The Inside Man

 Come on, let's Twist again like we did last summer

"Let's Twist Again" (Chubby Checker)

It was like only last month or the one before when I mentioned I hadn't been reviewing critical works on this blog for some years, and now I did like three in two months...

A few years ago, I reviewed Iiki Yuusan's Misshitsu Mystery Guide ("The Locked-Room Mystery Guide", 2023), a book in which mystery critic Iiki discussed fifty prominent locked-room mysteries, both Japanese and non-Japanese. What made this book especially interesting was that the book was split in two halves: in the first half, each book would see a brief introduction, an explanation of the locked-room mystery in question and Iiki's analysis on why the locked-room mystery was notable. The reader was also treated to neat diagrams and floor plans that further helped the reader get a good idea of why the locked-room mystery was interesting. In the second half however, Iiki was allowed to actually spoil each title and explain in full detail why the title was worth selecting. Because the whole premise of the book was that it was going to spoil the solution, Iiki was allowed to select the fifty titles based on the solution. This allowed Iiki to make a list of locked-room murder mysteries that included both the usual suspects as well as unexpected picks, which was possible because he was not only selecting locked-rooms based on how original the trick was for example, but he could also select a title because the manner (the logical trail) in which the mystery was solved was memorable or even titles that aren't even locked-room mysteries at first sight but only become one once you enter spoiler-territory: because Iiki was free to write in the second-half, he could always explain his reasons for picking a certain title in full detail, with many of his observations truly adding something if you like locked-room mysteries.

So of course my interests were piqued when I heard he was writing a similar book, though on a different type of mystery. Dondengaeshi Mystery Guide ("The Plot-Twist Mystery Guide") naturally is about mystery stories that have a twist ending, and here we have an interesting theme. Because don't you just hate seeing "best-of lists of mysteries with a twist-ending"?! The knowledge there's a twist ending waiting at the end of the book is of course a spoiler on its own. The reader is always kept on their guard until the very last word, as you always suspect something is coming, while of course, twist-ending mysteries are best experienced without that knowledge, with the reader being suddenly confronted with something that turns all their beliefs until that point around, and of course, the best-written ones will then have the reader slap themselves for not realizing the twist ending was coming, as it had all been foreshadowed and clewed ahead. At the very beginning of Dondengaeshi Mystery Guide, Iiki warns the reader that indeed, the list of chapters alone will be spoilers, as it will inform the reader the work includes a twist ending, but having given the reader that fair warning, it allows Iiki to once again go into great detail for each work, and explain exactly why he selected each work. Like the previous book, Dondengaeshi Mystery Guide is divided in two halves, with the first half dedicated to giving brief introductions to each the work and setting-up the story/situation, and the second half being used to explain what the twist-ending exactly is for each work and why it works exactly.

Obviously, I can't give you a list of titles included in this book, as that would spoil each work. I can only tell you the book includes twenty non-Japanese titles (mostly originally English books) and forty Japanese books, all spanning the complete history of the mystery fiction genre. Many titles will be familiar to seasoned readers of mystery fiction, but there will be a few titles in the list that might raise an eyebrow initially, thought it is likely Iiki's analysis will answer any questions you may have about the reasons why certain titles are included.

Not being able to name any of the titles (novels and short stories) included in this book however does make this a very difficult book to review, as I can't really give clear examples why I find Iiki's analyses so interesting and educational here. But I'll try to explain it without giving too much away: as an Ellery Queen expert, Iiki focuses a lot on the set-up of the plot and naturally, who-knows-what-at-what-time, aspects that are crucial to Queen's mystery plotting. Iiki applies the same technical analysis to a lot of the titles he discusses here, giving the reader a firm idea of how a plot twist is established in a technical manner (what information is being fed to the reader and in what way, and how does that help establish the twist). By analyzing these sixty mysteries with a plot-twist, Iiki basically creates a typology for plot-twists in mysteries, which is actually a brilliant thing! We have mystery stories with Locked-Room Lectures, Alibi Trick Lectures, Mitate Lectures, Dying Message Lectures, Motive Lectures, Nursery Rhyme Lectures, Disappearance Lectures and Decapitation Lectures, but I have not seen one with plot-twists before. Of course, this is not a novel (a fictional work), but in Dondengaeshi Mystery Guide , Iiki provides us with framework with which we can examine mystery stories with a plot twist from a technical POV: what "technique" facilitates the plot twist? A simple example would for example be the the narrative trick: a plot twist that is played on the reader (or an in-universe "reader") because they were led to believe that X to be Y via a narrative/story. A lot of the most famous mystery stories with a plot twist might hinge on such a trick, but Iiki also shows how other mystery stories also manage to set-up plot twists via different techniques, and some of them you might not even realize feature a genuine plot-twist until you read Iiki's analyses and see how the reader's expectations were set-up to anticipate something the wrong way.

Iiki also wrote two very short stories as a practical "plot twist" problem for the reader to solve: they are really, really short, but it does offer a playful twist on the plot-twist mystery.

Anyway, like Misshitsu Mystery Guide, I think Dondengaeshi Mystery Guide is definitely worth reading if you're interested in the technical aspects of how a mystery is plotted and written. While this book due to its set-up can't be recommended to everyone, Iiki offers a great resource work here for those who want to to delve into the hows behind mystery fiction. His analyses of how plot-twists are set-up through certain techniques deepen a reader's understanding of the genre and might help a reader appreciate certain stories even better because it allows them to understand certain plot-related set-ups better, while aspiring and active writers will also manage to learn a lot about how to set-up an effective twist, especially using the typology Iiki offers via this book. So reader be warned, as the book contains a lot of spoilers, but it offers a really rewarding read.

Original Japanese title(s): 飯域勇三『どんでん返しミステリーガイド』