Castle Skull

We'll fight you in the harbor.

We'll battle you on land.

When you meet singing pirates... 

They'll be more than you can stand.

"The Curse of Monkey Island"

I sometimes hardly read the summary/blurb of a book, just buying a book based on knowing it includes certain tropes etc. So I actually thought this book would turn out very different. Based on the covers, I thought this book would be about an adventure-rich mystery odyssey across the seas!

The Island of Solon lies off the coast of the Kingdom of England, located between the British islands and Denmark. Technically, Solon consist of two islands, the Greater Solon Island, where the town is and economic activity takes place, and the Smaller Solon Island, where Aylwin Castle stands. Some generations ago, an Aylwin battled the Danes that lived on these islands, and since then, the Aywlin family has governed the islands in name of the Crown of England. Rolent Aylwin now leads the prosperous merchant island, but lately, he seems worried, and for some reason, he has summoned mercenaries to his castle. Amina, daughter of Rolent, spots Falk Fitzjohn at the harbor, and mistakenly assumes he and his disciple Nicola are mercenaries too, bringing them to her father where other mercenaries have gathered too. To her great surprise, it turns out her father has been expecting the Danes to attack the island in an attempt to take what was stolen from them, and the problem is: these Danes are not normal Danes but supernatural, immortal Danes. Rolent will pay handsomely however, so the various mercenaries agree to assist the very small troupe of soldiers stationed on the island to fight the Immortal Danes. Some like Konrad Neudorfer may just be a "normal" knight with his own troupe of men, but someone like Suwayd can actually use magic while Iter is a great bowman. Falk however is not a mercenary, and it turns out he is here for a completely different reason. 

Falk is a Knight of the Brotherhood of the Holy Ambrosius, and he has been hunting the Dark Knights: former members of the Brotherhood who have turned to the dark side, using magic to act as assassins. Falk has followed the trail of the dark knight Edric to the Solon Islands, and when he learns a loyal guard died "accidentally" only recently, Falk is convinced Edric has come here. Edric is a special kind of assassin, as he can use his magic to make someone his loyal puppet and have them kill someone, without his puppet ever remembering committing a murder. Falk suspects Edric might be after Rolent, and the following day, his fears are proven right: Rolent is found murdered in his war room, having been killed with a sword from the war room. There is little time to mourn Rolent's death however, as the Danes are coming. Amina's brother Adam, while character-wise perhaps not suitable, becomes the de-facto leader of the island and has to prepare the few soldiers on the island for the incoming attack, while Amina is given permission by her brother to investigate their father's murder. Because it seems very likely Edric was behind this, she asks Falk in turn to find out who committed the murder. This is easier asked than done however, as due to Edric's spell, not even the murderer will remember they commited the crime! Can the people of the Islands of Solon find the murderer and fight off the Immortal Danes in Yonezawa Honobu's Oreta Ryuukotsu (2010), also known as The Broken Keel? 

 The winner of the 64th Mystery Writers of Japan Award was touted as a mystery that combined a puzzle plot with a supernatural setting, something we have become quite accustomed too nowadays. While they have been around for a longer time, they were certainly less common in 2010, and I was quite curious to read this one, especially as it was set in a sorta historical Europe (England)... only with a little bit of magic. The world as depicted in The Broken Keel mostly follows real-life history, being set in the 12th century, and making references to the crusades and King Richard. But as mentioned in the introduction above, there's also a bit of magic in this world, ranging from a mercenary who can control a Golem, to Immortal Danes (there's a captured Immortal Dane in the Aylwin Castle who has been there for generations, ever since the Aylwins took the Solon Island) and of course the main problem of the book: a spell that can turn anyone into a murderer, without them knowing they are a murderer.

That said, the book is fairly long (two volumes in the pocket release), and for a great deal, the story reads as a fine historical fantasy book. We get a glimpse in the lives of the people living on the Islands of Solon, and we especially see much of Amina, daughter of the leader of the island, so in a lot of ways a very powerful and free woman, but at the same time completely chained to her own fate as the daughter of a wealthy family. The death of her father especially seems to seal her fate, as she knows her brother is not likely to be very thoughtful of her personal wishes when arranging her future in the form of a political marriage. Tagging along with Falk and Nicola while they investigate the suspects of the murder on Rolent is a way to break away from her usual life (...after the death of her father) and so we go on an adventure together with Amina.

And an adventure it is, as during their investigation, Falk will also occasionally find himself venturing into the seedier parts of town. Early on in the investigation, Falk is able to significantly reduce the number of suspects from the whole island of Solon to a much smaller number, as the Smaller Island of Solon is inaccessible during the night due to a treacherous stream which even the usual experienced ferry-man doesn't dare to overcome. The suspicion lies especially on the mercenaries: any of them could've been turned into an unknowing minion of Edric, being suddenly activated that night to kill Rolent and then forgetting everything. Edric's spell will also cause the minion to die after some time has passed after the murder, so it's a race against the clock to find the murderer, even if they themselves don't remember a thing. Edric's spell however is not an all-mighty spell: it does not make the minion smarter or suddenly capable of doing things they couldn't before. Thus Falk knows the murderer committed the murder in a manner that was actually possible for that specific person, giving him his first opening into the hunt for the minion and Edric behind them.

While Falk tries to interrogate every suspect on their movements on the night of the murder however, the trio of Falk, Nicola and Amina stumble upon a few more mysteries they have to solve on their way, but this only takes up more time as the Immortal Danes start to approach the island. It's around the half-way point of the story the story sets the mystery plot aside for a moment as it shifts a bit more towards a fantasy adventure mode where we finally see the Immortal Danes. Fortunately, I think the adventure parts of this book do not outweigh the mystery parts of the plot, something I did feel with A Case of Dragonslayer, which was more fantasy + a mystery element, rather than a mystery + a fantasy element. 

Ultimately though, despite the setting with Immortal Danes attacking the island and there definitely beign other magical elements (Edric's spell being the most important one), I don't think the fantasy elements are overwhelmingly "present" in the story, and it's almost a historical mystery with a hint of magic. As a mystery story, it does provide a satisfying plot where these minor magic elements do play a role together with other "conventional" clues. We are treated to a long deduction chain where one by one, suspects are eliminated from the list based on everything we know the culprit must have done that night to murder Rolent (and what they must have known or have been capable of doing, to be able to commit the murder). And yep, that includes criteria involving what magic can or can not do. That said, the concept of magic is fairly loose in this book, it's not like we actually know exactly how magic works or what magic in general is capable of, we are only told about the spells that are relevant to this particular plot, but it can feel a bit vague, which can fuel a sense of "unfairness" as we simply don't know if there could've been some other spell that could've been used or not, we only are told this is the only solution assuming we know all the relevant pieces. That is a minor gripe though, as overall, The Broken Keel is a pretty interesting fantasy mystery novel, with a rather unique setting. I think I still like Kokuroujou ("The Castle with the Dark Prison") AKA The Arioka Citadel Case AKA The Samurai and the Prisoner, better overall as a historical mystery, but I think The Broken Keel is also much more accessible.

You will certainly find books that go either deeper into the historical element or deeper into the fantasy element than Oreta Ryuukotsu/The Broken Keel does, but the combination of the two does give the book something unique. It certainly feels very different due to its original setting, and as a fantasy adventure novel, it's a very pleasant read, while at the same time offering a robust mystery plot that embraces the minor magic element it also has. Definitely a solid supernatural mystery, and I think this book in particular will also appeal beyond a mystery-reading audience, as it has enough fantasy-elements to attract readers there too.

Original Japanese title(s): 米澤穂信『折れた竜骨』

A Little Night Work

“I looked down at the chessboard. The move with the knight was wrong. I put it back where I had moved it from. Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn't a game for knights.” 

"The Big Sleep"

Brown covers lately...

A few weeks back I wrote about Hikawa Tooru's debut novel Makkura na Yoake. Hikawa was strongly inspired by Ellery Queen, by not only using a same-named detective character who was an aspiring mystery author, but also by presenting the reader with a pure, logic-based whodunnit where a chain of deductions ultimately proves who the murderer was. Hikawa made his debut via the Mephisto Prize, which is awarded to unpublished authors (of novels), but Hikawa hadn't been keeping all of his eggs in one basket. As many starting novelists do in Japan, he had sent in different manuscripts to apply for different publishers' newcomer awards. He ended up winning via the Mephisto Prize, but that's what makes his second novel quite interesting. Misshitsu wa Nemurenai Puzzle ("A Locked Room is a Sleepless Puzzle", 2000) was actually originally a manuscript Hikawa had written for the Ayukawa Tetsuya Award, where his story did made it to the final selection (alongside manuscripts by Tsukatou Hajime and Shirodaira Kyou among others!). It wasn't picked as the winner, obviously, but oddly enough it was later picked up not by Kodansha, through which Hikawa made his debut via the Mephisto Prize and who published his first novel. Even weirder is that this second book, of which the original title was Nemurai Yoru no Tame ni ("For A Sleepless Night"), was also not published by Tokyo Sogensha, the publisher behind the Ayukawa Tetsuya Award. It was Harashobo that published Hikawa's second book, and because of that, we end up with something that might annoy some people: Hikawa Tooru wrote five books in total starring his same-named detective, and four out of those five books are published by Kodansha under the same label as pockets. But this second book was published by a different publisher, in a complete different format, with a large hardcover format, so if you place this series in order on your bookshelf, this book will stand out a lot.

The book starts, not surprisingly, at night, at the offices of the publisher Touto Shuppan. Hikawa Tooru is having a meeting with his editor Komiyama, who is very enthusiastic about Hikawa's work and they're adding the final touches to Hikawa's book to have it published so Hikawa can finally make his debut as a novelist. The meeting turns into a normal chat, with some drinks Komiya keeps at the office, and they're occassionally joined by some other people who are still at the office late at night, like the part-timer Ueno and the managing director. When it's about time to leave the building, they get out of the editor's office. Hikawa happens to look down the hallway, where he sees the managing director step inside the elevator. He approaches the elevator, only to see another office worker lying on the floor just around the corner behind the elevator, nearly dying! The man's been stabbed, but manages to say he was stabbed by the managing director, who Hikawa just saw taking the elevator up to the executive floor on the sixth floor. Hikawa and his editor quickly decide to warn the guard and the other people still staying in the building, but then they learn the outside door has been blocked from the outside. A printer's salesman who had been visiting another editor and an artist elsewhere in the building for a final check on a cover, but has not been able to go out the building because something's blocking the door from outside. They learn the phone line's also been cut, meaning they're all trapped inside the building now, with a killer! But when the elevator is stopped again, they find.... the managing director also stabbed in the back inside, dead. But who could've killed the director, and why, and why did the director kill the first person?

Before you start asking me: yes, most of the time this book isn't about a locked room. The setting is a closed circle, and there are some impossible crime features to the crime, but most of the time, this book does not focus strongly on the impossible aspects of the crime.

Anyway, this was a book that felt very similar to the first, and also very different, and part of that is probably because this was originally written for a different type of newcomer award. This was originally written for the Ayukawa Tetsuya Award, and perhaps that is why this one feels far more puzzle-focused than the first novel, as the Mephisto Prize isn't as puzzle mystery-focused in general. This book also has something that really helped an aspect I found tiring in the first novel: the middle part was very slow, as a lot of time was spent just jumping between characters, with Hikawa occasionally dicussing theories with others and few revelations made until the very end. This book is a lot more interesting in that regard due to the closed circle situation. In the earlier parts, they try to find every person in the building, while being careful not to run into the managing director, but later, when the director himself is found dead in the elevator, things still remain tense because they really don't understand why he ended up dead too, and whether there is another killer in the building, or perhaps it turns out one of them is the killer (you can guess what the answer is). They also try to find ways to contact the outside world or to open the door, but this leads to some interesting observations regarding the closed circle. Because the door is locked from the outside, it means the killer is outside the building, right? Meaning this is the reversed idea of a locked room or a closed circle, being the killer who intentionally closes off a space to show they couldn't be inside during a certain period, and the discussions regarding this topic will appeal to mystery readers alike.

This leads me to another thing that made this book a lot more enjoyable in the middle parts than the first book, and that's the presence of a rival for Hikawa in the form of his edtor Komiyama. At least, he becomes a rival because this is the second book published, but if this had been the first book, I suppose you were supposed to think Komiyama was the real protagonist and that Hikawa was just a Watson? Komiyama, as an editor of mystery stories, is a great expert in mystery fiction and uses his knowledge to lead the investigation in the building, as they realize they can't escape anyway until the morning shift people arrive at the office and set them free. Hikawa himself too acknowledges Komiyama is actually a better detective than him, being more pro-active in both voicing his deductions and acting upon them. But because we as the reader know the true series detective Hikawa, there's a certain tension in these segments as you are waiting for Komiyama to make a mistake somewhere which Hikawa will correct. This makes the middle half a much more entertaining read than the first novel. Having a genre-savvy character around also allows for more indepth theorizing about the events, making this a far more puzzle-focused book.

The murders themselves, as in the acts themselves, in this book are quite plain and straightforward by the way, with people just being stabbed. So the puzzle is really focused on figuring out why the first person was stabbed by the managing director, and how the managing director ended up dead too (as he couldn't have committed suicide like that). There is as mentioned a minor impossible aspect to the story, as the back door was blocked from the outside fairly early on in the night (the front door is automatically locked outside of office hours, meaning people coming or leaving in the night have to take the back door, where the night guard is) and after the first murder, Hikawa sees the elevator move up to the sixth floor, until it is called down again and the managing director's body is found inside. Meaning that if there is an unknown murderer loose, they should be on the sixth floor, but when they go up the elevator to the sixth floor, they find it completely empty, meaning there couldn't have been a murderer up here anyway, especially as the door to the staircase is locked from the inside too. The book therefore starts to focus a lot on the alibis of all the characters inside the building, to see if any of them could've killed the managing director, and this is coupled with a lot of Queen-esque deductions about who could've have known what at what time to allow for a certain action. Stuff I like a lot personally, and it made this a very entertaining read.

Ultimately, I do have to admit the solution is fairly simple, and I think genre-savvy people like Komiyama would likely think of the real solution as a very viable candidate very early on. That said, while I think a lot of readers can intuitively guess the solution, the logical road to the solution is definitely worth reading too, as you can clearly see Hikawa is a Queen devotee, and in these kinds of novels, it's not about guessing what the solution is, but having an actual chain of reasoning built on the evidence and testimonies and actions of all the characters, and in that regard, Misshitsu wa Nemurenai Puzzle is quite solid too.

Overall, I think I liked Misshitsu wa Nemurenai Puzzle better than the first novel. While the first novel had a better final chain of reasoning leading to Hikawa identifying the murderer, I think that on the whole, this second novel was much more readable, while still staying close to the Queen style despite being a closed circle story too. While the solution to the impossible aspects of the story might be a bit simple in design in comparison to the logic needed to solve it, I do think this was a good novel that makes me want to read the rest too.

Original Japanese title(s): 氷川透『密室は眠れないパズル』

A Double for Detection

Wishing on a dream that seems far off, hoping it will come today

"Wind's Nocturne"

Hmm, discussions on non-Japanese comics are rather rare on this blog, which is why I use the manga tag for all comics...

Stanislas-André Steeman was a French-speaking, Belgian illustrator and novelist, who wrote mystery novels (in French) from the 1930s until the late 1950s. I have to admit, I had never ever heard of his name until I started to see references to him in Japanese literature: while he is apparently fairly well-known in the Franco-language sphere of mystery fiction, just two of his novels have been translated to English, and they sell for quite the price. Apparently his work is also available in Flemish (Dutch) translation, I have never seen them going around in the used market, so they are not that common either. As my French isn't that good, I never really thought about looking deeper into this (I do believe there are multiple film adaptations of his books). But earlier this year, I learned a few of this books had been adapted as comics in the late 1980s, and the Flemish translations of these comics are still very cheap in the used market. The imprint which published these comics did several detective and thriller adaptations, ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Rouletabille. Interestingly, some of these adaptations inserted detectives in stories they were not originally part of, like having Rouletabille appear in The Phantom of the Opera.

These four books were all adapted from Steeman's novels by André-Paul Duchateau: the first three featured art by Xavier Musquera, the last one by Didier Desmit. The art obviously follows the French Ligne claire style, and the comics are also all the same lenght at around fifty pages. This does mean some of these stories feel rather rushed, though I can't say whether that's only because of the limited page count, or whether the original books also felt like that. Still, I feel that for some stories, an extra ten pages would have changed a lot. The page layout is, as often is with these comics, rather static, so it's a bit boring to look at at times, but that's also partially because I read much more manga, where page layouts are often more dynamic. That said, for those who are not as familar with manga, these comics might be easier to read exactly because they are so static in layout.

Zes dode mannen ("Six Dead Men") is based on 1930-1931's Six hommes mort (a book which is also available in English), and concerns a pact by six men down on their luck, who want to change their fate. They will split up and try to make something out of themselves and in five years, they will reconvene and share all their wealth with each other. Every mystery fan recognizes this has a tontine-esque element (if someone dies, the share of the remaining people grows). Five years later, most of them have indeed crawled up the financial ladder and are making their way back home to share their fortune with their friends, but one of them dies on the boat back. Another man has tattoed the secret to his fortune on his chest, but he has been followed by a mysterious figure, and just as he explains about this, he is shot and later his body (with the tattoo) is even spirited away. The men are offed one by one, and not even Inspector Wenceslas Vorobeitchick, also known as Wens, seems to be able to do anything. But will this really continue until one is left alive?

This story is absolutely fine to read as a tontine-based thriller, but as a proper mystery story, it's quite outdated. I am going to guess many readers will guess what is going here, as you will probably have seen the criminal's big gambit in a similar form one way or another in mystery fiction before, and... it's just not surprising anymore to the modern reader. There is a minor locked room-esque situation when one of the men is found dead in an elevator cage even though he was seen stepping inside the cage alive, but it is solved rather swiftly and it's not really a major problem in the book, just a short mystery to temporarily halt M. Wens' actions, even though he solves it rather quickly. Some parts of the plan of the murderer also seem a bit weird (the endgame for killing everyone in the tontine can't really work... right?), which is probably why as a contemporary reader, this is more fun to read as a thriller.

De vijand zonder gezicht ("The Enemy Without a Face") based on 1934's L'Ennemi sans visage (also released as M. Wens et l'automate) starts off really creepy: the death row inmate Jund is given a chance on a new life, as he is given the chance to become a guinea pig for professor Arthus, who is researching a way to transfer a human brain to the body of an automaton.  So yes, Jund's brain is going to be put in an automaton, and if he's lucky, he'll have a second life as he was supposed to be executed anyway. A prison detective is assigned to watch over Jund as they go to the professor's home, where his daughter and two sons also live. M. Wens is also present in the creepy house that is full of automatons that can move on their own once activated. During the brain operation however, something happens and they find the professor killed in the operation room, and the automaton with Jund's brain has gone missing. Has the automaton become a killing machine? Again one that is best read as a pulpy thriller. There are some scenes where Wens 'fights' the automaton, but the explanations for the powerful automaton are disappointing and as a whodunnit, it's not really remarkable.

De moordenaar woont op Nr 21 ("The Murderer Lives At Number 21") is based on 1939's L'assassin habite au 21, which I believe isn't originally a Wens novel, but he's in this adaptation as well. A murderer roaming the misty streets of London has been leaving calling cards signed "Mr. Smith" at his crime scenes, but one day, a drunk guy tells a police constable he actually saw Mr. Smith after his latest murder, and saw him enter Russel Square 21. The problem? It's a guest house, so which of the people staying there is Mr. Smith?  The police try to ask the French professor Julie, who is slated to stay at the house during his stay in London, to act as their spy, but he becomes scared, but before he is even able to flee the house, he's murdered by Mr. Smith, which seems to confirm the police's suspicions Mr. Smith lives there. But who is the murderer? What follows is a story that is actually pretty funny, because the guests have rather strong personalities and bicker a lot with each other. But the comic ends in a rather abrupt manner, and I have no idea whether the original book is like this too, or it's just because the comic has a rather limited page count. No motive is given for Mr. Smith's murder's before that of M. Julie. The murder of M. Julie does include an interesting dying message idea, which I think works on paper better than on... comic page paper. As in, I think the idea is good, but I don't think the comic itself really sold the idea really well, though I can't say whether the book did it any better. I think the atmosphere of the story is good though and of the four, I liked this volume the best.

Kaarsen voor de duivel ("Candles for the Devil") is based on Des cierges au diable from 1932 (also known as Les Atouts de M. Wens) and deals with the twins Frédéric Dolo and Martin Dolo: Freddy is a notorious swindler who has always been able to stay out of the police's hands, while Martin is a hardworking salesman who as of late has been making fewer sales due to his infamous brother. After a poker night at Georges D'Aoust's home, Georges is found shot in the head the following morning. At first it appears to be a suicide, but as Freddy Dolo was one of the poker players, the police start to suspect this was no self-inflicted death and start looking for Dolo, while some figures in the underworld also want to "pay back" Dolo for "services rendered" in the past. Martin Dolo too also gets involved in everything, as the brothers' resemblance leads to more than a few mix-ups, while more and more people with a connection to Freddy get attacked or killed. At this point, I was of course not surprised I enjoyed this better as a suspense thriller with mild mystery elements, rather than full-blown fair-play mystery. The story's big surprise won't really surprise now, I think, and I also have my doubts about how surprising it really would have been back when this was first released, but it wasn't boring at least!

Overall, I can't say these comics really made me a Steeman fan, though I am glad to have finally read something of his work (even if it's an adaptation). While I don't think I have seen anything that's really impressive in these stories, they were okay thrillers that build on familiar mystery tropes. Perhaps I would have been more enthusiastic about them if I had read the originals in the 1930s, and of course, the comic format and the limited page count might have changed the feeling of the novels too, but for now, I think I have gotten some idea of Steeman's work in terms of plotting, and I don't feel the immediate need to search for more, though I am happy to have read these four. 

Three Strikes, You're Out

"There must be something comforting about the number three. People always give up after three"
"Sherlock"

Wow, it's been almost four years since I last wrote something about this series? 

Tantei Jinguuji Saburou series 

1: The Shinjuku Central Park Murder Case (1987) [Nintendo Famicom Disk System]

5: The Unfinished Reportage (1996) [Sony PlayStation / SEGA Saturn] 

6: At the End of the Dream (1998) [Sony PlayStation / SEGA Saturn] 

7: Before the Light Fades (1999) [Sony PlaySation] 

8: Innocent Black (2002) [Sony PlayStation 2]  

9: Kind of Blue (2004) [Sony PlayStation 2]  

10: The White Phantom Girl (2005) [Nintendo GameBoy Advance] 

14: Ashes and Diamonds (2009) [Sony PlayStation Portable] 

15: The Red Butterfly (2010) [Nintendo DS] 

16: Rondo of Revenge (2012) [Nintendo 3DS]

17: Ghost of the Dusk (2017) [Nintendo 3DS]

18: Prism of Eyes (2018) [Nintendo Switch/Sony PlayStation 4]

 

00: Daedalus: The Awakening of Golden Jazz (2018) [Nintendo Switch/Sony PlayStation 4]

Mobile: New Order [iOS] 

 

Novels

The Shinjuku Central Park Murder Case AD2000 (2000)

The Ghost of Shinjuku (2006)

A Bright Future (2007)

In 1987, Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken ("The Shinjuku Central Park Murder Case") was released for the Famicom Disk System in Japan, making it the third command-based adventure game on the system, and the game would become the first entry in one of the longest mystery adventure game franchises in existence. In the game, the player took up the role of private investigator Jinguuji Saburou who worked in Shinjuku and helped by assistant Youko and backed-up by his friend Inspector Kumano, the player was asked to solve the murder of a woman found in Shinjuku Central Park. It was far from a perfect game, and a lot of the ideas seen in this game would be abandoned, or only return in much later installments in a much refined versions, but still, the basic concept of the game were unique enough to make this a franchise over 30 years old. The game was unique for being aimed at adults, with a distinct hardboiled atmosphere, offering a story that involved the underworld of Shinjuku, and which had you investigate suspicious bars and other places in the shady entertainment district. But, it had also aspects of a puzzle plot mystery, with a pretty outrageous plot revealed at the end, and that is what has given the Tantei Jinguuji Saburou game franchise its unique face: the series has seen several developers in its history, but you can generally expected a mystery story with a hardboiled exterior involving the underworld, but you can occasionally find puzzle plot mystery plots too that tie in with those "hardboiled detective" plots, and then there's of course the fantastic music of this series. I am a big fan of the series, and have written about many of the games, and while they are certainly not all recommended material, I still enjoy them in general a lot.

What might be confusing about this franchise is that the title Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken ("The Shinjuku Central Park Murder Case") has been used multiple times for different productions. In 2003, a "remake" of the game was released on mobile phones in Japan, and this version was also later included in the first Nintendo DS title of this franchise. This DS game has been released in English in localized form as Jake Hunter Detective Story: Memories of the Past, with the remake of Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken being given the title The Petty Murder of a Fragile Heart. But even though this version is considered a "remake" and in Japanese, bears the same title as the 1987 original, it's basically a completely different story: while the 2003 version starts similarly with the corpse of a woman being discovered in Shinjuku Central Park and Inspector Kumano asking Jinguuji to look into the case, the rest of the case is completely different, and the "biggest" connection the 2003 version has with the 1987 game in terms of story, is that a few characters from the 2003 game share names with characters from the 1987 version, though with completely different backgrounds. So that's two games titled Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken but with different stories.

And then there's a third murder in Shinjuku Central Park: Tantei Jinguuji Saburou: Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken AD2000 ("Detective Jinguuji Saburou: The Shinjuku Central Park Murder Case AD2000", 2000), which isn't a game, but a novel written by Sukeno Hiroshi. Who incidentally would go on to work on the story of the 2003 version of Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken, so he worked on at least two of the three Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken titles that exist within this franchise, and because older games don't really properly credit people, so this is impossible to check, but I wouldn't even be surprised if he also worked on the original 1987 game! Anyway, it should surprise anyone if I say the story starts with the discovery of a strangled woman in Shinjuku Central Park. The woman is identified as Yukie, a "hostess" who worked at the club Side Pocket. Jinguuji is hired by Hitomi, a friend of Yukue and fellow hostess to find out why her friend ended up murdered. Jinguuji starts his investigation by asking around in the night club where the victim worked, but soon starts to suspect that something going in at Side Pocket might've led to Yukie's death. but what?

This novel was released in 2000, after the three PlayStation/Saturn era games (The Unfinished Reportage, At the End of the Dream and Before the Light Fades), and you can definitely tell. The atmosphere of this novel, and the way the investigation into the murder of Yukie plays out is very similar to those three games, so as "supplemental material" to those games, I quite enjoyed it. This 2000 version of the Shinjuku Central Park murder by the way is not intended as a remake of the first game: in the book Jinguuji refers to the events of the 1987 game, saying he worked on a case involving a dead woman in the park before, so it's just supposed to be a similar, but different case. There are a few other minor parts that help "fix" this novel within the game timeline, like this book being the first time Jinguuji meets the forensic investigator Miyoshi (who first appears in Mikan no Rupo) or mentioning how this story is set only a few months after Youko first became Jinguuji's assistant (also referencing how they first met, as shown in Yume no Owari ni, and later somewhat retconned/explained really weirdly in the spin-off prequel game Daedalus). That said, I'd say the book is pretty accessible for people who don't know the series at all: sure, you have a few recurring characters like the yakuza boss Imaizumi, but everything you need to know is explained, and Tantei Jinguuji Saburou: Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken AD2000 is perfectly readable as a standalone hardboiled detective story.

That said, I assume that most readers of this blog are not really looking for a hardboiled detective story and in that regard, Tantei Jinguuji Saburou: Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken AD2000 isn't really a book I would recommend. I think it's a great Jinguuji Saburou novel, that really captures the atmosphere of the games, and of the three novels I have read now, this one is absolutely the best one at capturing the vibe, but as a standalone detective story, it's not particularly clever or memorable. You just follow Jinguuji's investigation as he tries to learn more about Yukie, the shady going-ons at Side Pocket and how that may be connected to Yukie's death, and as always, things start to get complicated when Jinguuji stumbles upon a plot that involves the underworld of Shinjuku and there's even a social school-esque aspect as we learn about the weaker people like hostesses who live within the shady night-life of Shinjuku, but it's not like you're treated to a fairly clewed, clever mystery. You're just here for the ride. There are a few minor moments where Jinguuji makes clever deductions about what to do, but those times are rare. It's not the novel that will win people over or anything, it's just a solid spin-off novel of the game series. Some parts might feel bit too similar to the plots from the PlayStation/Saturn-era games, but it's a part I like, because I think those games were the best of the series, and this book really feels part of that era.

Oh, and the book has some neat original art!

So Tantei Jinguuji Saburou: Shinjuku Chuuou Kouen Satsujin Jiken AD2000 isn't really a must-read on its own, but as a big fan of the series, I am happy to have now experienced all three times within this franchise where the titular detective had to investigate the murder of a woman in Shinjuku Central Park. The novel is at no time truly surprising nor does it offer a really clever plot, but it does feel incredibly close to the type of stories the PlayStation/Saturn games in this franchise told and as such, I even think it's the best Jinguuji Saburou novel I have read until now. And as I haven't discussed this series in years now on this blog, I needed an excuse to bring it up again, and use the "hardboiled" tag again. Guess it's back to waiting for a new game again...

Original Japanese title(s): 助野寛『探偵神宮寺三郎新宿中央公園殺人事件AD2000』

Masquerade Death

The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. 

"The Masque of Red Death"

Always happy when "an out-of-print book I'm eyeing, but won't buy because a used copy is too expensive" is re-released!

Kawamiya Keisuke and Naoko took over their father's detective agency after World War II, and have been slowly making a living as private detectives. It's 1947 when they are hired by Urabe Kiwako. Arriving at Maibara Station, Keisuke and Naoko learn how important the Urabe Silk Mill is around here, being the main economic motor of the entire region. The mill used to be run by Kiwako's husband Ryuuichirou, but before he died, he took in his two twin nephews Fumihiko and Takehiko as his heirs. Fumihiko and Takehiko's parents had been estranged from Ryuuichirou originally, but after their death and the war ended, Ryuuichirou, who had no children of his own, wanted Fumihiko and Takehiko to take over, especially as the family had a history of prospering whenever such identical twin brothers would lead the family. Fumihiko became the president and Takehiko the vice-president, and initially things seemed to go well. But after the suicide of Sayako, a girl who worked at the mill and about whom poison pen letters were being written, things quickly soured. It turned out Takehiko had a relationship with the girl, and he accuses Fumihiko of being behind the poison letters. Takehiko disappeared one day, leaving Fumihiko alone at the helm of the factory. But recently, a letter was sent to him, which prompted his aunt Kiwako to hire Keisuke and Naoko. The letter was accompanied by a newspaper article telling how an illegal plastic surgeon had been murdered, and that the records show his last patient (who killed the medical man) was... Takehiko. Apparently, Takehiko has changed his face and in the letter he says he has returned to Maibara and he'll have his revenge on Fumihiko. Keisuke and Naoko are to protect Fumihiko from the disguised Takehiko, and they stand guard in front of his bedroom the first night, but the following morning, he's found dead inside the room. It appears Fumihiko himself let the murderer inside the room via the window, meaning Takehiko must be a person who Fumihiko met in the last half year or so and won his trust (pretending to be someone else), but who? That's the big question in Ooyama Seiichirou's 2006 novel Kamen Gensoukyoku ("Masquerade Twin Fantasia").

My first encounter with Ooyama Seiichirou was via the PSP game Trick X Logic, and since that occasion, I've been a fan of his puzzle plot short stories, which range from a locked room short story collection with a unique Ellery Queen-style logic focus, to his cracking alibi-cracking stories and a fun collection where you never know who the main detective is, only the Watson, but you might have noticed one thing here: Ooyama specializes in short stories. In fact, Kamen Gensoukyoku is still the only full-length novel he has published at this moment. I had been wanting to read this for a while because I am a fan of his writings, but the original release wasn't really cheap on the used market, so I had been postponing it for a long while. Last year however, at the start of 2022, Ooyama wrote on Twitter he was working on the manuscript of the book to get it ready for a pocket re-release, which really made me enthusiastic... and then the year passed, and at the start of 2023, Ooyama tweeted once again he was (still) working on it. This was getting a bit worrisome, but fortunately, the pocket did get released in 2023, with a nifty new cover too!

I have to admit I was a bit surprised by the very Yokomizo Seishi-esque vibe of the book, being set soon after World War II, set in a rural place with a silk factory as its main economic engine, and of course a family traditions of focusing twins and family fueds playing a big role in the story. A lot of what I read by Ooyama is very contemporary, so I hadn't expected such a shift all, but that did really pique my interest. On the whole, I do think that if you like Yokomizo-style stories, you'll find a lot to like here too, though the writing style itself is contemporary, and definitely lightheartier than Yokomizo. There's of course also a distinct Carr feeling, as the plot is reminiscent of It Walks by Night.

The murder on Fumihiko occurs fairly early in the book, and because they know that a) Takehiko has secretly returned to Maibara the last few months after his visit to the brilliant plastic surgeon and has taken on a new identity, b) that Fumihiko must've been deceived by Takehiko, not knowing that one of the people whom he has become acquainted with/hired these last few months is actually his twin brother, the investigation of Keisuke and Naoko quickly turns to figuring out who of the people in Maibara could be Takehiko in disguise. Police investigation show that the plastic surgeon, Masuo, was absolutely brilliant, having his arts abroad, but he ended up in the illegal sector. While details of his records were wiped, it shows Takehiko did undergo a surgery to change his appearance, though we don't know the details. Still, because he only went facial surgery, Keisuke and Naoko of course realize Takehiko could only be disguised as someone who still resembles his original self somewhat, so being a man in the same age range (and that he's not likely to be living as an old lady now), but who could it be?

The book is fairly short, so while a few more events follow after the Fumihiko murder, including another murder and also a more thorough investigation into Sayako's death a year ago and who likely sent the poison pen letters about her, we're almost near the solution, and that's of course, as you'd expect of Ooyama, very much Queen-inspired, focusing on the actions we know the murderer=Takehiko must have taken to commit the murder on his brother to identify a few characteristics, which are then applied to the suspects to see which of them can be the murderer. There is one major trick here that is probably the one thing you'll remember about this book, and it's both quite brilliant, and a bit underplayed. The idea itself is really good: there's very clever misdirection going on regarding this that really invites you to re-read certain parts carefully to see Ooyama did indeed play very fair. It is a concept that nearly borders on concepts you'd also expect in Mitsuda's Toujou Genya books, which was perhaps why it caught me completely off-guard, because I might've expected in a Genya book, but I didn't because I was still so used to Ooyama's contemporary tales. It is a simple idea, but executed very well. At the same time though, one can also argue the trick only makes sense from a reader's point of view. One can't deny that for this trick to work, the characters of the book basically had to act in a certain way, even if it wasn't the most logical/obvious thing to do. Meaning, the trick itself is done brilliantly: but was it really necessary to do it like that? Would all the actors who are involved one way or another really always act like that? Taking a step back, the plan is a bit more convoluted than it ever needs to be for the murderer, but you know, the main trick is still memorable, and on those merits alone, I think the book's worth a read, as the biggest step on the logical road towards identifying Takehiko is really impressive in its simplicity.

If you're like me and you have read (a lot of other) Ooyama Seiichirou short stories, Kamen Gensoukyoku, will feel quite refreshingly different, despite feeling very much like a classic detective story. The set-up is not overly large in scale, but it is clear from Ooyama had one big idea as he wrote this book, which is executed in a clever manner, resulting in a satisfying mystery novel. Definitely worth picking up if you're an Ooyama fan! If you haven't read anything by him yet, this is still a fun novel, though he's mainly a short story writer, so this book is not really representative of his trademark style.

Original Japanese title(s): 大山誠一郎『仮面幻双曲』