter between Himura and Alice and the type of deductions Arisugawa often uses for his stories. As a whodunnit, well, what do you expect of the "Ellery Queen of the Heisei period"? It is a great logical problem, which is solved by logically following all the actions the murderer must have taken based on the evidence and from there, the reader can "easily" determine the identity of the murderer, at least, if they're clever enough. I love the way the story plays with the Japanese language by the way, with nawa, tsuna and the loanword "rope" all refering to, well, ropes, but all just slightly different enough.

Housoubu ni wa Horobasenai ("I Won't Let The Broadcasting Club Fall") is the first time I read a story by Tsubota Yuuya, and it's actually his debut story. The story revolves around a school's broadcasting club, which is preparing for the upcoming sports festival of the school. They have a suggestion box for playlist requests, but one day, they find an anonymous letter from someone who writes they don't like the sports festival and hopes they can cancel it. The narrator is of course not able to do so, but curious to the reason why, he decides to write a letter back to the writer. What follows is a series of short letters between the two, where the narrator tries to determine why the writer wants the festival cancelled. There are some nice clues hidden within this cute story with a bittersweet conclusion, and I really like it as a school mystery.

Dare mo Yomenai ("Unreadable") by Shirai Tomoyuki was written for a shogi ("Japanese chess) special and therefore revolves around the sport: Chiyokura Hinode is a professional shogi player who has trouble getting into the absolute top, but he's now playing one of his important promotional games. It's becoming late with the game still going on, so the game is paused for a moment, with Chiyokura having to write his next move in advance, which is then sealed so they can continue the game the following day (this to ensure Chiyokura doesn't have a full night to contemplate his next move). When he's alone, he's suddenly abducted by a man and a woman. Chiyokura recognizes neither of them, but it turns out he once played a game with the young man seven years ago, when the latter was still a child. Chiyokura had seen potential in the kid, and had given him his business card. Now the young man has grown up to be... not a shogi player, but a member of the organized crime. And he's in trouble, as last night, two "business contacts" were killed, and he is the main suspect. He, his captain and the big boss were staying in a hotel nearby to meet their business contacts, but early this morning, these two contacts were found dead in their villa. The murderer escaped with the car that belongs to the gang and parked at the hotel, and the three of them all have a key, so any of them could have committed the crime... if not for the fact the captain and the big boss have alibis, having been seen by others in the hotel. Because the 'kid' (and his girlfriend) swear he didn't do it, they decided to abduct Chiyokura (who had been playing his promotion game nearby), because Chiyokura is the cleverest man he knows. Can Chiyokura clear the name of his 'shogi disciple' based only on his testimony?

Okay, I have to admit I was first surprised by how this Shirai tale had nothing really gross, grotesque or off-putting in it. Guess that was because it was written for a shogi special. The problem itself is interesting, as we apparently have two suspects with a perfect alibi, and one without one. The solving of this conundrum is cleverly modelled not after physical evidence, but around reading the actions of each character: not in a psychological manner, but focusing on whether each character is taking the most logical action in their situation as we know it, and if not, can we therefore extrapolate something else might be going on? While the "main" trick used by the culprit might therefore not be incredibly surprising, the way they camouflaged it through their actions, and the way Chiyokura manages to unveil this, does make this a great story to read.

Overall, I'd say Honkaku-Ou 2025 may even been the best iteration of the anthology until now, providing variety, but also a very high level of quality. I basically like all the stories included this year, and they all have some clever original set-ups or techniques to use to show off how even within the confinements of the short story, you can do very clever mystery plots. If you have never read these anthologies, I would really recommend this one, not only because it's the most recent, but because it's honestly the one with the most bang for your buck.

Original Japanese title(s): 真門浩平「速水士郎を追いかけて」/ 潮谷験「概念探偵」/ 霞流一「スティームドラゴンの奇走」/ 青崎有吾「縄、綱、ロープ」 / 坪田侑也「放送部には滅ぼせない」 / 白井智之「誰も読めない」

The Border-Line Case

"Space, the final frontier."

"Star Trek"

This has nothing to do with the book of this post, but: Mu is one of my favorite characters from Saint Seiya, and I love his attacks Starlight Extinction and Stardust Revolution.

Hase Homare is a tour attendent on a special monitoring trip for the first low-cost space carrier: a group of guests have been selected to come along to spaceship "Hope!!", which will bring them to the space station hotel Stardust, where they'll enjoy a few nights before heading back to Earth. The service will start officially soon, so this special trip is one last check to see if everything will go as planned. There are just a handful of guests coming along, most of them who have paid a lot of money to be able to see Earth from space (and one student who just happened to win a contest), so there are only two staff members on Hope!!: Homare and the captain Itou, a former astronaut, who after a period of seeing the bottle too often, has gotten his life on control again, eager to prove himself to his family and the rest of the world. The trip to Stardust goes perfectly, with all the guests arriving safely at the hotel, where they are greeted by the hotel staff who had arrived earlier. The hotel resembles a cone with a halo around it: the main cone building, with the dock, storerooms and all the equipment and machines, has mainly zero or low gravity, so people are advised to use the special belts they have to anchor themselves, though there's is gravity in the halo part of the building, which is where the guests rooms and lobbies are. While Homare goes off to write up a report on the trip for headquarters, Itou starts carrying out rations they brought on their ship to the storerooms, but when Itou doesn't return, Homare goes looking for the captain, only to find Itou dead in one of the storerooms. However, the scene is bizarre: it looks like Itou hanged himself with a belt... only you generally can't hang yourself if there's no gravity. Staff members all have special smartwatches that monitor their movements, and it appears nobody of the staff came even close to the storeroom around the death of Itou, so that seems to clear them, so does that mean one of the hotel guests is the murderer? Or was it suicide. The management back on Earth however order Homare to continue as planned, as too much is at stake on this first test trip. When a second death happens however, the hotel staff members use escape pods to return to Earth, citing their legal work conditions (only allowed x hours in space), leaving Homare and the guests alone in the hotel. Homare can operate "Hope!!" all by himself up to a degree, but the guests all seem reluctant to return to Earth now, as they have just arrived, so it's decided they stay in Stardust as initially planned, but then more deaths occur while trapped up in space in Momono Zappa's Hoshikuzu no Satsujin (2023), or as the book also says on the cover: Stardust Murder.

Momono Zappa is a game scenario writer who made their debut as a novelist in 2021 with Rouko Zanmu ("Dreams Are All That Remain To The Tiger Who Has Grown Old"), a cool mystery novel that utilized a wuxia fiction background. Hoshikuzu no Satsujin similarly has a mystery set in a rather unique location: a space station. At the same time, we're not talking about the super far future: the world portrayed in this book is certainly quite close, with low-cost space carriers probably appearing soon, and the setting is far closer to our current society than say the mobile suits in Gundam Wearwolf, also a mystery set in space. So for a great part, a lot of the setting of Hoshikuzu no Satsujin will be almost the same as ours, with people needing Wi-Fi to do livestreams for back on Earth. In fact, Momono does a great job at portraying the practical difficulties of operating such a space station, occasionally touching upon the technical and scientific details about how things are working at Stardust. At one point, the space station also loses its contact with Earth, leaving Homare unable to call back to headquarters and inform them about the subsequent deaths after Itou's death, and the idea of just... being stuck in space without a way to call for help is just horrible. Of course, they have escape pods they could use, but Homare does emphasize that the escape pods just shoots them towards Earth to the ocean, so it could take days before the pods are actually retrieved and they're saved, so it's a last resort. So there's a lot of mileage to be taken from the concept of a closed circle situation... in space.

Like in Rouko Zanmu, Momono does like focusing on their characters and what drives them: each of the guests, but also the staff members have their own specific reasons for wanting to come to space, and it's what also informs their actions while being confronted with their predicament. Like a lot of these And Then There Were None-esque stories, you'll be looking out for motives in each character's backstory for wanting to commit murders while being in a closed circle situation (and in space, no less!), and the interplay between the various backstories does allow for a bit of going back and forth between suspects, though I'll be honest and say that motive-looking is seldom my favorite part of a mystery story. Those who want a more introspective mystery however, might find something they'll like here, as of course, the dream of going into space is one that has mesmerized people since ancient times, and you can easily imagine how everyone holds very different thoughts about what space could mean to them.

As for the mystery, a lot of the immediate riddles Homare and the rest of the guests are confronted with, are about howdunnits: whether it was a suicide or murder, how could Itou have been hanged, if there's no gravity to do the hanging? Another guest is nearly suffocated in his room, even though they locked the door before going to sleep (i.e.a locked room), and more such curious incidents happen. The tricks behind these occurings are... perhaps not surprisingly if you think about it, but I have to admit I was surprised how technical some of these tricks were. In a way, Momono does hint at these tricks, but the jump from being presented clue A and me deducing that could result in trick X was way too far for me, so I personally didn't always feel as impressed with the trick as I could've been: perhaps a more science-minded reader will love what Momono does here, as the tricks utilized by the culprit does make good use of the space station setting. I wouldn't say this is hard science by the way, just some things aren't as intuitive to my feeble humanities mind as for the author.

There's a direct sequel to this book by the way, Rousoku was Moeteiru ka (Is the Candle Burning?), which focuses on one of the guests of the hotel after returning to Earth. I have no idea whether the semi-scifi setting of this book is continued in the second book, so in that sense, that is kinda what interests me.

Anyway, Hoshikuzu no Satsujin uses a unique setting, but without going overboard or alienating readers with the lite scifi setting. While mystery-wise, I felt some of the tricks were a bit too technical for me to feel intuitively clever, as a book about people being trapped in a space station under deadly circumstances, I found the book quite captivating, and I blazed through it in no time, because I wanted to know how it'd end. I will probably pick up the sequel in the future too, so expect a review of that book too. 

Original Japanese title(s): 桃野雑派『星くずの殺人』