Finessing the King

"I have billions of eyes, yet I live in darkness. I have millions of ears, yet only four lobes. I have no muscle, yet I rule two hemispheres. What am I?"

"Batman: The Animated Series"

Rather than reading in a chair, I prefer reading lying in bed!

Anata mo Meitantei, or as the book also says in English on the inside: What A Great Detective You Are, is a short story collection originally published in 2022, which was re-released as a pocket in 2025. The book collects six stories by as many authors. The stories were originally published in the magazine Mysteries!, all being pure whodunnits/guess the criminal stories, meaning they are divided in two parts: the first part being the "problem", where the main mystery (usually a murder) is presented along with all the relevant characters and clues and which ends with a formal Challenge to the Reader. Originally, readers would then have some time to write in their answers, with money prizes awaiting the correct guessers. The second part would be published in the following issue, and of course consisted of the solution, where it is logically proven which of the character did it. While some readers might find these stories too artificial and puzzle-like, I absolutely love them: it's no surprise Suiri no Jikan Desu, a book with a similar set-up, was one of my favorite reads last year. Anyway, I was already familiar with all the writers in Anata mo Meitantei, and seeing them on the cover made me quite certain there'd be delights of detection here, so let's see what we have here.

The book opens with Ichikawa Yuuto's Akaenpitsu wa Iranai ("The Red Pencil Is Never Needed"), which is a part of his Maria & Ren series, though you don't need any prior knowledge, as this is actually a prequel story. It focuses on Ren's| teenager days, and is set in the early seventies, more than a decade before the main series starts with The Jellyfish Never Freezes. The story is set in the country of J(apan) and is (mostly) narratored from the POV of Kouno Matsuri, who, like Ren, is a member in their school's newspaper club. One day, Ren joins Matsuri on her way home, where he meets Matsuri's father Kouno Tadaharu, a famous photographer, though infamously a difficult man. He however seems to find Ren an interesting young man, as he invites him to stay for dinner, though Tadaharu himself seems more focused on his own work. Ren is given a tour of the house, which includes a work cabin in the garden with an electronic lock. Matsuri's aunt and uncle also arrive at the house, much to Matsuri's chagrin, as her aunt always bosses everyone around. Even though Ren's never met these people, even he can tell there's a lot of tension going between Matsuri, her mother and her aunt and uncle, so he sticks around and eventually it becomes so late he's offered a bed for that evening. In the middle of the night however, Matsuri is awakened by a knock on his door: Ren has noticed something very odd outside, two sets of footprints going to the cabin, but only one returning. Only Tadaharu's not found in the house, so they enter the cabin... to find Tadaharu killed. But which of the people in the house did it?

On the whole a very solid puzzle, though with some elements I personally don't really like in pure whodunnit puzzles. The atmosphere is great, with the reader feeling something will happen as all the actors gather in the Kouno house, and I think a lot of readers might find it pretty challenging to figure out even half of the lines of deduction needed to arrive at the truth. While the story isn't that long, Ichikawa actually manages to put (relatively) a lot of twists in this tale, all with proper clues and foreshadowing, and while some of the element used to 'cross out' suspects might feel a bit familiar, I think it's generally a good example of this type of story. I also like how Ichikawa used his main series for this story (this tale is also included in the first short story collection of the Maria & Ren series, The Boneyard Never Speaks), but I do have to say it doesn't feel very strongly connected to the main series besides for the appearance of Ren: it misses the light sci-fi elements of the main series, as well as the dual narrative all the novels have.

Yonezawa Honobu also wrote his story as part of one of his series: namely the Shoushimin series (recently adapated as a television anime series).  Berlin Agepan no Nazo ("The Berliner Pfannkuchen Mystery") is interesting, as the reader is technically not looking for a culprit, but for a victim! Kobato is once again roped into 'trouble' despite aspiring to be 'Petite Bourgeoisie' minding his own business. His friend Kengo is a member of the newspaper club, where they were planning on doing an article on Berliner Pfannkuchen: a German doughnut with a jam filling. A local bakery has started selling them, which gave one of the newspaper club members an idea: they were going to recreate the end-of-year tradition with Berliner Pfannkuchen: basically Russian roulette by having one of the doughnuts filled with mustard. Four people were going to play the game, with one other member having picked up the Berliner Pfannkuchen at the bakery and then swinging by the Cooking Club to have one of them filled with mustard. However, the time of destiny apparently never came: all four members ate one of the four doughnuts, but they all claim to not have eaten the one with mustard. This of course doesn't make for a fun newspaper article, and some people are starting to suspect the "victim" is trying to make this article a failure on purpose, so Kengo hopes Kobato can figure out who lost the Berliner Roulette.

I absolutely love the innocent premise of this story and how it switches things around to have you figure out who the victim was. That said, I think that as a pure puzzle, this one was set-up far too easy, and I'd argue it's far more likely the reader will solve this story more based on feeling and instinct, than based on the clues per se. In fact, a lot of the necessary information doesn't even feel like they are obtained via logical conclusions, but simply via asking questions to certain characters, who then gladly give up that information, so as a puzzle, I do think this story is by far the weakest of the collection, even though as a story, it's very enjoyable.

The third story is by Higashigawa Tokuya, and I actually already discussed back in 2020, as his Alibi no Aru Yougishatachi ("Suspects With Alibis") had been featured in the anthology Honkaku-Ou 2020, so I'd like to refer to that post if you want learn more about it. Its inclusion in Honkaku-Ou 2020 was actually how I first learned about the project that would eventually culminate in the publication of Anata mo Meitantei.

The fourth story Momiji no Nishiki ("Breathtaking Red Leaves") by Maya Yutaka is also a series story, and while I think readers familiar with Maya's best-known series will soon recognize certain characters, the 'formal reveal' of their identities comes late, so I'll refrain from specificying what series this is. The main focus is on a group of students who have travelled to a traditional inn with a hot spring in the mountains to celebrate their graduation. They also have some interest in a local deity called Chuuruu, which has two small shrines dedicated to it on two points on the mountain: one near the base of the mountain, and one at the top, with them being connected via narrow (inaccssible) cracks and cavities in the mountain. At the top of the mountain is also a sightseeing deck. The students all enjoy their time at the inn, relaxing in the hot springs and playing games with each other and observing the other guests. Among the other two guests are two men, who at the end of the story discover a dead body lying on a cliff below the sightseeing deck on the top of the mountain. It is clear the victim was killed, but by whom?

Definitely of the best stories in the book, one that best shows off how cool these puzzles can be. The way Maya just throws the Challenge at the reader with the discovery of the corpse is fantastic, as all the information you needed is actually already collected before the murder even happens. You don't even learn who the victim is when you're challenged: you are expected to deduce the identity of the victim yourself too, and yes, Maya actually did leave enough hints and clues in all the events leading up to the discovery of the victim to allow you to guess who the victim actually is. And that's just the first half of the problem, because then you still need to deduce who the murderer is, and still based on the information presented to you up until the discovery of the victim, so you have no data available from investigation/interrogation etc. regarding alibis. This is really a very well-constructed puzzle, and a great example of the logic-based mystery story.

Also funny: all the characters are named after stations on the JR Kashii line in Fukuoka, which was near where I lived in Fukuoka! I instantly recognized those names together!

In Norizuki Rintarou's Shinritekikashi Ari ("Stigmatized Property"), Rintarou (the fictional writer) is asked by his freelance writer 'friend' Iida Saizou to look into the mysterious death of a colleague: Matsuoka Shoukichi was a freelance writer on matters of finance and gambling, but recently started having a hit with a series of articles on his new apartment: he was renting an old place where the previous two inhabitants had died: one had died all alone in the apartment from natural causes, while the other had committed suicide. Now he believed the place was haunted, and his articles on his home attracted quite some attention. But Matsuoka himself then was found dead in his apartment too, having hung himself by the neck. There were people who might have wanted Matsuoka dead, as he seemed to dabble in blackmail too, but Matsuoka kept his new address very secret, so how could any of the suspects have killed him?

Very decent story, and I like it a lot for having an much more "open" set-up than most of the other stories, which featured closed-off settings. The latter format of course feels more fair as a way to limit the number of suspects, and the way it is done in this story might not be completely convincing (i.e. we know the victim approached a certain number of people, who seem to be the suspects), but Norizuki does actually make proper use of this more open set-up to write a whodunnit that genuinely utilizes its urban setting. We have a private camera of a nosy neighbor that catches the times people went in and out the apartment/crime scene and the location itself is used in a clever way to determine who the murderer is. I wouldn't have wanted all the stories in this volume to use this open set-up, but it works here exactly because the other stories are more limited in their settings.

Shirai Tomoyuki's Shiri no Aoi Shitai ("The Blue-Bottomed Body") is about a detective who is looking into the indie horror film Fufa and Kuha: rumors have it footage of an actual murder that occured during its filming had been used in the film. The detective manages to track down one of the few remaining copies of the film and someone who was involved in the whole ordeal, and he is told the story of how a few years ago a group of students in the university film club were helping out Sadoshima Souhei, a graduated former member who was directing his first indie horror film: Fufa and Kuha. The group were staying at a boarding house owned by the father of one of the members, located in the woods of a mountain, the perfect place to film a slasher. Shiori, the actress of the heroine, was contracted seperately, though from the way she spoke openly about very much wanting to fuck, and the way she was flirting with all the other men in the crew, she was hired by Sadoshima for other skills than her acting. However, one of the members then realized she was the same woman who caused the suicide of a former club member by seducing him and then fake a pregnancy to push for money. The following day, the actor playing the villain role hears some moaning coming from the van. He peeks inside through the half-open window, only to see Shiori being strangled by someone. He rushes back into the building to get the car keys and help, but by the time they return to the van, Shiori has been murdered. And she's lying completely naked in the van. It is at this point our detective claims he can point out who the murderer is, and the reader should be able to do that too!

Was this the shortest story? Anyway, it's interesting how Shirai uses some sexual elements in the solution's line of deduction: I think the first time he uses it, it's a bit tacky and not really convincing, but the way it's used later on is a lot better. The story reminds a bit of Hayasaka Yabusaka's work (the Raichi series) due to its use of sex in a mystery story, though I think at least in this example, Hayakawa generally does it better. I also found the murderer's plan rather risky: while I understand the underlying goal they wanted to achieve by doing all that, it seems like this was a rather dangerous plan (for themselves) to go for, with more a chance of failing at the first step of the plan than everything going as hoped...

On the whole, Anata mo Meitantei/What A Great Detective You Are is a really impressive short story collection, that shows off how fun the formal whodunnit/guess-the-culprit puzzle can be. We have a really talented group of writers in this book, and I loved they all wrote their stories as parts of their wel-known series (if applicable). I'd love to see another iteration of this!

Original Japanese title(s): 『あなたも名探偵』: 市川憂人「赤鉛筆は要らない」/ 米澤穂信「伯林あげぱんの謎」/ 東川篤哉「アリバイのある容疑者たち」/ 麻耶雄嵩「紅葉の錦」/ 法月綸太郎「心理的瑕疵あり」/ 白井智之「尻の青い死体」

Fear of the Fire Beast!

胸を焦がす Fire...
恋人も 燃える

『逆転裁判4』

 

Fire... charring my heart

Burning even my love

"Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney"

Yes, the title of today's book makes it very, very hard to look up in its romanized form. At least in Japanese, it's a kanji you don't see that often so that makes things easier...

After the traumatic experience on Kazune Island, where a group of friends were murdered one after another, Uyuu has mostly recovered. At least, physically, that is. However, after being saved and recovering at the hospital, he slipped on a banana peel, and hit his head, which caused him to lose his memories of his time on Kazune Island, though he still remembers everything before it: Uyuu remembers he was working part-time for a local culture magazine, how he's friends with Touri, a high school student who often swings by the magazine's editorial department, how the two were sent to Kazune Island to do an article on a gathering there.... but he doesn't remember what happened on that island, he only knows of it from the news. Which is why he also has no recollection of Touri and him becoming a couple on the island, even though Touri insists that is what happened. Uyuu has been given a full-time contract now, which his co-workers suspect might be because he underwent such ordeals because he had been sent to the island for work, and now Uyuu finds himself working on several articles, like one on shrines in their town of Kyoto and a series on local modern artists. This brings him into contact with Mikogami, who creates litera-art (art using written words), and his assistant Wapiko. Uyuu becomes friends with Wapiko, occasionally meeting her outside of work, with her telling him about studying under Mikogami and her own litera-art. But one night, Uyuu suddenly wakes up and finds himself standing near a temple, holding a lighter and burnable materials. While he is conscious of what he is doing, he can't help himself setting the temple on fire and ends up fleeing on his bicycle. The following morning, he is shocked to learn this is not just a case of arson however: a murdered man was found lying inside the temple that was burned down. Uyuu has no recollection of committing such a murder, nor does he know the victim, but he can't believe it's just a coincidence the fire and the murder happened at the same place and time. He visits a club for mystery fiction afficionados to hear the member's thoughts about the arson case, and among the members are the famous detective Kisarazu and his Watson Kouzuki, who seem to have some rather sharp observations regarding the case. Uyuu also runs into the detective Mercator Ayu, whom he met earlier briefly in the aftermath of the Kazune Island incident: Mercator has taken an interest in Uyuu, and seems to want to nudge him into a career of detection. However, Uyuu has other things to worry about, as he finds himself committing arson more often, and each time, a dead body is found at the site. Can he evade both Mercator and Kisarazu as he tries to figure out what's wrong with him in Maya Yutaka's A ("Disease", 1995)?

Maya Yutaka's work is seldom straightforward, but that holds especially for this book: A is a direct sequel to 1993's Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata ("A Sonata for Summer and Winter", also known as Parzival), starring once again Uyuu as he deals with the trauma of the events of the previous book. And at the same time, this book is a crossover book, as Maya's series detectives Mercator Ayu and Kisarazu Yuuya make appearances too, each taking an interest in Uyuu in their own ways. And that is not all, for A is actually also a kind of prologue to Maya's debut work Tsubasa Aru Yami - Mercator Ayu no Saigo no Jiken ("Darkness with Wings - The Last Case of Mercator Ayu"). Oh, and let me warn you right now: A also contains spoilers for both of these books. Yes, you had perhaps expected spoilers for Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, as A is a sequel to that book. For the most part, A functions as a prologue to Tsubasa Aru Yami, but one part is set after that book, and Maya decided to just spoil a major event happening in Tsubasa Aru Yami in A too, because...

I don't know why actually. I think A is simply not written for a general reading audience who want to pick a random mystery novel and enjoy it as is. A is clearly meant to be read as part of Maya's oeuvre, as part of the Uyuu/Mercator/Kisarazu series and I'd say that is also the only reason why I'd recommend this book to people, as on its own, standalone merits as a detective novel, A is really not one I'm very positive about. 

For those invested in seeing how Uyuu turned out after the events in Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, sure, this is a pretty interesting book. The incident on Kazune Island ended in a catastrophic manner, offering an ending that not only seemed very suggestive towards future events, but also leaving a lot of questions unanswered. A does not contain the answers you'll be looking for, but it does, very subtly, build further on the suggestive implications of the ending. The book is very focused on Uyuu's mental struggles as he tries to move on with his life, but finds himself, without understanding why, committing arson and as the stories unfolds, he sees things around breaking down once again. Meanwhile, we see how both Kisarazu and Mercator show interest in Uyuu: Kisarazu is a member of a club for mystery fiction fans and they all have some discussions on not only the arson cases, but also about mystery fiction in general. Kisarazu also realizes Uyuu is indeed the survivor of the Kazune Island incident and hopes to learn more about it once Uyuu has recovered fully mentally. At the same time, Mercator is being his usual suggestive self, seemingly being of the opinion Uyuu is a rather sharp person and could be shaped in a detective himself and therefore (as always, somewhat forcefully) dragging Uyuu along while he's investigating another incident. For those interested in the Maya literary universe, seeing these characters all interact is quite interesting.

However, as a mystery, A doesn't fare as well. Some parts of the mystery, like the underlying reason why Uyuu is committing these arsons, are fairly relatable and I find perfectly fine, but the exact reasons why the murders were committed at the same temples Uyuu was setting on fire, and the mechanics behind it are far for satisfying: it is the kind of trick that is basically unfair, and while that can be kinda expected considering the things Maya pulled off in Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, I still found that one more convincing that what's done in A. I do have to say Maya did attempt to hint at it properly, and it works better because of the focus on Uyuu, but still... There's also a whodunnit aspect to the book that is set-up better, with multiple hints and some well-executed misdirection, but it is a relatively minor part compared to the 'why is Uyuu committing arson and why are people being murdered at the same place' mystery. Some parts of the mystery might seem outdated though by today's standards, even if this is a book from 1995. 

I thought this book was long out of print by the way, and there's no digital version either, so when I saw a (rather large) bookshop had a new copy in stock, I was rather surprised. And then I was shocked it was actually a relatively new print run from 2019. Interesting how even in 2019, they did have a new paper run of the book, but still didn't release it digitally. I wonder if they lost the text data or something, because the printing quality is a bit weird (it looks faded), and it almost looks like they scanned the pages of the original pocket and printed that, suggesting the publisher doesn't have the actual text data anymore. Then again, if that was true, the faded ink would only hold for the original parts, but the updated parts (like the copyright/print run info page) also look faded...

If you liked both Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata and Tsubasa Aru Yami, I think A is a book worth reading, as it ties things together and considering what happened in Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, I can imagine readers being curious as to how Uyuu coped with all of that, and in that sense, A does deliver, even if it's certainly not a really hopeful story. I however can't recommend this book seperate of that context: if you have not read the two books above, not only are you going to encounter some major spoilers, but A as "just" a mystery novel just feels unfair, and hardly satisfying. So it's really just a book for the Maya Yutaka fans. I am glad I read it because I did read the other two novels, but I wouldn't tell you to go out of your way or spend a lot of resources to track a copy of A.

Original Japanese title(s): 麻耶雄嵩『痾』

Birds of a Feather

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! 

 Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door! 

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!” 

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

"The Raven"

So the title of this books refers to crows and not ravens as we start with a scene of a murder of crows (and ravens usually move in pairs). The same kanji character is also used in Soanoshiro/Soanojo, a location in Maya Yutaka's first novel and the title of Kyoto University Mystery Club's annual publication, but there the same kanji refers to a raven...

Wanting to learn the reason why his younger brother got himself murdered, Kain travels deep in the mountains to locate a small, isolated village without a name and not indicated on any maps. Abel disappeared soon after Kain got married, but returned half a year ago, but soon met his death. Abel had been living in this village for some time, and Kain suspects the reason for Abel's demise may lie in his stay here. Kain eventually manages to make his way to the hidden village, but barely: on the way, he's nearly killed by a murder of crows, pecking viciously at him and even making him pass out as he tried to flee from the attack. When he awakens, he finds himself being taken care of in the village, as Senbon Kashiragi found him lying heavily injured in the outskirts of the village. Kashiragi is a kind man, and lets Kain stay in his home and Kain also meets his wife Fuyuhi, son Kazura and daughter Semiko. Kain keeps the true reason for his arrival at the village a secret for now, but he soon learns the peculiarities of the village where Abel spent some months living. The village is completely isolated from the outside world, with about 1000 inhabitants of whom most are of course farmers. A river seperates the village in an east and west side, and the two sides don't mingle too much, and there's even a bit of a power struggle going on between the two sides. But there's an absolute authority that stands even above these sides: in the north of the village stands the palace of Ookagami, the god of flesh and blood who reigns over the village. The whole village worships Ookagami, who watches over them. His authority is absolute, which is one of the reasons why the village is so isolated: while there is no rule saying villagers can't leave the village, the mountains are considered holy territory belonging to Ookagami, and save for sanctioned hunters, nobody is allowed to enter the mountains, and it just happens the whole village is surrounded by mountains. 

The village has developed for generations without real contact with the outside world, though they are aware of it existing, and in the past some "Outsiders" have made their way to the villages just like Kain and Abel. While the village is usually not very welcoming to outsiders, some have managed to settle in the village. Abel too himself had become a well-respected member of the community and even became a Guardsman to Ookagami, one of the most respected functions in the village. Pretending to be interested in other Outsiders in the village, Kain asks more about Abel's life here, and learns that he suddenly left the village about half a year ago, even though he was a Guardsman and quite beloved by people on both sides of the river. Kain starts suspecting Abel being a Guardsman might be the reason why he got killed, though he can't understand why. Meanwhile, Kain himself isn't really making himself popular in the village by him poking around and while the Senbons are glad to have him, many are not shy to tell him to leave. When one man, who had a rivalry with Abel, is found murdered in the village, people naturally start to look suspiciously at Kain, but on the other hand, they also are fairly sure he didn't do it. Why? Because if someone murders someone else in this village, a mark will appear on the hand of the murderer. It is the will of Ookagami, and while Ookagami will not judge upon the murderer, everyone else will be able to identify the murderer because the appearance of the mark is fact and nobody dares to murder someone else in this village. But is that really so? As Kain tries to figure out Abel's death and his connections to the village, he finds the village perhaps far more dangerous than he first suspected in Maya Yutaka's Karasu ("The Crows", 1997).

Karasu is the fifth novel in the Maya's Mercator Ayu series. The last Mercator novel (not short story collection) I read was the second one, Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata ("A Sonata for Summer and Winter" AKA "Parzival" 1993), which was a fever-dream-esque catastrophic deconstruction of the closed circle murder mystery on an island. It was for me, the "books you don't to read but do want to have read"-type of book. Karasu shares some themes with Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, but in a much more subdued way, being closer to a conventional detective story, without ever forgetting the deconstructive modes Maya specializes in. The result is a book that is perhaps not as powerful and memorable as Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, but probably a lot more enjoyable as a conventional detective story.

The most memorable part of this book is definitely the village: it is a creepy, isolated community which has human aspects to it, but also horribly, cold sides as one would perhaps expect from such a introverted community hidden in the mountains. There is a distinct, almost fantasy-like atmosphere, which is certainly not idyllic or pictoresque, but it feels very detached from our reality, and yet very real in how feudal the whole village dynamics work. It is a very different mood compared to more (fever-)dream-like atmosphere of Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, but this "detached from reality" feeling is certainly one reason why I was very much reminded of that book.  But with the story also focusing a lot on the political power struggles between the various chieftains in the village, you are quickly reminded of the Kindaichi novels, or a village where Toujou Genya would do his folklore research. Indeed, the latter is the series I was reminded of the most, as the absolute belief in Ookagami and his rules are what make this village so unique. Indeed, a lot of the mystery arises from the fact the rules are considered absolute in this village, which in turn influence the (possible) actions of the suspects. How could someone have killed Abel after he had left the village and returned to the outside world, if nobody is allowed to set foot in the mountains and everyone believes in that rule and does not violate it? Why would anyone risk killing someone else, if they know a mark will appear on their hand, branding them a murderer? These are elements that usually are not at play in a normal detective story, but this is not a normal setting, and these religious rules thus create a very interesting and original setting for a mystery.

Due to the slow pace of the book and the focus on depicting the village in such detail, it does mean the reader has to be patient if they want to focus on the mystery. It takes a lot of time for the murders to occur, so the first half or so, we're just exploring the village, its beliefs, customs and rites and meeting some of the important faces here. Even after the murders have occured, it's not like Kain can play detective openly all the time, as a lot of people suspect him, as the Outsider, to be the murderer, so it's definitely not an investigation-focused detective, and at times, I was even reminded of Yatsu Haka Mura (The Village of Eight Graves), which felt similar with Tatsuya appearing in an isolated village, murders happening and him slowly turning into the main suspect. Only this book is still more mystery-focused compared to the more adventure-focused Yatsu Haka Mura. There is a secondary plotline which follows a young boy living in the village also trying to learn more about the deaths in the village, which adds a bit more suspense and adds a nice different view on the events, working very well as a contrast to Kain's POV.

I already mentioned this is a Mercator book by the way, and Mercator Ayu's appearance in this story was quite surprising. He appears roaming around in the village, even though it appears only Kain has seen him, and of course, Mercator is still wearing his tuxedo and tophat in this village. His appearances are very sparse, though still more substantial than the extremely short appearance in Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, and he's not very actively involved with solving the mystery, though again, more than in Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata. We also learn via him that there's a very interesting connection between this book and the first Mercator novel, Tsubasa aru Yami ("Darkness with Wings") and people who have read that book thus might want to check this one out too.

When it comes to the actual mystery plot, I'd say the books has some really interesting ideas, some of them very ambitious even, and even though I don't think every element works as good as another or is executed perfectly, I'd still say this was a book worth reading and incredibly fun. After the first murder, other dead bodies pop up, but there is also the matter of a supposed suicide half a year earlier, which happened in a house surrounded by untrodden snow when the body was discovered, meaning a murder would have been impossible as the murderer couldn't have escaped without leaving footprints. The underlying motive behind these murders is a very ambitious one. I love the idea, as it turns a somewhat cliched idea from mystery fiction and turns it completely inside out. It is actually hinted at quite fairly: some of the hints were perhaps even a bit too "in broad daylight" as I kinda started suspecting it'd involve that trope one way or another, but some of the other clues were better hidden, and in hindsight quite clever. I do wish the underlying reason for the motive was explained in more detail as to why it was so important to be like that, but still, I love the audacious idea to use that one trope in such a daring manner. Other parts similarly had both good, and less impressive elements to them. I for example didn't really like the parts involving Abel's involvement in the mystery, though I think there are things done with that, that are executed quite cleverly, and even in a way that ties very impressively back to the greater story. And while Maya's basically also deconstructing classical puzzler mysteries, he usually does rely on Queen-esque set-ups for his stories, so here too we are treated to false solutions with deductions based on physical evidence, the state of the crime scenes and the actions a murderer took, and it works very well with the main idea behind this book. There are certainly parts where I think Maya should have worked some elements out in greater detail, but on the whole, this was very enjoyable. The ending also reminds of the catastrophic climax of Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, though leaving more room for some catharsis. We basically witness a complete breakdown of both the setting and our main protagonist and like always, Maya leaves you with an undescribable feeling even after "solving" the mystery.

So I really did enjoy Karasu. In a way, it felt to me as a more "traditional mystery" take on themes Maya also tackled in Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, but I feel infinitely more comfortable recommending Karasu as a mystery novel than that one. The book has fantastic atmosphere and while the execution is not completely perfect, it genuinely has some interesting ideas and tricks to play mystery-wise, so on the whole, I can safely recommend this as a good Maya mystery.

Original Japanese title(s): 麻耶雄嵩『鴉』

Murder as a Fine Art

「真実はいつも一つ！」

『名探偵コナン』

 

"There is always only one truth!"

"Detective Conan"

I don't think I have many books with a grey cover...

Maya Yutaka is not an author you're going to read if you want something conventional. Ever since he made his debut in 1991 with Tsubasa Aru Yami - Mercator Ayu no Saigo no Jiken ("Darkness with Wings - The Last Case of Mercator Ayu"), you can detect a theme in his works, and that is deconstruction. Maya obviously loves the mystery genre, but it's his love that also allows him to deconstruct the familiar tropes and themes of the genre. Post-modernist themes like the Late Queen Problem are subjects that play a big role in Maya's work, and notions like the truth or the detective, which seem like very "obvious" themes in the mystery genre, are transformed, transfigured and molten into new shapes in Maya's books. His books are seldom straightforward, and will turn the conventions of mystery fiction around just to mess with you, whether it's by not providing a clear truth at all (like in the infamous Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata) or just delving into Late Queen themes like multiple truths/interpretations in Sekigan no Shoujo.

Maya Yutaka's 2011 short story collection Mercator Kaku Katariki ("Also Sprach Mercator") collects five stories that basically are all about Maya deconstructing the classic mystery tale with a great detective. As the title suggest, we are once again treated to an appearance by Mercator Ayu, who first appeared in Maya Yutaka's debut novel Tsubasa Aru Yami - Mercator Ayu no Saigo no Jiken ("Darkness with Wings - The Last Case of Mercator Ayu"). And yes, that is a very suggestive title. The very arrogant and self-centred private detective Mercator Ayu has since returned in several novels and short stories and in the past, I had read the first short story collection, but that one was actually still quite like a collection of normal mystery stories. Not the case with Mercator Kaku Katariki however. I can tell you right away: if you want to read a conventional mystery story, you need to walk away now, as you won't find anything remotely like that in the pages of this book. Maya plays with the reader in these stories, and does everything you won't expect of a mystery story. 

And in a way, it's incredibly fun. But you definitely need to be in the right mindset for this.

It's also very difficult to write about these stories, precisely because more often than not, they're not really meant to be normal mystery stories. They almost feel like punchlines, building on Late Queen problems and other post-modernist themes regarding mystery fiction and taking their conclusions to the extreme. So while the stories start out in familiar ways, the part that is usually the "solution" to a mystery is changed in these stories, concluding in very surprising and subversive ways.

The opening story Shisha wo Okosu ("To Wake the Dead") for example starts very conventionally: Mercator is hired to investigate the death of someone, who died one year ago, while he was staying with some friends in an old house up for sale just outside the town. They had been drinking, and he had been resting in another room, and it appears he just fell out of the window, killing himself. Mercator is now to see whether it was really an accident, as the friends still feel something was off. While they are waiting for Mercator and Minagi (a mystery author who acts as Mercator's Watson/slave), they quickly realize the death wasn't quite normal, and they start to suspect each other, but then Mercator arrives and he... solves the case? I do really like some of the deductions Mercator presents in this story. They do remind you that Maya was indeed a member of the Kyoto University Mystery Club, and he utilizes some clever Queen-like deduction chains to slowly point towards a surprising truth behind the death one year ago. Only... that's not all. Once the dust has settled, Mercator basically turns everything around in a way that completely renders this a non-mystery story in essence. I like the idea, but this first story proves right away this isn't really a mystery collection.

The second story Kyuushuu Ryokou ("A Trip to Kyuushuu") does something similar: Mercator forces Minagi to open a file on his own computer, which turns out to contain a virus. Because Minagi's manuscript has been wiped, Mercator offers to present Minagi a plot for a new story. They walk out of Minagi's apartment, but just near the stairs, Mercator notices a weird smell from one of the neighboring rooms, and when he peeks inside, it turns out someone's dead inside. Mercator and Minagi look around the room, trying to figure out why Minagi's neighbor is dead, as this will serve as Minagi's new story. Again, this story features a few nice short deduction chains based on the physical evidence they find, but ultimately, it's all building up to a climax that can only be described as a punchline, and any feeling of catharsis of learning the solution is washed away immediately. It's quite funny and I do think this particular story is the closest to a "normal" detective story, but still very subversive. 

The third and fourth story Shuusoku ("Convergence") and Kotae no Nai Ehon ("A Picture Book Without Answers") can't even be explained properly, as both are truly something you have to experience yourself. In Shuusoku, Mercator and Minagi are invited to a small island with a mini-cult to investigate a break-in, while in Kotae no Nai Ehon, the murder on a teacher is the subject of an investigation. While again both investigations do feature clever deductions that would've been great in straightforward detectives, Maya then decides near the end to tie explosives to the story, blow it up, gather the pieces and then set fire to them just to finish them off. The conclusions of both stories will infuriate you if you want a normal detective story, but that's what makes them so interesting as experiments regarding the set rules and tropes of mystery fiction. Kotae no Nai Ehon in particular is daring with what it tries to do, and truly something you can only pull off once, though I like the surprising elegance of what is done in Shuusoku better. These two are the must-reads of the collection, just for their craziness.

The final story Misshitsusou ("The Locked Room House") is a short short, involving just Mercator, Minagi and a dead body they find one morning in the house they are staying at. What follows is a short conversation-only story that once again ends with a ridiculous resolution if you'd think about it from a "mystery genre" point of view, though at this point, I think a lot of readers can guess what Mercator will do considering how outrageous he's been behaving all this time. The title of the collection is Also Sprach Mercator, and that is certainly a theme running through all these stories: ultimately, it's Mercator who decides what the "truth" is and how each story will end.

I did enjoy Mercator Kaku Katariki a lot, but it's not something I would want to be reading all the time. It worked for me, precisely because I had been reading a lot of formal mystery stories at the time, and so I had a lot of fun seeing those same tropes played with in such a daring way. I do think this collection is the most accessible work written by Maya where he addresses these deconstructive themes. Something like Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata just requires a lot more dedication from the reader, while Mercator Kaku Katariki is actually a very short and light-weight read. This is not a book I can unconditionally recommend to mystery fans, but if the idea of playful deconstruction appeals to you, I think this will be a very fun read.

Original Japanese title(s): 麻耶雄嵩『メルカトルかく語りき』:「死人を起こす」/「九州旅行」/「収束」/「答えのない絵本」/「密室荘」

Hidden Pictures

"Why should I blame anyone but myself if I cannot understand what I know nothing about?" 

"Picasso Speaks"

The books you want to have read, but don't want to read: I don't remember who first mentioned this to me, but the often-used phrase has stuck with me ever since. The moment I heard it, I knew what it meant. I could immediately think of a few titles that would fit the description, and in the many years that have passed since this first contact, I have of course read quite a few books that I'm glad to have read because they help create context for reading other works, or because they address interesting issues or themes, but of which I also did not enjoy the actual reading process, for example because of frustrating writing styles. Reading is for me mainly a source of entertainment, so my tolerance for deeper reading experiences may not be very high in the first place, so it's very much a "your mileage may vary" thing, but I do think some books are better read with some context, with the foreknowledge of "this might be a book that will be challenging to get through, but it's worth it once you're able to turn over that final page." For someone like me is likely to give up early and just move on to another book if I don't enjoy a certain book and am not told it might be important for context for other books. By the way, I am also the kind of person who will easily drop an anime series halfway through the first episode if I haven't seen anything appealing by that time.

At this point, it should not come as a surprise that the book in today's review falls into this category, or at least, it doesn't for me. Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata ("A Sonata for Summer and Winter" 1993) , which also has the alternative English title Parzival on the cover, was the second novel by Maya Yutaka, released two years after his debut work Tsubasa Aru Yami, a powerful novel that embraced, but also fully deconstructed the tropes of the puzzle mystery genre, Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata goes even a step further, almost feeling like a fantasy novel that at times takes on the shape of a mystery novel, but if you pay very, very much attention, you'll notice the story is definitely built on the cornerstones of the mystery genre. I am not by any means a very experienced Maya reader, but in the works I have read of him, I have always noticed the urge to deconstruct the genre, to tackle The Classic Mystery Novel from a post-modern angle and asks Big Questions about what a detective is, what a clue is, what a mystery is. Of the works I have read so far however, none of them go even remotely as far as Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, and it's in that context that it is definitely an interesting work to read. The book had been out of print for many years now, but I had heard a lot about how controversial this book was. In the years since I first heard about it, I had seen it described as an anti-mystery, a book that explored the theme of catastrophy in a detective novel, a novel without ending, and more. It was not the type of mystery novel I am usually interested in, but I was aware of its importance, not only as a pivotal work in Maya's oeuvre, but also as part of the 'bigger' picture: Maya Yutaka was the shin honkaku novelist who really dived deep into the post-modern themes of detective genre in the early nineties, and is therefore a must-read if one wants to read more about post-modern themes in modern Japanese puzzle mystery fiction, The book had been out of print for many years, but  got a revised re-release a few months back, which seemed like me the perfect time to read: usually I read Maya Yutaka's work like once every two, three years, but I had just finished the great Sekigan no Shoujo, so I was still in the mood when I started reading Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata.

Magazine writer Uyuu is given a special assignment by his editor to visit Kazune Island, together with high school student Touri, a friend of his who will act as his photographer (though she seems more interested in just enjoying he trip). Mamiya Kazune was a budding actress who starred in an indie film twenty years ago. While she had not become a big star yet, six young men and women became completely entranced by Kazune and with the financial powers of the oldest (richest) of them, an island was bought where they'd all live together. Kazune Island was where the seven of them would live for a year. Kazune was their idol, and the others worshipped her on the island, convinced that one day, Kazune's brilliance would shine not only on the island, but across the country, no, the world. But one day, Kazune fell into the sea and was never found again. That was the beginning of a swift end: one of the remaining people soon followed in her steps in despair, and save for the owner of the island, the others eventually left the island, going their own paths. But it's beeen twenty years since the death of Kazune, and now the remaining people will gather at Kazune Island once again to mourn the death of their idol. Uyuu is to write about this curious gathering, and the members' island life twenty years ago with Mamiya Kazune. Arriving on the island, Uyuu is confronted with surprise after surprise. The house being built in a Cubist style is perhaps a relatively tame surprise, but as Uyuu tries to strike up conversations with everybody, he slowly realizes everyone is very evasive about their lives on the island twenty years ago, and the accounts he gets to hear about Kazune seem slightly disturbing. This being a rush assignment, Uyuu had no time to do prior research, so everyone being evasive isn't really handy, but the big surprise comes at dinner, when a dressed-up Touri manages to shock everyone at the table: no wonder, for she looks exactly like the portrait of Mamiya Kazune hanging at the top floor of the house! Uyuu gets a bad feeling about this, not sure how these people who once worshipped Kazune will react to his protoge Touri. The following morning, the group wakes up to another surprise: it's snowing, in August, on what is basically a tropical island! But this surprise is soon turned into horror, when they find the corpse of their host in the garden. However, the whole garden is covered in snow, and there are no footprints to be found anywhere on the snow in the garden! A quick search also tells them that the two servants are gone and that the one motor boat on the island is gone When they eventually find out the phone isn't working either, they realize they'll have to wait for help to come, which will be after the day Kazune died, but will they be safe until that time? And what has all of this to do with the events that occured on this island twenty years ago?

People in a closed circle situation on an island? A strangely designed house? A "no footprints in the snow" scenario (in the middle of summer!)? Mysterious deaths in the past, and people being evasive about said past in the present? At first glance, Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata takes on a familiar form. Even people not particularly familiar with the genre will recognize these tropes, but looks definitely deceive here, for nothing is as it seems in this novel. The fact the first (yes, first) murder happens so late is perhaps already a hint this is not a conventional mystery novel. Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is a very long novel, but the first actual mystery (the impossible murder) doesn't occur until the halfway point, which is really, really late: I've read completely fleshed out mystery novels with the same page length! The first half of Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is filled with slow dialogue between Uyuu and the people who returning to the island, trying to find out about the lives they had twenty years ago, and the banter between Uyuu and Touri. Touri is a rather unique high school student (who always skips school) with an interesting view on life, who does offer a lot of fun dialogue to read, but you really have to be patient this first half of the book, for little happens. The second half of the book moves faster, but even there you will find a lot of pedantry in this novel: it might not be as excessive as in that other famous Japanese anti-mystery Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken, but let's say it'll feel like you just got through a whole semester course on Cubism by the time you're done with this book.

Even after the first murder occurs, the book doesn't really feel like a detective novel. While Uyuu realizes they are trapped on the island, he feels reluctant to play detective, feeling it will only stir up trouble: his single and one concern is to protect Touri and get her off the island alive, back to her parents. There are other minor mysteries that bother him and Touri, like Uyuu seeing a Kazune-like figure roaming the building and some minor comments dropped by various people about the death of Kazune twenty years ago, but most of the time, Uyuu doesn't want to actively detect, and most of the time, he's just there to prevent the inquisitive Touri from being too rash and to find out just enough to be able to protect her. This again strengthens the concept of this book of taking on a detective novel's form, but not being quite like the novel you'd expect it to be initially. One of the biggest examples of this is how the impossible crime is handled. After some initial investigation soon after the murder is discovered, it's more or less put away in a drawer until the very end of the novel, where it's basically explained in three sentences and then forgotten again. The solution, on its own, is both ridiculous and memorable. And nobody is going to guess it based on the hints in the book, because there are no clues or hints and the solution suddenly comes out of nowhere, with the probabability of it ever happening infinitely small, but it's certainly one you'll never forget. But the whole thing is barely touched upon in the end, with the solution just mentioned very briefly in the final few pages of the book. Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is a detective novel, but it's not really a detective novel.

While that part of the mystery is explained and it is also revealed who is the actual killer on the island, Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata actually leaves a lot of the events that occur in this book completely unexplained. After a feverish, catastrophic finale that even takes on fantasy elements, you're left with a sense of utter disbelief and confusion, that is only strengthened by a curious, two-page appearance by series detective Mercator Ayu, who asks Uyuu, and the reader, one simple question  It's here where the book ends, but where the reader is challenged to go on. For Uyuu's answer turns everything around, and that combined with the countless of unanswered events of the novel, leaves you with nothing but more questions as you turn over the last page. As you think back, you will notice a lot of questions the book drew attention to where never addressed again, from actual physical evidence seen and examined by Uyuu, to suggestive remarks made by the various characters or the almost fantasy-like finale that Uryuu experienced. Where did that character appear from, what was the meaning of that small object they kept finding, what about the painting, where did they go, why was this put in motion anyway and A LOT more: a genuine mystery novel would never leave all of this unanswered, but Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata does. It leaves the reader with a heap of unanswered question and challenges them: can you figure how all of this is connected, and how Mercator's question relates to all of this? This might sound interesting, a detective novel that doesn't actually tell you the whole answer, but leaves you with the clues necessary to solve it. Last year, I played Umineko: When They Cry which takes on a similar form. Only.... Umineko: When They Cry is Sesame Street in comparison to what Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata does. For the latter, doesn't really provide the reader with clear clues and evidence for them to build theories upon. I finished reading this book just before I wanted to go asleep, which was a big mistake, because it left me with all kinds of questions. The following morning, I decided I'd just look around online to see what the conclusions were: it's 2022, so almost 30 years after the book's initial release, so surely there was consensus now, right?

There wasn't. 

I have read at least five or six different theories that build upon similar ideas, but ultimately all go different directions or explain the details differently. And they all sounded plausible, making good use of the few clues we do have and trying to contextualize their solutions within the framework of the whole book. And yet, they all differ. This made it clear to me: Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is not a mystery to be solved. It is a story that takes on the form and tropes of the mystery novel, and it does tell a mystery story, but at the same time, it is also a distinctly post-modern take on the mystery story, where not everything is explained, where there's room for multiple explanations and where ultimately you're left with questions and unprovable theories. Concepts I know of Maya's other works, but never explored as extremely as in this work. This book is experimental and with the way it ends so open-ended, I can easily understand the arguments of both the sides who see this book as either a success, or a complete failure.

After reading Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata, I wrote a little bit about it elsewhere and how it was a book I didn't want to be reading, but wanted to have read, and a friend asked the rhetorical question whether this was the kind of book you'd wanted to have read "real-time", getting confused/frustrated with everyone together, or the kind of book you'd want to read later, with more context/sudies available. Personally, I am glad I read Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata now, thirty years later, knowing the context of this book, how it was received (a great 63rd place in the 2012 Tozai Mystery Best 100!) and what theories people came up with. Some people might have wanted to go in blind, some people will perhaps just give up right away after reading this or other reviews. I think I would have just given up halfway without the context, and having read the book, I do think there are a lot of neat ideas mystery-wise to be found in the book, though I would never recommend it to anyone as a mystery novel.

Natsu to Fuyu no Sonata is a book I'm glad I done with, and I'm also happy I finally wrote this review. It's a strange book, and it's the kind of book I needed to know was strange before opening it or else I would have thrown it on the floor at some point.  But having read the book, I do have to admit it has all kinds of neat, thought-provoking ideas that I'd like to see in other mystery stories too, and seen in the context of Maya's other works, I can see it being an important step. It is not a perfect experience, at least not for me, and I'll be the first to admit it took me some dedication to read, but I think that if you get to the point you're considering whether to read this book or not, there's definitely enough interesting concepts to be found here that may enrich the experience of reading mystery fiction, ranging from its post-modern take on mystery tropes to simply the types of trickery used in the core mystery plot that warrant a read.

Original Japanese title(s): 麻耶雄嵩『夏と冬の奏鳴曲』

The Mystery of the Evil Eye

ひとつの目で明日をみて

ひとつの目で昨日を見つめてる

「The Real Folk Blues」（山根麻衣）

 

With one eye I look at tomorrow 

With one eye I keep staring at yesterday 

"The Real Folk Blues" (Yamane Mai)

Last one of the year!

Following the death of his parents, partially due to his fault, the student Taneda Shizuma travels to the secluded mountain village of Sugaru. While the village's hot springs do see the occassional tourist, Shizuma is not here to relax, but he has chosen this place to step out of life and enter the eternal sleep, having lost his will to move on. He hopes to end things on the day the first snow will fall, but fate has something else waiting for him. On the morning of the first snow, the decapitated body of a girl is discovered on the Dragon's Head, a rock formation where Shizuma had been spending these last fey days looking up at the sky. His ID is also found near the corpse, so both the police and the girl's family are quick to accuse the travelling stranger of the horrible crime, but just as Shizuma is beng dragged away by the authorities, a strange 17-year old girl with one glass eye dressed in suikan (clothes once used in the Heian period) appears together with her father. She introduces herself as Misasagi Mikage, a detective-in-training, which seems to ring some bells with one of the older police detectives present. Mikage's mother, also called Misasagi Mikage, was a gifted detective who had helped the police with solving many cases. She died young however, but now her daughter is determined to step in her mother's footsteps, with some help of her father. Mikage has been training all her life to become a detective and had been travelling across the country, and she and her father happened to be staying in the same inn as Shizuma. She quickly points out a few contradictions at the crime scene, which indicate that Shizuma was probably framed for the decapitation murder, and Mikage's chain of deduction eventually leads the arrow of suspicion back to the manor where the victim herself lived, meaning it's very likely one of her family members killed her. The leading police detective decides to officially ask Mikage to help with the investiagation, and while Mikage and Shizuma bicker a lot despite this being their first meeting and Mikage having saved Shizuma, they seem to get along pretty well in reality and Mikage decides to bring Shizuma along as her assistant.

It is said that more than a thousand years ago, a mysterious girl was born out of one of the hot springs. She grew up and became a beautiful woman, when a dragon started tormentng the region with floods. But with her mysterious powers, she managed to seal the dragon. However, she did not manage to vanquish the monster completely, meaning there were still floods once in four years. After the woman married a human, she gave birth to a daughter Sugaru, who was able to decapitate and defeat the dragon forever with the combined powers she inherited from her heavenly mother and human father. In turn Sugaru's own daughter inherited her mother's name and powers and that tradition has continued until this very moment: Sugaru Village has always been under the control of the Kotosaki clan, and Sugaru is still being worshipped by the villagers as the guardian of the region. This is why the murder case is taken so seriously: the victim Kotosaki Haruna was the oldest daughter of the current Sugaru, and was supposed to take over as the next Sugaru in the future. Mikage's suspicion that the murderer must be someone of the Kotosaki clan is therefore a very serious one, and even with the police's blessing, Mikage's investigation into the murder must be conducted delicately. Initally, Mikage's investigation focuses on the last movements of Haruna, but all the outsiders are shocked to learn that Haruna's father has appointed their second daughter Natsuna (Haruna, Natsuna and Akina being triplets) as the next Sugaru and that she's to start her spiritual training immediately. This worries Mikage, as the motive behind Haruna's murder hasn't been established yet, and as she fears, new murders occur despite precautions. But while she's doing her best to show off that she is really ready to become a detective herself, things spiral out of control in Maya Yutaka's Sekigan no Shoujo ("The Girl With One Eye" 2010).

While I generally do find the books I read by Maya Yutaka entertaining, I don't read them that often for some reason. I think I read his works once every three, four years. This one had been on my to-read list for a long time though, probably since the release? Both the cover and the title had always had a strange appeal to me, being just mysterious enough to really pique my interest. The book also ranked very high (first places) in several of the big annual mystery fiction rankings of the year, so I always wanted to eventually read this book and I guess that over ten years since its initial release, still counts as eventually.

Initial impressions are likely to invoke Yokomizo Seishi's work: a secluded village, a complex family tree with convoluted character relations, and grotesque murders that seem to involve local legends. You wouldn't be wrong, as a lot of these elements do play a very important role in the mystery plot: a lot of Mikage's theories revolve around the motives that could come from the role of Sugaru in the village tradition and how they basically rule Sugaru Village and the whole "small community in the mountains built around one powerful family" screams Yokomizo of course. But in practice however, you're more likely to think of Ellery Queen's work when reading this book. Like the initial scene where Mikage proves Shizuma's (presumed) innocence, this novel features a lot of scenes where Mikage will present chains of deduction based on the physical evidence found at relevant scenes, showing what the murderer must have done and how, and build on those ideas to show which of the family members could possibly answer to the murderer's profile. The book has a lot of these scenes, though they are not always "fair" in the sense that the reader isn't given time to consider the evidence themselves to try to build such a chain of reasoning themselves. Usually, you will hear about the relevant data only for the first time when Mikage's already busy explaining her hypotheses. This isn't bad per se: the hypotheses Mikage builds throughout the novel are entertaining and really clever, but coming up with them yourself can be pretty difficult, and luckily, Maya manages to use the outcomes of Mikage's deductions/her hypotheses for a more interesting thought experiment.

Even though I am not a very experienced Maya reader, even I know one of the more important themes in his works is the post-modern theme regarding detective fiction and truth as seen in later Ellery Queen novels: how can a detective in a detective story ever truly know whether the evidence they base their theories upon isn't fake, planted by the true murderer trying to lure the detective into making the wrong deduction? It's an important theme in Maya's debut novel Tsubasa Aru Yami, but I have also seen the notion of false solutions, and truths hiding behind truths in the few other works I have read by him. Sekigan no Shoujo isn't different, and this isn't even really spoiling the book, for both the book summary and the book's table of contents make this clear. The book has two-part structure, the first set in 1985, detailing Shizuma and Mikage's efforts to solve the murder case developing in Sugaru Village. Mikage barely manages to solve the case and only after many losses, but the second part is set in 2003, when Shizuma visits Sugaru Village again and to his great horror, another decapitation murder has occured at Dragon's Head, and once again it's the oldest daughter of the current Sugaru. Realizing that this can't be a coincidence, everyone involved in the 1985 case realizes that Mikage had probably arrived at the wrong, or at least incomplete truth back in 1985 and that it's likely the same murderer who is responsible for the new death, but how could Mikage have gotten the truth wrong and who is the real murderer?

So in the 2003 part, we get a new series of murders (yes, more murders follow) and we are forced to reconsider the deductions we saw in the first part, while at the same time the new murders must be investigated too. The emphasis now lies on the realization that the murderer must be someone who manipulated the evidence to create a false "truth" for the detectives to find, resulting in a trickier puzzler, as Mikage and the reader have now sift to the evidence/testimonies they obtain and consider whether they can just accept the data "as is" or whether the true culprit isn't trying to lead them astray. This leads to a few brilliant moments, where Mikage has to deduce which clues must be true: usually a chain of deduction is based on clues, but here we have Mikage building chains of deductions just to prove whether a clue is true or not, because only then she'll be able to build a chain of reasoning based on that clue! I guess this is your mileage may vary thing, because Sekigan no Shoujo is very technical puzzler, that really focuses on theories and hypotheses and while I love this kind of mystery novel, some might find it a bit too theoretical and too "if he thinks that I think that they think that..."

The book ultimately builds to a conclusion that links the 1985 murders and the 2003 murders together by basically turning everything you had assumed to be true around. While familiarity with Maya's work might make the ending seem a bit predictable, it's a wonderfully set-up ending, with reinterpretation of old clues and new deductions based on things you had assumed to be done and ready already. Theories that seemed to make complete sense the first time are easily reconstructed in something that seems even more logical, even though you had never doubted it the first time. While the build-up to the actual denouement scene is a bit clumsily written, coming out of nowhere seemingly (how could Mikage ever have guessed where a certain person would be?) , the truth that is revealed here is very satisfying, as you basically go over all the events of the whole book (both parts) again and realize so much misdirection had been going on right in front of your eyes. 

Oh, and a minor point, but I wish this book had diagrams/floor plans. While not necessary to solve the case, a lot of the deductions do revolve around how people moved or where things were lying in a room, so the complete absence of maps is more noticable than in other books. 

So I did enjoy Sekigan no Shoujo a lot. Some might not like the banter between Shizuma and Mikage: while the premise of the book sounds like Yokomizo, the 'friendly fire' banter between the weakly Shizuma and the overly confident Mikage certainly isn't written in the fifties of the previous century. I myself found it enjoyable though, and that combined with the logic-focused plot, I did find this a fun book to read, even if the emphasis is less about letting the reader solve the thing themselves, but more focused on showing the reader the fallability of characters in a detective novel and how people are easily fooled by the murderer, even the detective. Don't read this if you want a straightforward detective, but for those interested in cleverly written puzzlers that do address post-modern themes without giving in to the nihilistic nothingnesss of post-modernism, this is a great read. Maya has not written a sequel in the ten years since the original release, so I assume there won't be one, which is a shame, for I would've liked to see more adventures of Shizuma and Mikage.

Original Japanese title(s): 麻耶雄嵩『隻眼の少女』

Lucky Seven

時の流れには逆らえず色褪せてゆく想いもあり

「As The Dew」（Garnet Crow）

Unable to go against the flow of time, some feelings will fade away

"As The Dew" (Garnet Crow)

The cover of today's book is simple and clean, featuring deformed illustrations of the authors featured in this anthology, but I really like it!

Disclosure: I have translated works by Arisugawa Alice, Norizuki Rintarou and Ayatsuji Yukito, among which Ayatsuji's The Decagon House Murders.

Ayatsuji Yukito made his debut as a professional author in 1987 with the publication of The Decagon House Murders (org. title: Jukkakukan no Satsujin). The mystery novel had clearly derived its inspiration from the classic puzzle plot mystery novels like they were written in the Golden Age, but it was at the same time also clearly a product of its time, aware of the tropes from, and the discussions surrounding classic mystery fiction, and its story built further on that as a modern take on the classic puzzle mode. Ayatsuji's debut was only the start, as he was followed by many other debuting authors from a similar background (often college students) who'd write in what is now called the shin honkaku or "new orthodox" school of mystery fiction. 2017 is thus not only the thirtiest anniversary of The Decagon House Murders, but also the thirtiest anniversary of the shin honkaku movement. 7-nin no Meitantei ("The Seven Great Detectives", 2017) is a special anthology to celebrate this anniversary, featuring seven original stories on the theme of "the great detective", by seven representative authors of the early shin honkaku movement

The book is also known as part of the bookmark-gacha craze among Japanese mystery fans: three anthologies were published to celebrate the thirtieth birthday of the shin honkaku movement. A special series of a lot of bookmarks were made for these books, and you get one of them at random by purchasing one of the anthologies. A large number of them feature an illustration of one of the seven authors in 7-nin no Meitantei, together with an iconic quote from one of their works, while there's also one which features all seven authors. Behold the fans who try to collect all of them or find the one bookmark with their favorite author or quote. I got the one with everyone on it by the way.

The seven authors included in 7-nin no Meitantei have all been discussed at least once here on the blog, and as I noted in the disclosure message above, I have even translated some of their work. It might be interesting to note that five of these authors studied in Kyoto: Ayatsuji Yukito, Abiko Takemaru, Norizuki Rintarou and Maya Yutaka were all members of the Kyoto University Mystery Club, while Arisugawa Alice belonged to the Mystery Club of his own Doshisha University. Many authors of the early shin honkaku movement made their debuts as students or soon after graduation, and were often active members in the Mystery Clubs (student clubs for lovers of mystery fiction) of their respective universities, which is partly why a lot of the early shin honkaku works featured so many students, and also why the books tended to be so incredibly genre-savvy (as they were written in rather skewed enviroments, among other mystery fans). Oh, one warning: I can only add a certain number of characters in the tags to each post, and I was not able to tag everyone/add all the related tags, so you'll have to click on the author links in the post itself for some of them.

The anthology opens with Maya Yutaka's Suiyoubi to Kinyoubi ga Kirai - Ookagamike Satsujin Jiken ("I Hate Wednesdays and Fridays - The Ookagami Family Murder Case") and features his series detective Mercator Ayu. Narrator/mystery author Minagi is lost in the mountains, but finds shelter in the mansion of the recently deceased Doctor Ookagami. He had four adopted children, who form a musical quartet, and they are scheduled to perform at the mansion the following day for their annual recital. While Minagi is still recovering from his ordeal in the outdoor bath, he spots a cloaked figure making their way to a garden lodge overseeing a cliff. When the figure leaves again, he notices they have shrunk in size, and when he peeks inside the lodge, he finds distinct signs of a murder having occured there: blood, a weapon and a sinister sign featuring a quote from Faust, but there's no sign of any victim. Later, one of the adopted children is found murdered, together with another quote from Faust, but there is no weapon. More mysterious events occur in the mansion, but all is explained when brilliant detective (with a rather abusive attitude towards his "Watson") Mercator Ayu arrives on the scene.

The anthology starts right away with a screwball, because that's the only way I can describe this story. There's something of an impossible crime here (disappearing victim, disappearing murder/weapon), but what this story really is, is a parody on Oguri Mushitarou's infamous anti-mystery Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken. The mansion, the backstory of an eccentric person adopting four children who form a quartet, the Faust imagery, it's all straight out of Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken. Several other later story development are also clearly lifted from that book. The problem I have with this story is that it doesn't really work in its current form. The pacing of this story is incredibly high because it follows the plot of Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken, but that was a full novel and this is a short story. The result is a story that I recognize as a parody on Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken, but it doesn't do much but mirror a few situations and circumstances in quick succession. The core mystery plot is therefore a bit too concise for my taste, as the tale just tries to cover too much ground for a short story. And I happened to have read Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken, but I can imagine that for someone who hasn't, this story will feel disjointed. I think this story would've worked better in a dedicated Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken tribute anthology. As a "Mercator Ayu taking on Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken" type of story, I guess it's okay, but I find it a strange choice for the opening story of this particular anthology. Then again, I guess Maya's work is seldom really straightforward.

Rakugo is a traditional form of Japanese entertainment, where a storyteller tells a comical story with witty dialogues, acting all the roles of the story themselves. Yamaguchi Masaya's Dokumanjuu Kowai - Suiri no Ichimondai ("I'm afraid of Poisoned Manjuu - A Deduction Problem") is part of a series where Yamaguchi builds on classic rakugo stories to turn them into mystery stories. The theme for this story is the classic rakugo story Manjuu Kowai ("I'm Afraid of Manjuu"). The retelling of Manjuu Kowai is followed by the continuation of the tale, where one of the major characters from Manjuu Kowai is murdered by a poisoned manjuu, just as he was about to disinherit his good-for-nothing sons. I liked the idea better than the execution, because the mystery part of the tale is basically a not-even-really-thinly-disguised variation of the "one of them always lies, one of them always tells the truth, who is the liar?" riddle. At this point, it doesn't feel like a story anymore, but just a slightly dressed-up riddle.

The previous story was set in pre-modern Japan, but Abiko Takemaru's Project: Sherlock is clearly set in the present, or even in the future. It tells the story of how a special computer database named Sherlock is built by a police IT engineer. Sherlock is a database that allows anyone to simply solve crimes by inputting the necessary data in it. Sherlock has a rich open source database of case files (both real and fictional) which is fed by a worldwide community, and by comparing circumstances and detecting patterns, the program can solve any mystery laid before it. This is a weird story: it reads more like a prologue for a longer story than an independent one, and while a murder involving Sherlock does occur late in the tale, it's not really meant for the reader to solve. There is potential for more in this story, but as it is now, it feels like you were only allowed to read the first chapter of many more.

Arisugawa Alice's Senchou ga Shinda Yoru ("The Night The Captain Perished") stars the criminologist Himura Hideo and his friend/Watson/mystery author Arisugawa Alice. Himura and Alice are on their way back from one of Himura's work trips when they decide to swing by a small villlage on the foot of a mountain where a murder happened last night. The victim, commonly referred to as the Captain, had been stabbed during his sleep in his home, and while a security camera nearby had caught the figure of someone fleeing the scene that night, this figure had covered themselves wisely in a large sheet of blue plastic, making it impossible for the police to identify them. The Captain had recently returned to his home village after a long life on sea, and his manly appeal had attracted the attention of at least two women in the village (one of them married), and it appears love-gone-wrong might be the motive. I have the idea the story is a bit longer than it needed to be (it is by far the longest story in this anthology), but the mystery plot is probably the best of the whole book. The structure is very familiar (short whodunit with three suspects), but it's expertly clewed. It's of course in the style of Ellery Queen, where you need to deduce what the murderer must have done on the night of the murder, how it was done, and eventually, who could've done those things we just deduced. The process as done here is great, and I think this is a good story to showcase how a good puzzle plot mystery doesn't need to rely on misdirection solely: it takes tremendous skill to lay down clues and puzzle pieces right in front of the reader, without any smokes or mirrors, and still have a puzzle that perplexes them, but the satisfaction you gain when you see how everything fits together is arguably even better than when an author uses aimed misdirection techniques.

Norizuki Rintarou's Abekobe no Isho ("The Switched Suicide Notes") features his series detective named after himself. Rintarou's father, Inspector Norizuki, has a weird case on his hands. Two suicides, one by poison, one by jumping off a flat. Suicide notes were also found at both scenes. So no problem, right? The conundrum Inspector Norizuki has however is that the suicide notes were switched: both victims had the suicide note of the other person! The two victims knew each other, and were both vying for the hand of the same lady, so they had no reason to be committing suicide together, but why did they have each other's suicide note? It's a wonderfully problem that feels realistic, and yet mystifying at the same time. The story unfolds by Rintarou proposing several theories to his father, which his father sometimes shoots down as he reveals a new fact he hadn't told his son yet, but the two do slowly move towards the truth. Or do they? A gripe I do have with this story that it is mostly built on theories: eventually the two arrive at a solution that is actually quite clever, and one that does seem to fit the facts, but they only arrive there by making several assumptions, and the story basically ends with the Inspector finally moving to check whether their theory is true. The story makes a good case for puzzle plots focusing on logical reasoning, with Rintarou proposing theories and having to adjust them as the Inspector introduces new facts, but it also undermines it a bit as we never leave the land of theories.

Utano Shougo's Tensai Shounen no Mita Yume Wa ("The Dream Of The Prodigy") is set in the future, starring the last few remaining pupils of the Academy, once the home to people talented in fields like hacking, engineering or even ESP, but once the war broke out, survival was the only thing left on everybody's mind. Acting on a rumor that the enemy country will launch a new destructive weapon, the students lock themselves up in the Academy's bomb shelter and while they do feel that something with tremendous power hit their city, they have no idea what happened outside because all communication was cut off. But then one of the students is found hanging. She appears to have committed suicide, but the following day another student is found dead right next to the first victim. Another suicide, or is there something else in this shelter? While this story does seem familiar, with its closed circle setting, it's not really a detective story (it is however a mystery story in the broad sense of the term). Explaining too much would spoil it, but the story is trying to work towards a certain conclusion, but that conclusion is barely clewed/foreshadowed, and the story is a bit strangely structured, with a very long intro, while it basically skims over the murders to jump the conclusion. Might've worked better in a longer format.

Ayatsuji Yukito's Kadai - Nue no Misshitsu ("Tentative Title: The Locked Room of the Nue") closes this anthology, and while it's technically not really a fairly clewed mystery story, it's a pretty heartwarming story that puts the thirtieth anniversary of shin honkaku in context. The story stars Ayatsuji Yukito, Abiko Takemaru and Norizuki Rintarou themselves, as well as Ayatsuji's wife Ono Fuyumi (a well-known horror/fantasy author herself), who were all members of the Kyoto University Mystery Club around the same period back when they were in college. Guess-The-Criminal is one of the oldest traditions of the club, where one of the members presents the first part of a mystery story to the others, ending with a challenge to the others guess whodunnit. The other members then have to guess who the criminal is, and explain the process that led to their conclusion. Nowadays, the stories are all written and printed out so everyone has their own copy, but back in the early eighties, these stories were told orally, so little remains of them now. Abiko remarks that a while back, he had a few drinks with Maya Yutaka (also a Mystery Club member who joined after them) and that he, while drunk, had said that he had once witnesses a really incredible and illusive Guess-The-Criminal story. The problem: he doesn't remember anything about it. Ayatsuji, Abiko, Norizuki and Ono all seem to have unclear, yet existing memories of such an event, which they vaguely remember as being titled The Locked Room of the Nue, so they start talking about what that story could've been, digging deep in their memories of the Mystery Club.

As said, this isn't really a mystery story, but closer to an essay where Ayatsuji, using the other authors as his fictional devices, looks back at his own time at the Kyoto University Mystery Club. As the four slowly start to remember more from the past, we also read about what the club activities were to what cafes they went to when they were still students, painting an image of the place and culture that would eventually lead to the birth of the shin honkaku movement. There are some nice moments, like when each of them remembers something else about the illusive story, to which Ayatsuji draws parallels with each author's writing styles, as well as a heartwarming ending. Read as a story that mixes autobiographical elements with a bit of fiction, I'd say this was an entertaining story for those wanting to know more about the shared past of these authors, but again, don't expect any detecting on your own.

7-nin no Meitantei has the usual ups and downs of an anthology, but in general, I'd say it's an interesting showcase of the work of the featured authors. The theme of "the great detective" worked better for some authors than others: Arisugawa Alice and Norizuki Rintarou's contributions were definitely the best detective stories included, and those stories featured their best known series detectives. Yamaguchi Masaya and Maya Yutaka too used their series detectives in their stories, though I found the stories themselves not as good as the previous two for various reasons. Utano Shougo and Abiko Takemaru on the other hand did not choose to go with their series detectives (partly because they haven't used them in decades), but tried to explore the theme of the Great Detective in stories that are almost science fiction, and your mileage on them might vary. Ayatsuji Yukito's contribution is not a mystery story at all, but a sort of nostalgic look back at a long forgotten past, before there was such a thing as shin honkaku, and works wonderfully as a closer for an anthology meant to commemorate thirty years of shin honkaku.

Original Japanese title(s): 『7人の名探偵』: 「曜日と金曜日が嫌い 大鏡家殺人事件」（麻耶雄嵩） / 「毒饅頭怖い　推理の一問題」（山口雅也） / 「プロジェクト：シャーロック」（我孫子武丸） / 「船長が死んだ夜」（有栖川有栖） / 「あべこべの遺書」（法月綸太郎） / 「天才少年の見た夢」（歌野晶午） / 「仮題・ぬえの密室」（綾辻行人）