Reflections of the Mind

"I never sleep I hate those little slices of death"

"Journey to the Center of the Earth"

Last one of the year!

Disclosure: I have translated Arisugawa Alice's The Moai Island Puzzle. 

Shirafuse Masato's Nightmare Rising series of fantasy horror novels have been a fantastic hit all across the world, being translated in many languages and having become a symbol for J-Horror everywhere, and now a Hollywood adaptation is about to be released. Shirafuse is a big star, known as the "Japanese Stephen King" , but he also happens to be working for the same publisher as mystery novelist Arisugawa Alice, and after a double interview with the two authors, Shirafuse invites Alice for a stay at his home, as according to Shirafuse, he has a "nightmare room" in his house: any person spending the night there always has nightmares, nightmares also being the main theme of the Nightmare Rising series. Alice takes up the invitation and visits Shirafuse's so-called Dreamwatcher House, which is basically like a little cottage in the woods outside of town. There are only a handful of cottages on the road that splits off from the highway into the forest, and the road ends in a cul-de-sac, where the auberge (inn) Reverie stands, with a fairly popular restaurant. Shirafuse, his editor and Alice have dinner at Reverie, after which Alice spends the night in Shirafuse's "nightmare room", while Shirafuse's editor has taken a room at Reverie. The following day however, the murdered body of a woman is found in one of the empty cottages on this road: the cottage belongs to Shirafuse and used to be inhabitated by his assistant Shinya, but Shinya died two years ago and the cottage had been left empty since. The woman, Okita Yoriko, was a friend of Shirafuse's assistant, but only recently learned about his death, and had asked Shirafuse whether she could stay one night in the house where Shinya had lived. She had been staying there the day before Alice arrived at the Dreamwatcher House, but Shirafuse assumed the woman had already left by the time he went out to pick up Alice and his editor from the station the following day, as he had told the woman to just leave the key in the house as he had to tend to his guests that day. In fact though, Yoriko had been killed and in a gruesome manner too: her neck had been pierces by an arrow (an ornament based on a weapon used in the Nightmare Rising series, which had been hanging on the wall) and for some reason, her left hand had been cut off. Being one of the first to discover the body, Alice contacts his old friend Himura Hideo, who teaches criminology at Eito University and who often assist the local police with their criminal investigations as part of his "fieldwork". How will this hunter find the murderer in Arisugawa Alice's Karyuudo no Akumu (2017), which also has the English title Nightmare of a Hunter on the cover? 

It's been a while since I talked about a Himura novel here, so I'll just repeat this even just to be sure: the mystery novelist Arisugawa Alice has two main series, both of which have have a character named Arisugawa Alice as their respective narrators. These two Alices however are not the same person. The Alice in the Student Alice series is a young student who acts as the Watson to the older student Egami (see: The Moai Island Puzzle) , while in the Writer Alice series, we follow an Alice in his thirties who's a professional mystery author, who acts as the assistant to Himura Hideo, a criminologist. The funny thing is that these Alices write each other: the student Alice is a budding mystery author who writes about a professional mystery author named Alice and his friend Himura, while the writer Alice writes about a young student named Alice and his senior Egami. Anyway, Karyuudo no Akumu is of course a book about Himura and Alice. This series is much longer than the Student Alice series, and to be very honest, this is reflected in quality too: while seldom bad, the Student Alice series is consistently extremely good in terms of mystery plotting, clewing and doing Queenian reasoning chains to identify the murderer. The Writer Alice series has its own gems of course, but as it also has like at least triple the number of releases, you can understand how it is not as consistent in terms of quality. 

So what is Karyuudo no Akumu? Well, that's a hard one to answer! I have mentioned more than a few times here that in principle, I am more a fan of short stories than of novels and it's something I felt very strongly as I read this book. Which is a very personal thing of course, but this book has a very limited setting and set-up on purpose, which can make the book feel very slow, because it has too few pieces to move around or to check. Some might prefer the more focused approach, and there's definitely also a reason why this story has such a focused set-up, but to be very honest, as I was reading this I constantly thought the same set-up could have worked just as well, or even better as a short story or a novella, especially as this book is actually bit longer than average, rather than shorter. And as I arrived at the conclusion and followed Himura's reasoning as he very logically identifies the murderer, I still felt that considering the clewing and the other relevant factors for the mystery plot, the story of Karyuudo no Akumu would have worked in a far shorter form too. So that is definitely something that plays in my impression of the book.

For as a mystery story, I do think Karyuudo no Akumu has some good moments. Some really good moments even. For most part of the story however, you feel like Karyuudo no Akumu is just trying to juggle with too many pieces, despite the very, very limited set-up and there really aren't that many pieces. The cast of characters is very small for example, focusing mostly on the six people living on along the road (which had been blocked off from the highway on the night of the murder due to a thunderstorm striking a tree which fell across the road). So the mystery in terms of characters and location focuses solely on that little road, but at the same time, we are also confronted with many smaller mysteries: a cut-off hand, a woman who for some reason was killed with an arrow, what was the woman actually really doing staying in the cottage, where are her hand and smartphone and more. At the same time, these problems don't feel as "big" as say a locked room murder, missing footprints in the snow or even a situation where everybody has an alibi. So these problems "bug" you but are not very effective in really driving the investigation. As the story unfolds, we learn more about the victim and who might have had a motive to kill her, but Karyuudo no Akumu mostly feels like it's throwing all these smaller mysteries at you that on their own are okay-ish, but as a result, it does make you feel like you're playing with too many small puzzle pieces that don't seem to connect in a meaningful manner: the book feels chaotic and disjointed at times.

But all the chaos becomes order when Himura at the end explains how all those disjointed pieces are connected. And yes, there's a reason why a lot of what they find out and what had happened feels so haphazard, and while I wouldn't say the logical chain Himura builds here is as impressive as the tour-de-force we saw Egami pull off in The Moai Island Puzzle, it is definitely the same kind of memorable logic that allows Himura to identify who the murderer is: he focuses on all the actions the murderer took on the night of the murder, even those that don't seem to make much sense, and by applying all the known facts he not only manages to explain why everything happened the way they did, but also how those insights allow us to identify which of the suspects is the murderer. The revelations regarding the motive, while totally convincing, are not presented in a manner as strong "logically" but that is not as big a concern as Himura shows who the murderer is based on what everyone knew at what time and what actions they would or could have taken taking that in consideration, showing exactly that only one person could have commited the murder. I do have to say the last step, where he eliminates the last possible candidate to end up with the murderer, is... not weak, but certainly not very strong. Reasoning-wise I totally get what Himura means and it is true it is a valid way to use to eliminate the last suspect, but at the same time it's not a very strong one and open to a lot of attacks, and is of the kind you'd usually more likely to see as a "first step" in the elimination process (like the first suspect is removed because of this argument) rather than the final person. Still, I was quite impressed to see Himura pull everything together at the end of the book, because I felt throughout there were just so many "loose" puzzle pieces I was afraid it would just feel like a messy blob of minor puzzles, but in fact, it all chains together very nicely, surprisingly so, and it's certainly a book you should check out if you like these kinds of Queenian deduction chains.

But as mentioned, had Karyuudo no Akumu/Nightmare of a Hunter been a short story/novella, I would probably have liked it even better. Of course, your mileage may very well vary here, and in that case, I think you'll find a very competently written mystery novel here that showcases Arisugawa's love for Queenian chains of reasonings. While the core case aspects feel a bit limited and perhaps not really exciting, I think the final section definitely makes this book a worthwhile read, as it shows how the emphasis on reasoning can make very chaotically-feeling stories feel very logical in the end and it's definitely one to check if you like these kinds of novels. And while it's a bit late to mention it now, it's actually the reason why I read this book, because I read somewhere this was one of those books where you could really see Arisugawa doing his "chains of deduction" thing, and I was not disappointed in that regard.

 Original Japanese title(s): 有栖川有栖『狩人の悪夢』

Sea Breeze

We are all rowing the boat of fate

The waves keep on comin' and we can't escape

"Life Is Like A Boat" (Rie Fu)

I haven't seen much of Nara, now I think about it. Only spent half a day there in total. I guess I could've seen more of it when I was living in Kyoto as it's basically around the corner, but then again, a lot of Nara has to offer is basically also in Kyoto. Except for the deers of course.

Disclosure: I translated Arisugawa Alice's The Moai Island Puzzle.

A meeting with a video production company about an original direct-to-video adaptation of one of his books brings Osaka-based mystery writer Arisugawa Alice from the west to Tokyo. His publisher in Tokyo also informs him his latest book is just fresh off the presses and ready to be shipped off, so Alice decides to swing by there too to see how the thing turned out. His colleague-cum-friendly-rival Akaboshi Gaku happens to be at the publisher too, and the two have a bit of chat (Alice naturally gifts the man his latest book). Akaboshi tells Alice he's working on a new mystery novel himself, and that he himself is actually about to leave for the west of Japan, for "Nara-by-the-Sea" to do some research on the theme of his new work: mermaids. Nara-by-the-Sea is a fancy phrase to describe Obama, a coastal town with many Buddhist temples which acted as the harbor for the ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto, the greatest difference with those two cities of course being that Obama lies by the sea. The following day however, Alice learns that Akaboshi's body was found at the coast near Obama and it doesn't seem likely he'd commit suicide Alice and his friend Himura Hideo, who teaches criminology at Eito University, decide to find out what happened to Akaboshi in Arisugawa Alice's Umi no Aru Nara ni Shisu ("Death in Nara-by-the-Sea", 1995).

I think I mention this every time one of these series comes up, but the actual author Arisugawa Alice has two main series, both of which feature a character also named Arisugawa Alice. The Alice in the Student Alice series is a young student who acts as the Watson to the older student Egami, while in the Writer Alice series, we follow an Alice in his thirties who's a professional mystery author, who acts as the assistant to Himura Hideo, a criminologist. The interesting thing is that both these Alices write each other: the student Alice is a budding mystery author who writes about a professional mystery author named Alice and his friend Himura, while the writer Alice writes about a young student named Alice and his senior Egami. It's just a small thing that doesn't have any real bearing on either series, and it's not always mentioned either, but Umi no Aru Nara ni Shisu has a funny reference where someone mentions that the Alice there had written a novel called Something-something Puzzle, which is of course The Moai Island Puzzle which I translated.

Umi no Aru Nara ni Shisu is the third novel in the Writer Alice series, after 46 Banme no Misshitsu and Dali no Mayu, and also the first serialized novel Arisugawa wrote. It is obviously intended as a take on the travel mystery sub-genre: mystery stories that revolve around tourist destinations, the local culture/history and of course, the act of (recreational) traveling itself. It is a genre that is especially associated with television productions (obviously, as you can actually see the places), but also seen as a rather 'light' genre within mystery fiction, as often the mystery plots are of secundary importance, below the 'tourist' mode of the story. Travel is also an important theme in Umi no Aru Nara ni Shisu: Alice and Himura travel together to Obama in the hopes of finding what brought Akaboshi there and a trace of his murderer and along the way, the reader is told a lot about local Obama history and legends. In fact, one aspect I didn't really like of this novel is that it very often dumps a lot of information on the reader that feels too much as exposition. For example, there's a part where Alice and Himura talk about an Obama-related legend concerning the immortal nun Yaobikuni (it is said that you become immortal if you eat mermaid's meat), but you basically get to read an encyclopedia entry. This happens several times, where information that would've been more appealing to read in the form of an interactive discussion is presented as dry information (there's a part about The Exorcist too), and it results in a reading experience that is simply not as pleasant as one'd hope at times.

Travel also plays an important in the mystery plot. It doesn't take long for the story to focus on the alibis of the various suspects, and the attentive reader should notice right away the story is heading for an alibi-cracking plot, given the extreme focus on times and locations in the story (the importance of the alibis and the question of who could've murdered Akoboshi at that time and place is also emphasised a few times by Alice and Himura, so it shouldn't come as a surprise). The solution to it all is rather disappointing. There are basically two clues that point in the direction of the murderer (motive isn't a clue by the way) of which one is rather simple and basically nothing more than semi-trivia, and that would've fared much better in a short story, rather than a novel. The other clue is sorta okay, but very hard to imagine things would really work out that. It's especially hard to imagine in this time and age: perhaps it was more convincing in the early nineties of Japan in the certain field of industry this relates too. The circumstances that allowed this murder to happen in the first place are also a bit hard to swallow, and the actions of a certain character are just accepted as is without giving a convincing reason about why they would ever want to do that.

There is a second murder about halfway through the novel and tt features a method that has very little convincing power. There's an episode of Columbo that does the same actually, but it's similarly kinda hard to swallow there. The method also features something that wlll feel out-of-date. Of course, novels are always a product of their time, and I don't mind at all when I see things in novels that are obvious from a time I didn't know, but for some reason, I feel very differently about things and technology I myself do know and have used in the past, and that are outdated now. To me, part of the murder method feels like something from yesterday, but I can imagine that people from a generation younger than me will have no idea what they're talking about, yet it's also not far enough ago to feel "oh yeah, that's how things were done back in those days". Or maybe I'm just getting old....

Umi no Aru Nara ni Shisu thus isn't one of the high points in Arisugawa's oeuvre. It has an idea that might've worked better in a short story rather than a novel, but little of the rest of the novel really managed to impress. It is slow due to the many expositions and focus on alibis and while one can derive some entertainment from Alice and Himura's usual banter and perhaps the travel mystery angle on the town of Obama, there's never really a moment that really makes the reader sit up straight to see what's coming next. The Writer Alice series is much more popular than the Student Alice series and sadly enough, this has also its influences on the output, as while all the novels in the Student Alice series are really, really good, the Writer Alice is less balanced with more distinct higher and lower points, and Umi no Aru Nara ni Shisu is one of those novels that simply isn't as good as some of the other novels in the same series.

Original Japanese title(s): 有栖川有栖 『海のある奈良に死す』

Walking Into The Sunset

「思うだけなら勝手です。読者を説得できると信じるのなら、小説にお書きになればいい。警察や裁判所で通じなくても、フィクションとしてなら成立するかもしれません。」

『朱色の研究』

"You can think whatever you want. If you believe you can convince your readers, write it down in one of your novels. Even if the police or courts won't accept it, it might work as fiction."

"A Study in Vermillion"

Lately, it seems I've only been writing reviews once a month. Though I usually write 3, 4 reviews in one or two days then, so I average out on one review a week (which is the schedule I want to keep on this blog). It's really been a while ago since I wrote my last review, though it shouldn't really be noticable for the readers.

Oh, and the disclosure message: I translated Arisugawa's The Moai Island Puzzle.

Criminologist and university teacher Himura is often asked to help with police investigations, but it's rare for him to be asked for help by one of his own students, especially as his professional assistance to the police is a secret. Akemi has developed a strange phobia for the color of deep, intense orange (vermillion), which means she can even pass out by looking at the setting sun. The origin of this phobia comes from her association of the color with several family tragedies in the past. She hopes Himura can solve a murder that happened in her own personal circle three years ago, to which Himura agrees. And it appears there's something going on, because Himura has only started when one very early morning, he and his friend Alice (a mystery writer) are asked to go to a certain apartment room in a flat (known as the "Ghost Flat") near Alice's home. There they find the dead body of Akemi's uncle, and clues indicate that this new murder might be related to the murder Himura was asked to investigate. The investigation quickly shows that one person is suspicious. No, it even seems like this person was the only one capable of committing the murder, thanks to the testimony of both Himura and Alice, but Himura thinks there might be more behind this in Arisugawa Alice's Shuiro no Kenkyuu ("A Study in Vermillion", 1997).

The drama Himura Hideo no Suiri was broadcast early this year, based on Arisugawa Alice's Writer Alice series. From the first episode on, it was clear that the series would also include an adaptation of Shuiro no Kenkyuu, with early appearances of Himura's students, including Akemi, so I decided to quickly read the original book, before the drama adaptation would appear on TV. Note that this review is posted now, even though I read the book late January...

Whereas I think all of the books in Arisugawa Alice's Student Alice series are really complex, and also fun mystery novels, I have found the books in the Writer Alice series to be less consistent in quality. Shuiro no Kenkyuu is one of the books I personally didn't really like. The book is split in two parts: in the first part, Himura and Alice are investigating the murder on Akemi's uncle in the empty apartment room. Evidence and testimony point to one person at first sight, but after some good sleuthing by both Himura and the proper authorities, a sorta surprising reveal is made. I say sorta, because I actually already saw the same trick used one in Detective Conan already (though this book pre-dates that Conan story). It has ties with the impossible crime, but saying more might spoil what's going on. Then again, the trick itself isn't really surprising, considering the elements you're given and that's why I thought this part was very slow: this trick would've worked much better in short story form, rather than as part of a longer story, especially as its links to the second part are superficial at best.

In the second part, Himura and Alice finally get around to investigating the murder that happened three years ago (as asked by Akemi) and it's here where the story takes on a Five Little Pigs-approach, with Himura and Alice questioning the people who were involved with the incident in the past. I thought this second half was weak at best. Unlike Christie, who mostly focused on psychological evidence, Shuiro no Kenkyuu focuses on an interpretation of physical evidence to arrive at the solution. This is certainly not surprising as Arisugawa is obviously inspired by Ellery Queen who so often used physical evidence to point to the murderer. However, Shuiro no Kenkyuu's line of reasoning is fairly weak compared to the impressive feats Arisugawa has already shown in earlier books (for example, Kotou Puzzle). In the end, the book focuses much more on the motive of the murderer, which is nearly impossible to 'deduce' from the facts and goes deep into the human drama more often found in Higashino Keigo's work. Which can work, but not in this way, where it's not intertwined with the complete work. In Shuiro no Kenkyuu the human drama motive really appears out of nowhere.and it makes the whole narrative feel disjointed.

In my mind, I associate the Student Alice series with the closed circle trope, set in isolated locations like islands or little villages. As a counter, I associate the Writer Alice series with the city and indeed, a lot of the (short) stories are set in Osaka, Kyoto and other urban settings. But despite my 'gut feeling', Himura and Alice do actually appear often in isolated settings in the novels, like in 46 Banme no Misshitsu or Sweden Kan no Nazo. And I enjoy those stories actually a lot better than the novels in the series set in 'open' settings, like Dali no Mayu or Shuiro no Kenkyuu.

As the time I'm writing this, the TV drama Himura Hideo no Suiri still has some episodes to go before Shuiro no Kenkyuu, but I guess that the selection for the book is an understandable one. Human drama is obviously something they want in drama shows, as it attracts also viewers not especially into mystery fiction. Personally, I thought the book was just a mediocre entry in the series. Arisugawa has written much better mystery novels, also within the Writer Alice series, so I wouldn't recommend this as a must-read.

Original (Japanese) title(s): 有栖川有栖　『朱色の研究』

再生 -Rebuild-: the Writer Alice series

Last week a TV adaptation of this particular series started on Japanese TV, so I thought this was a good time for a new Rebuild post, which serves as an introduction to some of the longer series I discuss here. Links to all related reviews, short introduction, discussion on general series tropes, it's all here.

Writer Alice / Himura Hideo series (Author: Arisugawa Alice)
46 Banme no Misshitsu ("The 46th Locked Room") [1992]

• 46 Banme no Misshitsu ("The 46th Locked Room") (Audio Drama)

Dali no Mayu ("Dali's Cocoon") [1993]
Russia Koucha no Nazo ("The Russian Tea Mystery") [1994]

• Yaneura no Sanposha / 'The Stroller in the Attic' (Audio Drama)

Sweden Kan no Nazo ("The Swedish Mansion Mystery") [1995]
Brazil Chou no Nazo ("The Brazilian Butterfly Mystery') [1996]
Eikoku Teien no Nazo ("The English Garden Mystery") [1997]
Zekkyoujou Satsujin Jiken ("The Castle of Screams Murder Case") [2001]

• Zekkyoujou Satsujin Jiken/ 'The Castle of Screams Murder Case' (Audio Drama)

Malay Tetsudou no Nazo ("The Malay Railroad Mystery") [2002]
Swiss Dokei no Nazo ("The Swiss Clock Mystery") [2003]

• Swiss Dokei no Nazo/ 'The Swiss Clock Mystery' (Audio Drama)

Kisaki wa Fune wo Shizumeru ("The Queen Sinks The Boat") [2008]

• Saru no Hidarite / 'The Monkey's Left Paw' (Audio Drama)
  
• Zankoku na Yurikago / 'A Cruel Cradle' (Audio Drama)

Nagai Rouka no Aru Ie ("The House With The Long Hallway") [2010]

• Nagai Rouka no Aru Ie / 'The House With The Long Hallway' (Audio Drama)

(Because the series is quite long, I've only listed the titles I've actually reviewed)

The Writer Alice series, alternatively known as the Himura Hideo series, is about mystery writer Arisugawa Alice (a male) and his friend Himura Hideo. Himura teaches criminology at Kyoto's Eito University, but his keen mind is also recognized by the police, who often ask him for help with difficult cases. Himura considers his cooperation the police to be 'fieldwork' for his research. Alice is his close friend, whom he first met when they themselves were students at Eito University. Himura often asks Alice to accompany him during his fieldwork, because occassionally Alice being a mystery writer actually comes in handy, but mostly because he is a friend he trusts (despite the many jokes at Alice's expense) and can use as a sounding board.

Note that the narrator shares the name Arisugawa Alice with the (pen name of the) writer of the books, like Ellery Queen. To keep them apart, I refer to the actual writer as Arisugawa on the blog, while I use Alice for the character (I similarly use Ellery for the character, and Queen for the writer-duo).

Whereas previous Rebuild posts looked at major series tropes, I'd say that the Writer Alice series is actually quite diverse, with no real major series tropes. Sure, the series is of course loosely based on the Sherlock Holmes model with a brilliant detective and his writer sidekick (Himura still lives in his student apartment room, with the elderly landlord granny taking care of him), but the cases themselves are about all kinds of mysteries: sometimes it's about solving traditional locked room murders or serial killings, but at other times Himura and Alice are wrecking their brains on secret codes or other less criminal mysteries. Because of his work, Himura is often asked by the police for help with criminal investigation, but occassionally his students bring (less criminal) problems to him, and even Alice himself has a tendency to come across little problems while writing his books. The Writer Alice series probably has something to offer to every fan of the genre, in both novel form as short story form. On the other hand, I'd say that the quality of the series isn't always consistent: there are some really great stories that invoke the Ellery Queen spirit for example, but some stories don't show as much ambition. Hit or miss is too harsh, but sometimes it's hit or meh. It's also a very long series.

One interesting trope might be the setting of most of the stories though. Himura's homeground is in Kyoto, as he teaches at Eito University (which is based on the actual Doshisha University). Alice lives in nearby Osaka, so most of the stories in the series are set in the Kinki (Kansai) region of Japan. Many mystery novels are set in Tokyo, but in the Writer Alice series, you're more likely to see a scene set at Namba Station than at Shinjuku Station. Note also that Alice speaks in Osaka dialect (even though the narration in the books is always in standard Japanese). The series therefore has a distinct Kansai feel to it.

The relation between Himura and Alice is also a focal point of the series. The constant teasing between the two also betrays how close the two are, and it has attracted a fairly large female fanbase, from what I gather. Sherlock has done the same in more recent years with its portrayal of the Sherlock & Watson dynamic, but the Writer Alice series has been doing this for many, many years. It's definitely no coincidence that the audio dramas of this series were produced by Momogre / Momo & Grapes, which mostly caters to the female fanbase with a love of coupling men. The bickering between Himura and Alice is also a part that betrays its Osaka roots however, as well, people from Osaka are known / stereotyped as rather talkative and easygoing.

There is no real overarching storyline for this series, so you can pick up any book and start from there. Personally, I think the first novel, 46 Banme no Misshitsu ("The 46th Locked Room") was a fun novel, so you might as well start there, but it really doesn't really matter which book you pick up.

Note that Arisugawa actually has two series that both have an Arisugawa Alice as its protagonist. Besides the Writer Alice series, there's also the Student Alice series, which stars a student with the same name (See also this Rebuild post of the Student Alice series). Interestingly enough, each Alice supposedly writes the other Alice. So the Alice from the Writer Alice series writes the Student Alice series, while in the Student Alice series, that Alice is writing the Writer Alice series. Confusing? It sure is! What's interesting though is that while this series does take on a Sherlock Holmes model, Alice isn't writing about his adventures with Himura. Most detective + writer sidekick stories usually have the writer basing his stories on their adventures, but in this series, they have little to do with each oether.

Death of the Living Dead

「君死にたもうことなかれ」 

与謝野晶子

"Prithee do not die"

Yosano Akiko

Once again time for a Short Shorts post, where I write shorter reviews/thoughts on multiple mystery media, as opposed to longer, focused reviews. Mainly because I can't think of enough (relevant) material to fill a complete post with. Short shorts are usually only posted once in six months or so here, but this is the second post within the month! Anyway, just two topics for today. 

The latest volume of Detective Conan, volume 88, was released over a month ago, so I'm a bit late with this review. The volume starts with the last chapter of The Secret of the Big Couple, which was fairly disappointing. The first two chapter of this story, collected in volume 87, were absolutely hilarious. This final chapter focuses almost solely on explaining who the murderer of the restaurant owner is and how it was done. The trick was fairly original, but read on its own, this chapter is incredibly boring, especially given how fantastic the first half of the story was. Maybe I should read the story in one go. The volume also ends with an incomplete story, The Girl Band Murder Case, where Sonoko's idea to form a girl band with Ran and Sera Masumi brings them to a rehearsal studio. A murder is (of course!) committed there, and the suspects are all members of another girl band practicing at the studio. I'll have to wait for volume 89 in April for the conclusion of this story, but to be honest, it looks like one of those fairly predictable stories that are technically well constructed, but not really memorable. Okay, there's the namedropping of a Black Organization member called Scotch, but that's it (No, it's not a real spoiler. They actually put that little fact on the obi of the volume).

Volume 88 features only two complete stories. The Suspect Who Uses Too Much Condiments brings us back to the (relocated) ramen noodle restaurant from Deadly Delicious Ramen from volume 73. The police recently chased a robber who killed his victim down to the restaurant, but they have no idea which of the three regular customers present is their prey (the three regulars all arrived around the same time). Of late, the three have also gotten new eating habits: one uses a lot of pepper in his food, another uses a lot of soy sauce, and the last a lot of vinegar, but how does this relate to the crime? Overall, a fairly chaotic story. I loved the setting (Deadly Delicious Ramen was one of my favorite stories of the year!), but even I'd say this story feels more like a collection of random ideas with little cohesion. Also: it's strange this story follows right after The Secret of the Big Couple, because they have one point that is really similar.

The Tragedy of the Zombie Mansion on the other hand features Hattori, which is always good for bonus points. Kogorou drags everybody along to a mansion where an old zombie film featuring his favorite idol Youko was filmed. They come across a small filming team, who reveal they're here to film material for a trailer for the sequel to that film (not starring Youko though). But mysterious thing happen: the producer apparently commits suicide, while later his dead body is seen killing another staff member. And then the whole mansion is attacked by a horde of zombies! What's going on? A lot! I'd say this was a decent story, but nothing more than that. The main trick of the dead coming back alive is fairly flawed, as there's absolutely no way nobody wouldn't have noticed that! There's also a bit about an impossible disappearance from a room that was better, but even still not particularly inspiring (though I thought the hint was quite clever). Overall, I'd say that volume 88 was a bit disappointing: there were only two complete stories and only one of them was okay. Oh well, let's hope April's volume is better.

Last week, the TV drama  Rinshou Hanzai Gakusha - Himura Hideo no Suiri ("The Clinical Criminlogist - The Deductions of Himura Hideo") started. The series is based on Arisugawa Alice's Writer Alice series. Himura Hideo is an university teacher of Criminology, who often helps with official police investigations (as his "fieldwork"). He is accompanied by his best friend and mystery writer Arisugawa Alice. While I don't like all the books in the series, I do enjoy the series overall, so I was quite curious to this adaptation of the series. The first episode was based on the short story Zekkyoujou Satsujin Jiken (" -The Castle of Screams- Murder Case"). Like I already mentioned in my review of the audio drama adaptation: it's an okay story, but nothing more than that. A bit underwhelming for a series pilot, but at least the episode already gave us some glimpses of what will follow (there was a set-up for Shuiro no Kenkyuu / "A Study in Vermillion" for example).

But I'm still not sure what to think about the series in general. One thing I really loved was that the series has a distinct Kyoto flavor. Himura teaches at Kyoto's Eito University (= thinly disguised Doshisha University) and the series features a lot of nice shots of the ancient capital of Japan (the opening has a nice Kyoto-atmosphere too). But some of the director's ideas didn't set too well with me. The series blatantly tries to copy Sherlock for example. They dress Himura in a long dark coat, show him in manic states, show text from a laptop on the TV screen for the viewer and more. Heck, they even have Himura jump off into the dark in a dream sequence. To be honest: it only hurts this series, because this isn't Sherlock and it shouldn't even need to try to emulate that series. Also, the Himura in the TV series is a bit different from the one in the books (I've read). There's a bit of Sherlock's Sherlock in him and for some reason Himura's catchphrase has become "This crime isn't beautiful", even though that would seem like the last thing Himura from the books would ever say! Alice was okay though in the first episode, and it was fun hearing him refering to some of the stories he wrote (which are the books known as the Student Alice series). Anyway, some good, some bad.

And that's it for today. A new volume of The Young Kindaichi Case Files R was released a few days back, but I'm still not sure whether I'll wait for the next volume to do them in one go, because stories in that series often span two volumes. Considering the publication schedule, I might wait until the next Conan volume (in April).

Original Japanese title(s): 青山剛昌　『名探偵コナン』第８８巻, 有栖川有栖（原）　『臨床犯罪学者　火村英生の推理』

The Queen Is In The Counting House

君の愛の揺りかごで

もう一度安らかに眠れたら 

「The Real Folk Blues」（山根麻以）

If only I could sleep once more

In the cradle of your love

"The Real Folk Blues" (Yamane Mai)

I have only just noticed how many Writer Alice reviews I've already written. I just didn't notice it as half of the reviews are about books, the other half about audio dramas.

Writer Alice series (audio drama)
46 Banme no Misshitsu ("The 46th Locked Room")
Swiss Dokei no Nazo ("The Swiss Clock Mystery")
Yaneura no Sanposha ("The Stroller in the Attic")
Zekkyoujou Satsujin Jiken ("-The Castle of Screams- Murder Case")
Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie ("The House With the Long Hallway")
Saru no Hidarite ("The Monkey's Left Paw")  
Zankoku na Yurikago ("A Cruel Cradle")

An earthquake hitting the Kansai area results in heavy damage and some victims getting trapped in their houses or even getting knocked out by debris, but the most surprising result of the earthquake is the discovery of a man being shot in the annex building of the victim's acquaintance. While the victim had been at excellent terms with this friend and her husband, the home owners are naturally quite surprised to learn that the man had been in their house during the earthquake without their knowledge, and are of course shocked by the fact the man had been shot to death. The wife of the manor, before her marriage often surrounded by young men who considered her their 'queen', turns out to be an old acquaintance of criminologist Himura Hideo and mystery writer Arisugawa Alice, as they met in an earlier case two years earlier. Shocked at their reunion as they are, the crime-fighting duo set their mind to the solving the murder in the audio drama Zankoku na Yurikago ("A Cruel Cradle").

Zankoku na Yurikago is the seventh audio drama produced by Momogre based on Arisugawa Alice's Writer Alice series, which stars the criminologist Himura and mystery writer Alice. It is also the direct sequel to Saru no Hidarite, the audio drama I discussed two weeks ago. I wrote in that review that Saru no Hidarite was based on the book Kisaki wa Fune wo Shizumeru ("The Queen Sinks the Boat"), a book I hadn't read. I also noted that I thought the story might have been rewritten, because the summary of the book was kinda different from what happened in the audio drama. But now I know what was going on: the book Kisaki wa Fune wo Shizumeru actually consists of two novellettes that make up one narrative. For the audio drama, they split it up in two different productions: Saru no Hidarite and Zankoku na Yurikago. Both audio dramas can be listened to seperatedly, but do form one narrative centering around one woman.

I was quite enthusiastic about Saru no Hidarite, but I think that as a detective story, Zankoku na Yurikago surpasses that story. At the core, this is a very Queen-esque plot, which is something I always appreciate. Figuring out what characteristics the murderer must have based on the crime scene and the circumstances under which it was committed, deducing how all of the suspects fit in the big picture, it is done all very nice in this story and is something Arisugawa Alice (the actual writer) is actually quite competent in (Kotou Puzzle for example beats Ellery Queen at his own game!). The earthquake factor also adds something highly original to the mystery plot, as it is an element seldom seen in detective stories. Yet it does not feel as unreal as the volcano eruption in Arisugawa's own Gekkou Game. Earthquakes are actually quite common in Japan, so you'd think you'd come across them more often in fiction too.
 
The one note I want to make is that one part of the mystery was a bit vague because it was done as an audio drama. When things like architecture, positioning and angles are mentioned, an oral presentation often just doesn't work very well. Figures or being able to slowly read the description are far more effective in conveying things like that to the reader/listener. As I discuss mystery fiction in different media, I often pay attention to the question if the story fits the type of media. Some plots simply work better as a book, some better as an audio drama (or other medium). Zankoku na Yurikago still works as an audio drama, but I think I would have rated it higher if I had seen in on the screen or read it. Momogre's selection of the stories has been mostly well, but I'd say that Zankoku na Yurikago and 46 Banme no Misshitsu are the one where you kinda feel the medium fails slightly in keeping up with the story.

As said, Zankoku na Yurikago and Saru no Hidarite together form one narrative and listening to them after another, I'd say that as a standalone story, Saru no Hidarite perhaps works better. The detective plot, while still okay, is not as strong as that of Zankoku na Yurikago, but the themes there work better on their own. In return, Zankoku na Yurikago does more with the one character connecting both stories, and builds further on themes first introduced in Saru no Hidarite and forms a nice ending to this short story arc within the Writer Alice series. I recommend listening to them both and in order, as both stories are good mystery stories, but leave more of an impression taken together. I think it was an excellent idea of taking the novel and splitting it across these two productions. Length-wise, they were perfect for the complexity of the story, and together they are a lot more satisfying than the adaptation of 46 Banme no Misshitsu, the only other full novel Momogre has adapted as an audio drama.

Like with the previous release, the store Mandarake also offered a bonus audio drama together with Zankoku na Yurikago. Yuki to Kinkonshiki ("Snow and the Golden Wedding") is based on a short story originally included in the short story collection Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie (the two other stories in the collection, title story Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie and Tenkuu no Me are also available as audio drama). Unbeknown to an old couple celebrating their golden wedding anniversary on a snowy night, their brother-in-law was murdered in their annex building. The police manages to bring the number of suspects down to two, but miss the crucial evidence to find the guilty one. The husband of the old couple then appears to hold the key that can crack the case, but an unfortunate fall leads to temporary amnesia. Himura and Alice are asked by the police to help. The solution is a fairly simple one. It's hardly satisfying, but then again, this was a bonus audio drama. It's a cute story though.

Zankoku na Yurukago is a good, solid detective story that might work better as book than as audio drama, but still quite enjoyable, especially if taken together wth Saru no Hidarite. I don't think I need to comment on the acting, because that has been consistenly excellent throughout the series.

And for your convenience, the reviews of Writer Alice novels on this blog:
46 Banme no Misshitsu ("The 46th Locked Room") (1992)
Dali no Mayu ("Dali's Cocoon") (1993)
Russia Koucha no Nazo ("The Russian Tea Mystery") (1994)
Sweden Kan no Nazo ("The Swedish Mansion Mystery") (1995)
Brazil Chou no Nazo ("The Brazilian Butterfly Mystery") (1996)
Eikoku Teien no Nazo ("The English Garden Mystery") (1997)
Malay Tetsudou no Nazo ("The Malay Railroad Mystery") (2002)

Original Japanese title(s): 有栖川有栖（原）　『残酷な揺り籠』

The Apeman's Secret

「我が左の手は正しき者を蘇えらせる神の左手、我が右の手は悪しき者を滅ぼす悪魔の右手、滅びろ！」

『神の左手悪魔の右手』

"My left hand which resurrects the just is the left hand of god, my right hand which destroys the evil is the right hand of the devil. Be gone!"

"The Left Hand of God, The Right Hand of the Devil"

It's been a while since I last discussed an audio drama!

Writer Alice series (audio drama)
46 Banme no Misshitsu ("The 46th Locked Room")
Swiss Dokei no Nazo ("The Swiss Clock Mystery")
Yaneura no Sanposha ("The Stroller in the Attic")
Zekkyoujou Satsujin Jiken ("-The Castle of Screams- Murder Case")
Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie ("The House With the Long Hallway")
Saru no Hidarite ("The Monkey's Left Paw") 

What at first appeared to be just a deadly accident of a man crashing into the sea with his car, soon turns into suspected murder, when the police discovers a fair amount of sleeping medicine in the victim's body. Criminologist Himura Hideo and his friend (and mystery writer) Arisugawa Alice once again join the police investigation as part of Himura's "fieldwork". The police finds out that the victim had debts and soon decides on three suspects: his wife (who has financial gains through the life insurance), a friend of his wife from whom he had borrowed a lot of money (the life insurance money would mean she would be paid back) and that woman's adopted son (who is living off his mother). Yet none of them appeared to have been able to commit the spectacular murder of driving off a car into the sea and swimming back for several reasons, including alibi and being handicapped. Other elements like hypnosis and a mystical mummified monkey's paw which can fulfill wishes also turn the case into at least a two-pipe problem in the audio drama Saru no Hidarite ("The Monkey's Left Paw").

Saru no Hidarite is the sixth entry in Momogre's adaptations of Arisugawa Alice's Writer Alice series and is based on the novel Kisaki wa Fune wo Shizumeru ("The Queen Sinks the Boat", 2010). I think it's the first time since the very first audio drama (46 Banme no Misshitsu) that they did an adaptation of a full-fledged novel (subsequent adaptations were based on short stories and novelettes). I haven't read the original novel though, but a quick look at a summary makes me suspect the structure of the original story was changed a bit to fit the audio drama format and length.

As a detective story, I quite liked Saru no Hidarite. Unlike the always excellent Student Alice series, the Writer Alice series isn't always as complex or amusing as I want it to be, but I thought this was a very entertaining story (see this post for the link between the Writer Alice and Student Alice series). While the actual murder and all is quite boring, I loved that even though you're presented an obvious one-of-the-three-suspects plot, it keeps moving your attention from one suspect to another in a not-too-forced manner. Also, the story has very strongly links to W.W. Jacobs' short story The Monkey's Paw (1902): the way the story serves as a hint to the conundrum Himura and Alice are struggling with is brilliant, as is Himura's interpretation of the classic. Definitely one of the best detective stories I've read (heard) that reference other stories both in theme and in contents.

Like I said before, I suspect the story was slightly rearranged to fit the audio drama format (because the cover text of the book is hardly the way you'd describe the way it goes in the audio drama), and it works fairly well as it is now. Once again though, the story isn't really one that particularly gains from being presented as an audio drama: the story has no particular links to voice or sounds. I really wonder how they decide on which story they adapt.

Then again, I do have to say that this is definitely a story that works well as an audio drama. Locked rooms don't always work as well if it's all just audio, unless you can shift the focus from solving a mechnical locked room to something else (which is why I prefer the audio drama of Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie to 46 Banme no Misshitsu). And while the story has nothing to do with voice and sounds, I do have to say that it does manage to do something quite well because it's an audio drama, but I will not go in details because of I might spoil the fun.

Retailer Mandarake also offered an extra audio drama together with Saru no Hidarite. Tenkuu no Me is based on the same-titled short story in the short story collection Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie (of which the title story was also adapted as an audio drama). It is a short story about Alice, who is asked by his neighbour for some advice. His neigbour is a teacher and one of her students has apparently taken a spirit photograph (with a ghost on it). One of her fellow students who took a look at the photo recently turned up dead due to a freak accident, falling of an old abandoned house. The solution is a bit disappointing, as it one of those stories where Arisugawa Alice (the writer, not the character) relies on random trivia and vague clueing. The one interesting point though is that Himura doesn't appear in the story; it's Alice who does all the sleuthing.

Saru no Hidarite was a good audio drama of a good detective story. The audio dramas of the Writer Alice series are always of high quality and this one is no different, but the story itself is also one of the better ones they've done now. The bonus track is a bit disappointing, but the main course is definitely worth a listen.

And for your convenience, the reviews of Writer Alice novels on this blog:
46 Banme no Misshitsu ("The 46th Locked Room") (1992)
Dali no Mayu ("Dali's Cocoon") (1993)
Russia Koucha no Nazo ("The Russian Tea Mystery") (1994)
Sweden Kan no Nazo ("The Swedish Mansion Mystery") (1995)
Brazil Chou no Nazo ("The Brazilian Butterfly Mystery") (1996)
Eikoku Teien no Nazo ("The English Garden Mystery") (1997)
Malay Tetsudou no Nazo ("The Malay Railroad Mystery") (2002)

Original Japanese title(s):  モモグレ、有栖川有栖（原）『猿の左手』

Memory of Butterfly

"Ah, this is kinda relaxed. So hard to turn of my brain. I have to stop thinking. Starting.....now! ........ Hey, it worked! Oh, no, that's thinking..."

"Make Room for Lisa" (The Simpsons)

Doesn't the word "cocoon" actually kinda resemble one? With the round forms and all...

Writer Alice series
46 Banme no Misshitsu ("The 46th Locked Room") (1992)
Dali no Mayu ("Dalí's Cocoon") (1993)
Russia Koucha no Nazo ("The Russian Tea Mystery") (1994)
Sweden Kan no Nazo ("The Swedish Mansion Mystery") (1995)
Brazil Chou no Nazo ("The Brazilian Butterfly Mystery") (1996)
Eikoku Teien no Nazo ("The English Garden Mystery") (1997)
Zekkyoujou Satsujin Jiken ("The -Castle of Screams- Murder Case") (2001)
Malay Tetsudou no Nazo ("The Malay Railroad Mystery") (2002)
Swiss Dokei no Nazo ("The Swiss Watch Mystery") (2003)
Nagai Rouka no Aru Ie ("The House with the Long Hallway") (2010)

Doujou Shuuichi was not only known as the owner-director of a jewelry store chain, but also as a great admirer of Salvador Dalí. He owned several of Dalí's art objects and he even sported the same distinctive mustache! But just enjoying art is sometimes not enough to relieve stress, so Doujou also owned his own floating tank, which he used for meditation and rest. Little did he know that he would be falling in eternal rest inside his 'cocoon'. After Doujou missed a meeting at the office, his brother and some employees go looking for him at his house and discover him murdered inside the floating tank. But the crime scene is full of oddities: a clothes basket was overturned, Doujou's clothes are nowhere to be found and most striking: his distinctive Dalí mustache was gone! Himura Hideo, assistant-professor in criminology, once again heads out to the crime scene for his 'fieldwork', together with good friend and mystery writer Arisugawa Alice to solve the mystery of the missing mustache in Arisugawa Alice's Dali no Mayu ("Dalí's Cocoon", 1993).

This was the second book featuring Himura and Alice, released just one year after their debut in the amusing locked room murder mystery 46 Banme no Misshitsu. While the fourth novel in the series also featured an impossible crime, Dali no Mayu is more like a classic Queen story, featuring a strange crime scene (as you can guess by the fact that the author and the narrator share the same name: Arisugawa is influenced by Queen). No clothes on the crime scene! A missing mustache! I quite liked this premise and was hoping for something baffling with long Queenian deduction chains like Arisugawa had written in other novels like Kotou Puzzle.

And I really shouldn't have that high expectations. Dali no Mayu is not a bad mystery novel, but very bland comparing to other novels in the series, or specifically the ones before and after it. The initial premise is good, but the plot feels like it had several loose ideas strung together in a rather uninspired way. A lot of the mystery is already resolved halfway through the book not through the power of the mind, but sheer luck of the police and the rest of the book feature red herrings that feel a bit too much like red herrings: as if they were just written to pad out the story, rather than to improve on the story. There were at least two distinct moments where I rolled my eyes in disbelief. Was that really believable?! Would anyone really have done that?!  There are some good ideas in Dali no Mayu for an excellent mystery novel (I especially like the idea behind the role of the murder weapon, though that again is burdened by something really unbelievable), but it feels like every idea is just executed at just half of what Arisugawa could have done with them.

Oh, and a quick trip to Japanese fan-culture: it's been a while since I read the first novel in the series, so I can't remember whether the Writer Alice was like this from the start, but man, this second novel already feels strongly aimed at fujoshi with Himura and Alice's interactions. I had always thought that the shift towards catering to the fujoshi public came later, but putting Himura and Alice in situations that causes the fandom to squeal in pleasure was apparently already present this early in the series. Heck, nowadays I have the feeling that Arisugawa Alice only writes really good mystery novels for his Student Alice series, while he leaves the less complex plots for the Writer Alice series, which simply sells because of its fujoshi public. There's a reason why those audio dramas of this series (reviews here, here, here, here and here) are produced by Momogre. Not that I'm not trying to be antagonistic or dismissive of a rather big group of fans or something, I just wished the mystery plots wouldn't seem to play second fiddle to fandom pandering... True, there are some good and even great novels in the Writer Alice series, but in general, the level seems much lower than the Student Alice series.

Dali no Mayu is a slightly disappointing entry in the series. It might have become like this because it was released so soon after the first novel, but both the first and third novel are so much better than this one. Not that Dali no Mayu is bad, but I do have the feeling this could have been much more, as it does feature some good ideas. Maybe good as a light snack.

Original Japanese title(s): 有栖川有栖 『ダリの繭』

Snow Light Shower

la la la- la- la-

僕らの世界

夢　うつろな　ユートピア

堅い殻の　クルミが割れたら

現実（せかい）は不意に流れ出す

la- la- la- la- Marionette Fantasia

『Marionette Fantasia』　（Garnet Crow)

la la la- la- la-

Our world

A dream, a hollow utopia

When the hard shell of the walnuts break

The world will flow out of them

la- la- la- la- Marionette Fantasia

"Marionette Fantasia" (Garnet Crow)

Confession to make: I had read the prologue of today's book at least six times in the last two year or so. And every time I thought, naah, kinda boring, I'll read this later. But the book turned to be much more fun than I had expected actually, as I finished this book in just two days when I finally did get past the prologue...

Writer Alice series
46 Banme no Misshitsu ("The 46th Locked Room") (1992)
Russia Koucha no Nazo ("The Russian Tea Mystery") (1994)
Sweden Kan no Nazo ("The Swedish Mansion Mystery") (1995)
Brazil Chou no Nazo ("The Brazilian Butterfly Mystery") (1996)
Eikoku Teien no Nazo ("The English Garden Mystery") (1997)
Zekkyoujou Satsujin Jiken ("The -Castle of Screams- Murder Case") (2001)
Malay Tetsudou no Nazo ("The Malay Railroad Mystery") (2002)
Swiss Dokei no Nazo ("The Swiss Watch Mystery") (2003)
Nagai Rouka no Aru Ie ("The House with the Long Hallway") (2010)

Mystery writer Arisugawa Alice has traveled to Mount Bandai in Fukushima prefecture to gain some inspiration for his new book. Next to Alice's inn stands the Swedish Mansion, which is named like that because it's a Swedish style woodlodge, but also because the mistress of the house came from Sweden. Otsukawa Ryuu is a writer of children's stories, and he lives in the Swedish Mansion with his beautiful wife Veronica. Ryuu and Veronica love guests, and even though they are already entertaining some friends at their house (which has an annex building), they also invite Alice for tea. The same night however, one of Ryuu and Veronica's guests is found murdered at the annex building: and the only footprints in the snow leading to the annex were those of the victim herself. How did the murderer get away from the crime scene without leaving footprints? Being a suspect himself (as the only 'outsider' to the party), Alice asks his friend, the criminologist Himura, to help him in Arisugawa Alice's  Sweden Kan no Nazo ("The Swedish Mansion Mystery").

Mystery writer Arisugawa Alice and criminologist Himura Hideo first appeared in 46 Banme no Misshitsu and has since then been Arisugawa Alice (the actual writer, not the character)'s most popular series characters. Within the Writer Alice series (not to be confused with the Student Alice series),  there's a subset of stories that follow the titles of Ellery Queen's nationality novels: Sweden Kan no Nazo is the second of that series, following the short story collection Russia Koucha no Nazo. I got kinda tired of this series with the third and fourth entries in the series (Brazil Chou no Nazo and Eikoku Teien no Nazo), so what did I think of the second novel?

I quite liked it actually. The impossible crime trope of the missing footprints in the snow is a classic of course, but that doesn't mean it can't be good. Sure, by now I've seen countless of variants of it, and while I wouldn't say that Sweden Kan no Nazo provided a really surprising new twist on the formula, it's definitely a solid entry in the history of Missing Footprints in the Snow. But more impressive than the trick itself, is the way at which detective Himura arrived at the truth: Sweden Kan no Nazo might be an impossible crime story, but the thought process behind it is pure Queen. You don't need ridiculous imagination to solve this puzzle: just follow the clues all to their natural conclusion, and you can solve the case by sheer logic. And that's the best way to do a detective story! In a sense, Sweden Kan no Nazo feels like a smaller scale version of the amazing deduction chain of Kotou Puzzle: the deduction chain here is also mostly based on one little contradiction in the circumstances, which eventually leads to the truth.

The setting of the lodges, and the snow do feel a bit similar to 46 Banme no Misshitsu, Alice and Himura's debut story; the major differences of course being that 46 Banme no Misshitsu was set inside a house. On the other hand, the fact that Himura doesn't appear until halfway through the story feels fresh: Alice and Himura always appear together with their typical banter, so it's a nice change of pace to see more of just Alice for once (because Alice is always the butt of the jokes).

In fact, it's this banter of Himura and Alice that kinda doesn't work for me. It starts out okay, but as the series continued, it seemed like a lot of the stories were not really interesting as detective stories, and that a lot more attention was being paid at presenting 'fun' conversations between Himura and Alice. Mostly by having Himura act all cool, while Alice constantly being at the receiving ends of things. And the problem is: it sells. It sells really good, even. It even sells audio dramas! I suspect that writer Arisugawa Alice is actually really happy he's able to write lighter mysteries with just bantering Alice and Himura as these books fill his pockets, and once in a while he'll write a more serious and complex Student Alice books to keep the more die-hard mystery readers happy.

But that's another story. I might be complaining about the direction of the series in general, but Sweden Kan no Nazo is really a decent imposssible crime mystery, especially when you realize that the method of detecting is one not normally associated with impossible crimes. Definitely one to read (after the Student Alice series, of course).

Original Japanese title(s): 有栖川有栖 『スウェーデン館の謎』

Halfway House

「 あの翼があるから鳥だといい、牙があるから獣だといった、どっちつかずの話に出てくるあの蝙蝠ですか？」

『女王蜂』

"Do you mean the bat, that animal nobody can decide what it is, as some people call a bird because it has wings, while some people call it a beast because it has fangs?"

"Queen Bee"

I aim at a minimum of four posts a month, but maybe I should also work on spreading the posts a bit, so it at least seems this blog has a regular schedule. Anyway, number four on the last day of the month, so just safe. November should be a bit more active.

Today, Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie ("The House with the Long Hallway"), another audio drama based on a short story in Arisugawa Alice's Writer Alice series. When criminologist Himura Hideo and writer Arisugawa Alice aren't somewhere (like in Malaysia) solving crimes, they actually have work. Himura teaches as Kyoto's Eito University and it is one of his students, Hibino Hiromitsu, who stumbles into trouble. Wandering in the mountains of Kyoto, examining genkai shuuraku (highly depopulated towns; near ghost towns) for his thesis, Hibino gets lost. As the sun starts to fall, he finally finds a little house with the lights on. Inside, he finds three people from the occult magazine Black & White, who are working on an article about a ghost that appears in the house. Hibino is invited to stay with them for the night and offer to give him a lift back tomorrow. He accepts, and takes an interest in the work of the reporters. The ghost is said to appear in a long, underground hallway which connects the house to another house a bit further away. The hallway is cut in half by a door which can be locked from either side.

No ghost appears that night though, and Miyamatsu Takeyuki, an expert in the occult, who should have come, also fails to appear. Anyway, the reporters, and Hibino, spend the night drinking and talking and when dawn breaks, they take one more look at the hallway. But for some reason, the door in the middle is locked from the other side, and when they enter the hallway from the other house, they discover Miyamatsu, dead, leaning against the door. According to the police, the man must have been killed around the time Hibino and the others had been drinking, but Hibino swears no-one left the small party long enough to have been able to go to the other house, into the hallway, kill and lock the door, and go back all the way over the mountain. But on the other hand, the door was locked from the other side, and it seems there is no way possible of tampering with it from this side. The problem that Himura and Alice has to solve is thus whether this was an alibi trick, or a locked room trick.

Like I mentioned in the review of the audio drama of 46 Banme no Misshitsu, some types of stories are better suited for an audio adaptation than others. Locked rooms, especially those that rely on some mechanical trick, are a hard one to pull off effectively in an audio drama for example (which is why the audio drama of Carr's The Hollow Man doesn't really work...). And I still have to have the pleasure of hearing one, but I would love to hear an audio drama with an audible clue. But taking this thought of locked rooms back to Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie, do I think the story works?

Yes, oh, yes! Because the main problem of Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie isn't about solving a locked room. it's about figuring out what kind of trick was used in the first place. Was it an alibi trick, or a locked room trick? Figuring out what happened in the first place is actually something I enjoy very much, and while the set-up was different, a highly popular novel by Higashino Keigo basically also plays with this kind of trope expectation. I think I mentioned in the review of Higashigawa Tokuya's Koukan Satsujin ni Mukanai Yoru that knowing the type of trick in advance can ruin a story, but Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie is more like a meta-story, since it plays one level above where most detective stories are. The double layered story ( 1. What is the problem? 2. How to solve the problem?) works pretty good as an audio drama, and is a solid story (regardless of medium) overall.

Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie also has a distinct yakata-mono flavor, something I hadn't seen in Arisugawa's works since 46 Banme no Misshitsu (though that may be because of my choice of reading). The two houses connected by a creepy hallway, somewhere deep in the mountains, a ghost haunting the place (the majority of ghosts in Japan are actually female, by the way). You'd almost think you'd walked into one of Ayatsuji Yukuto's novels. Which is seldom a bad thing.

In short, a fun story which works quite well as an audio drama. It's actually a pretty deep story because it is basically playing around with genre tropes, making you guess (deduce) what kind of story it is, making it a good, slightly meta-mystery.

Arisugawa Alice's audio dramas:
46 Banme no Misshitsu
Swissdokei no Nazo
Yaneura no Sanposha
Zekkyoujou Satsujin Jiken 
Nagai Rouka ga Aru Ie
 
Original Japanese title(s): 有栖川有栖 『長い廊下がある家』