"All the Queen's Men"

暗い霧のただ中

求め捜せ

真実（まこと）の道

神話の中で繰り返される戦い（バトル）

『女神の戦士　～PEGASUS FOREVER～』（Marina Del Ray)

In the middle of the dark mist

Look and search for

The road of truth 

The battles that have been repeated in legends

"The Warriors of the Goddess ~ PEGASUS FOREVER" (Marina Del Ray)

I like how I never seem to do what I say I'll do in my posts (like I mentioned here). So I might say that it is a bit silly to read English fiction in Japanese and that I should read more in English, but I'll still read English fiction in Japanese. Short story: I am not to be trusted.

Though I have a semi-excuse for today's review. For The Misadventures of Ellery Queen (or Ellery Queen no Sainan), an anthology featuring Ellery Queen pastiches, parodies and homages is actually not available in English! Sure, all but one of the stories collected here were originally written in English, but this is the first time they have been collected in a neat single release. In Japan! Been able to read Japanese, I've been able to get my hands on some (translated) English novels rather easily, but I had never expected that I would come across a Japanese-exclusive, English-based Queen volume! So I had actually been waiting for the release of this volume for quite some time now as a Queen fan. In fact, I had been waiting for so long, that I had actually forgotten about it! Which explains why I'm a month late with my purchase. And review.

Anyway, The Misadventures of Ellery Queen is a handsome (and also very expensive) hardcover release and is edited by Iiki Yuusan, chairman of the (Japanese) Ellery Queen Fanclub. Iiki wrote introductions to every story, explaining his reasons for selected the story in question and presenting all kinds of story regarding the original publication, the writer(s) and the relations to Queen-dom.  Iiki also added a probably fairly complete list of (English) Queen pastiches at the end of the volume, which might suggest a future volume? But back to the current volume. The Misadventures of Ellery Queen is divided in three sections: pastiches, parodies and homages, with the pastiches definitely the highlight of the volume. I wasn't too big a fan of the parodies, as they became a bit too silly at times and the homages were a hit or miss too for me, but I had quite some fun overall with this volume. Though I will admit this right now: there are just too many stories here, so I'll discuss most stories only briefly.

Part I: Pastiches

We all know about those undisclosed cases mentioned in Dr. Watson's stories. Queen himself addressed the disappearence of Mr. James Phillimore in his radio-play Mr. Short and Mr. Long. Francis M. Nevins Jr.'s Open Letter to Survivors [1975] in turn is based on a undisclosed case mentioned in Ten Days' Wonder regarding the will of Adelina Monquieux. Our unnamed detective visits the infamous Adelina, who has three sons, a triplet, who look exactly the same (and who are convieniently named Xavier, Yves and Zachary) and a niece. According to Adelina's will, they will all inherit a great sum of money if she is to die and another great sum of money is to go a hospital to treat the victims of the atomic bombings in Japan. But if her safe is opened within 24 years after her death, the money intended for the victims is to go the Flat-Earth society. 

And of course Adelina is killed. The story is distinctly Queen-ish, with several plot-devices often used by Queen utilized here (though I am not mentioned them by name for a reason) and a logical explanation of the events by the unnamed detective as if by Queen himself. Also funny is the way the suspects are named, as Queen, in his Puzzle Club stories, also often gave his suspects easy to understand names (initial letters ABC, or XYZ etc).

I have to admit that this is the first time I've ever read a story by Edward D. Hoch. Which seems like almost impossible, seeing his output. But still. The Circle of Ink [1999] concerns a series of seemingly indiscriminate murders, with the murderer leaving an ink circle on the hands of his victims. What connects these victims and will the police be able to stop this serial killer? The search for a missing link in a serial murder case. Yes, this should sound familiar. The result? A very entertaining short story that reminds of the latter period Queen. Those in the know, should be able to guess some of the plot twists coming, but that doesn't make this story less fun. A lot happens actually in this story, but it never feels too rushed and I really love the way the murders are connected (in a way).

I was less a fan of Hoch's Wrightsville Carnaval [2005]. Maybe because it was set in Wrightsville, maybe because the story was a bit too easy and not really... Queen-ish. Though in my mind, a lot of the Wrightsville stories don't feel Queen-ish, so that might be right. Anyway, Queen has not visited Wrightsville for years now and is surprised to see how much has changed (and to hear how many of his acquaintances have died). But one thing hasn't changed: people die when Queen visits Wrightsville. I would usually write more detailed about the story, but I have the feeling that the solution would become rather clear if I were to do that. At any rate, the story is set in a very modern world (everybody uses mobile phones), which might feel a bit strange at times, but if I allow Columbo to use one...

The Japanese Armor Mystery (日本木製鎧甲之謎) [2005] by Ma Tian is the only story here not originally written in English. Iiki notes that the story feels a bit like a Japanese New Orthodox story, which I sorta understand. And sorta don't understand. Anyway, the problem for Queen to solve: why was there a man dressed in a complete Japanese war armor in the garden? And why would one murder a elderly sick man who was going to die soon anyway? The somewhat weird murder scene of man in armor reminds a bit of the early Queen novels, but yes, there is something distinctly New Orthodox to this story. Which is actually not a bad thing, nor a strange thing as the New Orthodox school was originally a direct offspring of the Kyoto University Mystery Club's Guess the Criminal short stories, which in turn were often inspired by Queen-ish stories. The Japanese Armor Mystery is a bit easy to solve though and might have been better in a novelette form, I think.

The Book Case [2007] (Dale C. Andrews and Kurt Sercu) is the most recent story collected in The Misadventures of Ellery Queen and the most meta of the pastiches. An elderly Queen has to solve the death of Djuna's son and his colleague. The latter was found murdered in his room, with a pile of Ellery Queen novels on the floor keeping him company. Is this a dying message that means Queen himself did it? Of course not and there is an absolutely good reason why there's a pile of Queen novels besides the victim. Besides the meta-reason of course that the writers are clearly Queen-fans who wanted to mention all the Queen novels in their story. I am not too big a fan of the super-elderly Queen described here (the elderly Queen described in Nishimura Kyoutarou's Great Detectives series feels a bit less physically helpless), but this is a great story overall. It gets kinda modern near the end of the story though and the solution kinda asks for specialist knowledge, or expects you have read the Detective Conan volumes that were released a bit before the release of this story that surprisingly enough feature a similar plot point, but this is great meta-fun.

Part II: Parodies

Ten Month's Blunder [1961](J. N. Williamson) features detective Celery Keen in a dying message story. What does the word FAN written in blood indicate? The set-up is a classic, three suspect, elimination-style story, but as this story is filed in the parody section and not in the pastiche section, you can bet that this is not a straight serious story. It's actually reasonably entertaining, but as often is the case, the interpretation of a dying message can be troublesome, if it refers to somewhat specialist knowledge.

The strongest impression Arthur Porges' The English Village Mystery [1964] made on me was when it mentioned that twelve of the fourteen inhabitants of the titular village were murdered in a serial murder case. That doesn't leave many suspects for Celery Green to investigate! The solution is a playful take on a Queen staple trope, but one that really doesn't work in a Japanese translation, sadly enough.

Dying Message [1966] does not really feel like a Queen parody, in my mind, except for the fact that Norma Shier wrote this story under the name Leyne Requel (an anagram of Ellery Queen), who is also the detective in the story. Schier plays a lot with anagrams here and Ellery Queen (Dannay) himself added an editor's note at the time of this story's publication in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (EQMM) explaining all the anagrams Schier hid in the story. I don't really like this story as a meta-mystery, as it features the kind of meta-solution I don't like (not even in meta-fiction!), but it might be of interest to someone else.

Jon Breen's The Idea Man - C.I.A. Cune's Investigatory Archices Plagarism Department [1969] is a somewhat surreal dying message story starring E. Larry Cune, but the main attraction of this story is the way Breen manages to insert many, many references to Queen and (mystery) fiction in general in just a few pages. Once again, something that might be of interest to others.

Oh, I already used 'surreal' for Breen's story. Not sure what to use for David Peel's The Cataloging on the Wall [1971] then, as this story is even more bizarre. Grotesque maybe. It features Quellery Een, a librarian/drug addict/writer/editor/detective/and more who has to find a replacement for his dead secretary (whom he himself killed). The story was written for the April Fool's edition of Wilson Library Bulletin and despite having a Challenge to the Reader, probably unsolvable unless you're as crazy as Quellery here. Not my cup of tea, but I can understand why one would like this story though.

Whodunit? [1976] (J.P. Satire = Peter David and Myra Emjay Kasman) is my favorite of the parody section. Not because of the solution or something like that, because that wasn't that surprising or original (it might have been at the time though). No, this story is fun because it's a crossover between Star Trek (the original series) and Ellery Queen. The TV show of Ellery Queen, starring Jim Hutton. James T. Kirk is found murdered (burnt to death by a phaser and margarine!) in his quarters, leaving only the dying message Uhu and Ellery, inspector Queen and Velie have to find the murderer among the crew of the USS Enterprise! The setting is bizarre, but it is definitely written as an 'episode' of the Ellery Queen TV show, complete with the story beginning with several dialogue cuts featuring all the suspects and a Challenge to the 'Viewer' (?)! Near the end, the story becomes more relient on Star Trek-fandomania (and this is still a parody story, so don't expect it to be too serious), but this was still an entertaing story. But weird. Definitely weird.

Part III: Homages

The Case of the Stuttering Sextant [1974] is a parody on a true crime story by Baynard H. Kendrick, with Clayton Rawson having added an introduction and footnotes in the spirit of Ellery Queen (Dannay), the EQMM editor. The story itself was not that funny, but I loved Rawson's take on Queen, the editor, complete with very, very detailed footnotes questioning Kendrick's style of writing.

The African Fish Mystery [1961] (James Holding) takes it cues from Author, Author, the radio program where Dannay and Lee acted as Mr. Ellery and Mr. Queen. Guests were presented with an enigmatic situation, for which they were supposed to think of (deduce) an explanation for. Martin Leroy and King Danforth are our replacement Dannay and Lee here, who are on a world trip. In Africa, they are told by their driver that a previous customer became a wealthy man after being driven by him, as his customer was told that he inherited a fortune when they came back from their tour. Martin and King however think the story sounds too great to be true and they start to come up with their own explanations for the sudden increase of wealth of the man. Great fun if you're familar with Author, Author!

Dear Mr. Queen, Editor [1963] (Marge Jackson) is written in the form of a letter to Queen, the editor, like the title suggests. The author tells Queen about the murder of a husband and hints at a future murder, with the editor Queen not sure what to think about the letter. It's a short story and the conclusion is rather predictable, so it hardly leaves an impression, to be honest.

E.Q. Griffen's Second Case [1970] by Josh Pachter is a story in a series featuring the family Griffen, with all the children of the household being named after famous detectives. And like the name suggests, this story features the second case starring Ellery Queen Griffen. And as a Queen homage, we naturally have a dying message. What is the meaning of the message 123 the hippie-cum-children's book writer murder victim left behind? As a dying message story, it is pretty fun and fairly clued at, and the idea of having all these 'famous detectives' running around in one house is actually quite interesting, so I might want to read more stories of the Griffen series.

But the greatest story of the homage section has to be Drury [???] (Steven Queen), which is also a very effective Misery parody. One of the Queens cousins gets involved in a car accident and is found by Annie, who also happens to be Barnaby Ross's greatest fan (and she hates Ellery Queen). Having found the name card of Barnaby Ross among her patient's possessions (thus finding out that he is Ross), she tells 'Ross' that she is not happy with the conclusion of Drury Lane's Last Case and forces him to write a continuation that suits her taste.

This is really a funny story, because it plays perfectly with the confusion that arised from having the two cousins playing both Ellery Queen and Barnaby Ross in radio shows and the moment Annie begins to think that her patient Ross is actually Queen is both terrifying and hilarious at the same time! The continued stories of Drury Lane are also good for a great laugh, and while Drury does contain heavy spoilers for Drury Lane's Last Case, I can only recommend this story!

Like I said, not too much a fan of the parody section, but I loved the pastiche section and some of the homages stories were very good too. Overall though, this is a very nice release and a must-read for Queen fans. If they can read Japanese. That might prove tobe a small problem to some though. In the afterword, Iiki gives a bibliography of more (English) Queen pastiches and I really hope that the future will bring another volume!

Original Japanese title(s): 編訳： 飯域勇三 『エラリークイーンの災難』

Troubled Waters

「東京に行きたいんだよ」

「でしたら、１２時３８分発、特急はやぶさ２号に乗ってもらって、一旦に京都で降りてください」

「えっ、一旦降りるの？」

「え。降りたら、すぐに東京行きの東京トンビが来ますけど、それを敢えて見送って、次のマックスはげたかで東京に向かえば、アリバイはばっちりだと思います」

「西村京太郎か？！お前」

 『もどりな窓口』　

"I want to go to Tokyo"

"Well, please first take the special express Hayabusa 2 departing at 12.38 and get off at Kyoto."

"Get off?"

"Yes. Get off there and then the Tokyo-bound Tokyo Tonbi will come, but don't get on that train, but take the Max Hagetaka that comes next to Tokyo. Your alibi will be perfect!"

"Do you think you're Nishimura Kyoutarou?!"

"The Greenish Counter" (Sandwichman Sketch)

Like I said last week, I like spending time in the Mystery Club room as it beats having to cycle back and forth from and to my room. But there is one big drawback of being in the club room. All of my clothes start to smell of katori-senko. Seriously, I've been forced to wash my clothes more often because of the distinct smell that sticks to my clothing. On the other hand, it is probably better than getting stung by mosquitoes...

Mystery on Southampton Water is actually the first Crofts I've read, and consequently the first Inspector French novel I've read. And despite the novel feeling immensely British, I've read it in Japanese. Anyway, the story starts with the people of Joymount Cement Works having severe financial troubles, being slowly pushed out of the market by a new, better and cheaper cement produced by rival company Chayle. King, chief scientist of Joymount, tries to replicate the formula for the new cement, but all of his experiments end up in failure. So as his last resort he decides to break into the Chayle factory to steal the formula. King comes up with a perfect plan to enter Chayle, complete with ablibis and such and together with one of Joymount's directors, Brand, he manages to break into Chayle.

However, they are surprised by a watchman, Clay, and accidently kill him. King quickly comes up with a plan to make the watchman's death seem like an accident and the next day, King and Brand are sure they are free of any suspicion. That is, until chief inspector French enters the scene, who suspects that Clay's death might not have been an accident and starts to sniff around Joymount, but is not able to proof anything. Unlike the directors of Chayle themselves, who have strong suspicions (and possibly even evidence) of King and Brand's guilt and they start to blackmail Joymount. How are King and Brand going to get out of this pinch?

My first Crofts and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I have severe troubles pointing out what I liked about it precisely. Was it the inverted mystery at the beginning of the story, that detailed King's plans to infiltrate Chayle and the subsequent plans surrounding Clay's death? Was it the police procedural of the second part starring French who finds all kinds of little contradictions that pile up to one big suspicion? Or is the third part, which features the blackmailing of Joymount by the Chayle directors and the fact that a new (non-inverted!) mystery is added to the story? No idea, but I at least know that the story's tension never slacked and that I was entertained from start to finish.

I do think that the different parts I just described make up for a large part of this novel's entertainment. It is not only the inverted mystery and the police procedural parts (and the added 'non-inverted' mystery part), it is also how the atmosphere changes from a (company) spy thriller to a more familiar police investigation, back to a thrilling blackmail scene. While there are actually few events in the story, the way it is written makes it feel like an amazing rollercoaster that keeps surprising you.

And as I am writing this, I still have no idea how to explain better why this was so entertaining. The text is quite dry, there is very little that actually happens, there is certainly a 'echo-ing' effect of plot-elements that might seem redundant as we see both the crime itself and the subsequent police investigation, but still, I can't but be positive about Mystery on Southampton Water. Which is really bothering me, because there is really little I can point to that supports my stance on it. There are no locked rooms here, no challenges to the reader, no logic-chains that point to the one and only murderer, no particularly rememorable settings, nothing cultural-specific, no meta-discussions, no linguistic games, no Greek mythology, no courtroom scenes, no phantom thieves, no writer-detectives, no mitate murders, none of the things I usually point to. So why do I like it? No idea, but Mystery on Southampton Water was definitely a fun introduction to Crofts.

Though I guess I should read Crofts in English. Which would be a lot more easier actually. This reading English fiction in Japanese is getting a bit silly now.

"It all happened on the 11:20 from Hainault, to Redhill via..."

「降りること止めることも出来ずに今日も昨日揺られ、

ああ、夢なんて、昔どこかに描いた落書きだ」

「ファイティングポーズの詩」　（馬場俊英）

"Shaking through today and yesterday, unable to get off or stop,

Aa, dreams are just scribbles made in the past"

"Fighting Pose Song" (Baba Toshihide)

In the Netherlands, I spend quite some time in trains to go to my university. Heck, on bad days, I spend more time in trains than in classes. In Tokyo, my main means of transportation, besides my two feet, were also the trains, which is still an experience I will never forget. It is hard to forget how insanely crowded the trains are in the morning. Heck, I wasn't even always sure whether I could get off at my station, because people just wouldn't, and some couldn't, move out of the way inside the compartments so people could get to the exit. I kinda miss sitting in the train talking with people now, as I cycle everyday to campus, but memories of Tokyo do help realize how much better a bicycle is.

Anyway, trains. I have a friend who is a self-professed train-fan. I never really understood the passion for them, but then again, I guess being a fan of detective fiction is also strange. The funny thing, trains, or any means of transport and detective fiction have always had a strong connection. Just think of the many, many mysteries set within trains. Like Tsukidate no Satsujin ("The Tsukidate Murders"), a 2005-2006 one-shot manga penned by Ayatsuji Yukito and illustrated by Sasaki Noriko. 18-year old Karigaya Sorami, raised in Okinawa, has never ever set foot inside a train, because of her mother's strange aversion to them. Now her mother has deceased and Sorami's estranged grandfather wants her to visit him in faraway Hokkaidou. To get to her grandfather's mansion, Sorami has to travel with the luxary express Genya, departing from Chiseppu to Tsukidate.

The Genya is comprised from couches from the Orient Express and the trip will take one night. There are 6 other guests invited by Sorami's grandfather who also travel by the Genya with Sorami, all of them train fanatics and all of them having different 'specialties' within the field of trainology. They are all set for a wonderful night on the train, mimicking the grandour of the guests on that fateful night of that famous Orient Express mystery. And of course, having made all these allusions to Christie's classic, you can be sure something is going to happen. During the night, one of the guests is found murdered within his locked sleeping compartment. Was it the work of the train fanatic murderer who has been active lately?

I have to admit, I had no idea that this was a train oriented manga when I purchased it. I really just went for the name Ayatsuji Yukito. It appears that many of the editors of the magazine this story was serialized in were in fact train-fanatics, which is why they commissioned such a story. Anyway, it is almost surprising how much you'll learn about the many types of train-fandom as you read this story. Railway table fanatics, item collecting fanatics, photo fanatics, history fanatics, modelling fanatics, 'experience' fanatics, I really had no idea there were so many kinds of train fandoms. Quite a lot of background research has gone into this story and it's pretty interesting to read.

As for the detective plot, it shows a lot of potential halfway through, but ends up being rather easy, sadly enough. The story starts out a bit slow, but becomes quite interesting with the (first!) murder, it being commited on a running train and inside a locked sleeping couch and all. And then, at the halfway point, something incredible is revealed that acts as a double-edged sword. On one hand, this plotpoint does make it feel more like an Ayatsuji Yukito story, and feels original, surprising and it makes you doubt everything you've read until now. On the other hand, the moment this plot point is revealed is also the moment that the right solution becomes very visible, rendering the latter half of the story as merely filler. I actually think that not revealing the important plot-point, but instead hinting at it and incorporate it into the final conclusions, would have made this a much better story. There were also some 'lucky' breaks for the murderer that seemed a bit too lucky to be convincing.

Finally, I said I liked the train fanatics setting, but one problem was that despite all of the characters having different specialties, they ended up being very similar. Maybe it's because I am an 'outsider' and just see them as a homogeneous group ('the train fanatics'). Maybe the characters of Jukkakukan no Satsujin feel homogeneous too for 'outsiders'. But having these characters saying the same things the same time isn't going help in establishing them as seperate characters. Especially not if half of the them, they are meant as comedy fodder (this is actually quite a funny manga and there is a distinct light-hearted tone to it). Having them act more as different characters would certainly have made for a more thrilling story and it reminds me of how awesome Murder on the Orient Express is with its different kind of characters interacting with each other.

Tsukidate no Satsujin is a competent one-shot murder mystery. It is very train-fandom heavy, so that might be a selling point (or not at all) to some people. It won't go into history as a manga-mystery classic, I think, but it is worth a read if you can get your hands on it. I don't think it's available as an official English release, but there are quite some manga availabe in English from Ikki Comix, so maybe in the future?

Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人（原）、佐々木倫子（画）: 『月館の殺人』（上下）

A Journey into Lost Memories

「どうです、思い出せましたか？」

男が再び聞いてきた

Ａ：思い出した

Ｂ：思い出せまない

『かまいたちの夜２　監獄島のわらべ唄』

'Do you remember?'

The man asked again 

A: I remember

B: I don't remember

"Night of the Kamaitachi 2 - The Warabe Uta of Prison Island"

As the club room of the Mystery Club is located conveniently on the university campus,  I usually spend quite some time a week there between classes and stuff. Because it certainly beats having to cycle back and forth from my room in the heat and / or rain every time. And also because the club room is packed with interesting books and games. And manga. Loads of manga. Not sure what series like Hokuto no Ken and Chuuka Ichiban! are doing in our room, but I sure like it!

And there is a small shelf with non-Japanese novels. By which I mean, books written in languages besides Japanese. Most of them are naturally English, but there are also Italian, German, Korean and Chinese books there. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the name Patrick Quentin among the English books, as he/they was/were mentioned quite often in the mystery blog-world some time ago and because the title seemed slightly familiar, I decided to read Puzzle for Fiends to kill the time until my next class started. And the amount of dust that flew into the air and the dirty fingers I had by the time I had finished the novel suggested that very few members of the club actually touch the non-Japanese parts of the shelves. And to continue this random selection of observations before I discuss the novel itself: this Penguin paperback was actually bought for almost 800 yen in a secondhand bookstore! Which is, yes, quite expensive.

Especially as I didn't like the novel that much. Anyway, one day a man awakens in a house he doesn't remember, surrounded by people he doesn't remember. And he sure doesn't remember why he's got cast on his arm and leg. Well, to be honest, there is a lot our protagonist doesn't remember, as he is apparently suffering from amnesia after a car accident. He is told that he is Gordy Friend, husband to sensual Serena, brother to beautiful Marny and the son of Mimsey Friend. Oh, and his father died apparently died recently. But that is of no concern. It is probably just a matter of time before he recollects it all, he is told. Of course, the reader is aware that the so-called Gordy Friend is actually series detective Peter Duluth, who for some reason has lost his memory and is now in the care of a strange family who is trying very hard to make him believe he is someone else...

So apparently the writing duo of Patrick Quentin changed their formula for the Peter Duluth (Puzzle for...) series from a Golden Age formula after the war, with this obviously being more of a thriller. In fact, it feels very much like a Hitchcock movie and I'll admit I had fun with this book in the earlier parts, where Peter was struggling with his memory and trying to figure out who he was. It certainly read as a movie and I could easily visualise the whole thing. Though on the other hand, it seems like a waste to have used a series detective for this story: right from the start the reader is aware that the amnesia patient is Peter Duluth (the story starts with a short narrative with Peter and his wife), so that takes a bit of the suspense and tension away as you know that all of Peter/Gordy's suspicions of his 'family' are correct and you can bet that there really is something going on in the Friend mansion.

In the second half of the story, Peter does solve the mystery of his own role in the charade and even manages to solve some murders, but it is also incredibly predictable, which almost took away all pleasure I had with the story. The plot developments in the second half can be guessed even before they happen and you'd probably be right too! I think I might have liked the second half if this really had been a movie, but with some expectations for Patrick Quentin and this actually being a novel, well, I couldn't help but be disappointed.

And yes, I know, I should try the earlier novels in the series, but we sadly don't have them in the club room. Not in English at least. Maybe I should have listened to my gut-feeling instead of to my curiosity, as I could also have read Christianna Brand's Tour de Force today...

『a=x, b=x, ∴a=b』

「答えを見つけたのさ。昨夜云ってた三つの問題点の正しい答え。そしてもちろん、事件の犯人も真相もね。何ならここで、昔の探知小説ばりに例の『読者への挑戦』でも挿入してみようか？」

『殺人方程式　切断ざれた死体の問題』

"I found the answer. The answer to the three problems I pointed out last night. And naturally, I also found out the truth and the true culprit behind this case. What about inserting a 'challenge to the reader' here like in those detective novels of the past?"

"Murder Equation - The Problem of the Cut Up Body"

By now, most readers must have noticed that I seldom do what I say I will probably do at this blog. For those expecting a review of the next volume in Ayatsuji Yukito's Yakata series: sorry, but your princess in another castle. A castle which will probably come anyway if you wait long enough.

But hey, at least the Ayatsuji Yukito part is right! Satsujin Houteishiki - Setsudan Sareta Shitai no Mondai ("Murder Equation - The Problem of the Cut Up Body") has a neat title, I think and it starts out neat too. One day, the naked, dead body of a man is found on top of the roof of the Residence K apartment complex in S Town in Shinagawa Prefecture. Oh wait, maybe I should be more specific: the naked, dead body of a man who has been decapitated and is missing an arm too. It doesn't take long for the police to identify the corpse as Kidena Gouzou, the current head of the Mitagami Shoumeikai sect. The headquarters of the Mitagami Shoumeikai is located on the other side of a river across Residence K and Gouzou was supposed to have been in the penthouse there, as he was going through a ritual to officially take over the role of head of the sect from his recently deceased wife Mitsuko. Yet nobody saw him leave the building, nor did anybody see him enter Residence K. So how did he move from one building to another, losing a head and arm (and his life!) in the process?

Satsujin Houteishiki is despite this summary quite a light-hearted mystery. It is very different from the Yakata series and is mostly reminiscent of a two-hour TV drama. Which is usually a bad thing. But the main puzzle, 'the problem of the cut-up body', as the subtitle says, is luckily quite well-done. Ayatsuji himself admits that the main premise of the trick is not particularly original, but he adds enough of extras, like interesting clues to point to the murderer and the method, to keep it from feeling like just a rehash. This novel's main trick is also very different from what you'd expect from Ayatsuji if you're mostly familiar with him through the Yakata series (like me) though, so that also served as a pleasant surprise.

Ayatsuji also employs several styles of story-telling in this novel, which makes this novel a pleasure to read. The first chapter for example sketches a couple scenes starrring several star-players in the story around the time of the murder, while the second is a pure police procedural. The third chapter on the other hand feels more like an early Queen scene where the great detective makes some small deductions that lead up to new developments. The switching between these styles never feels forced and I myself was quite surprised how fast I finished this book, which is definitely because of this writing-style.

I have to say that the story feels almost too light at times though. It starts with the series detective(s): Asukai Kyou, who can't stand the sight of corpses and who only became a police officer because his wife wanted him to be one. And his twin (older) brother, who for convenience's sake is also called Kyou (written differently in Japanese though). They are fun to read as characters, sure, but the casts feels radically different from the gloomy and mysterious Yakata series and it took me quite some time to get used to them. The part where older brother Kyou 'dresses up' as his younger brother to get more information almost feels like slapstick or even comic-esque and this light touch to the story combined with the plot-element of sects/ new religions made me think of Nikaidou Reito's Karuizawa Magic, which is never good.

It is funny though that Ayatsuji mentions in the afterward that the editors originally requested him to write a travel mystery starring a police detective. Which was kinda not what Ayatsuji wanted and in the end they settled for going for a story starring an incredible trick, but to me, Satsujin Houteishiki really feels very close to the light two-hour police dramas that are so prevalent in Japan because of the writing style and the cast. Well, it does feature an incredible trick that would befit Shimada Souji, but still...

I really don't have that much to say about Satsujin Houteishiki actually. It is fun to read and certainly easier to get into than the Yakata series and the main problem is interesting too. But is... very different from the Yakata series. You won't find much of the elements that make that series so interesting in this novel. This is not (really) meta-fiction (though you might say it barely touches the borders). Not being the Yakata series isn't a bad thing per se though and like I said, there are definitely points worthwile to this novel, but yeah. Different.

Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人『殺人方程式　切断ざれた死体の問題』

「迷宮のように巡る世界で、変わらない想いを君に」

「もちろん、その可能性は多いにあるでしょうね。あのお手伝いさんはどうか分からないけど、僕やあなたも含めて、クイーンのあの作品を読んでない人間なてここにはいないでしょうから」

『迷路館の殺人』

"That is very much possible. I don't know about that maid, but there is not a single person here who hasn't read that famous novel by Queen"

"The Labyrinth House Murders"

Spending an entire night (and the morning) casting current members of the Mystery Club in the roles of the characters in Jukkakukan no Satsujin. Weird, but fun. Oh, and I can't divulge too much about this as this is something private of the Club, but do people really think that there are actual great detectives here when they see Kyouto Daigaku Suiri Shousetsu Kenkyuu Kai ("Kyoto University Detective Fiction Research Club", the official name of the Mystery Club)? Hey, this isn't the Koigakugo Academy Detective Club!

But now for something completely different. Or not completely. I mean, in the end it's all detective-fiction-related...

Meirokan no Satsujin ("The Labyrinth House Murders") is the third novel in Ayatsuji Yukito's Yakata series, which features amateur detective Shimada Kiyoshi and the mysterious buildings built by architect Nakamura Seiji. The titular Labyrinth House is an underground mansion, inspired by the myth of the Minotaur. And by inspired, I mean that the mansion is actually a labyrinth. The owner of the mansion, mystery writer Miyagaki Youtarou invited his four disciples, his editor (and wife), a critic and mystery fan Shimada Kiyoshi to his mansion for a special event, but he is found dead when they arrive. A recorded tape however tells them that he hopes that his disciples will improve their works and challenges them in writing a detective story within five days after his death, under the condition that nobody leaves the mansion until then. Their stories have to be set in the Labyrinth Mansion and they themselves have to appear as victims within their stories. The winner, determined by the editor and critic, is to inherit the whole fortune of Miyagaki. However, the four disciples are killed one after another and what's more surprising, they are all killed according to their own stories!

One year later, a novel is written based on the murders that happened in the Labyrinth House and a copy is delivered to Shimada. One of the persons connected to the case wrote the novel, but who? And why did he/she write down the horrible events that happened in the Labyrinth?

People who have been following this blog for some time, might know that I have a weakness for 1) Greek mythology and 2) meta-mystery, especially featuring writers, editors and fans. You might infer my reaction to Meirokan no Satsujin based on the summary above. Writers get a free bonus point with me whenever they employ any of these tropes, but Ayatsuji's third novel is also very good even without those bonus points.

First of all, the story-within-a-story framework is excellent. The story starts with Shimada receiving the book based on the murders in which he acknowledges that one of the persons involved wrote the novel, followed by the novel itself. Shimada thus challenges the reader (us), to not only solve the murders that happen within the story-within-a-story, but also to find out which of the characters that appear in the micro-narrative is in fact the writer. The two-dimensional narrative is something Ayatsuji likes a lot (c.f. island-mainland in Jukkakukan no Satsujin and past-present in Suishakan no Satsujin), but I think it works the best here; the integration within the whole narrative feels the most natural, compared to how it appears in the previous two novels.

Spoilers for Jukkakukan no Satsujin and Suishakan no Satsujin (select to read):

It was obvious from the start with the previous novels that Ayatsuji intended to fool the reader by using the two narratives, i.e. implying existing relations between the narratives or denying them. Which made solving them rather easy. By starting with saying that there is something fishy to the document in Meirokan no Satsujin, we at least know that Ayatsuji is going for something slightly different here.

End Spoilers 

Four disciples who are murdered according to their own stories and a labyrinth as the location for those murders. Yes, this novel is packed with thrilling events. It is a really exciting read, especially as any detective story gets more exciting when it is a genuine closed circle situation. Which this is, as the keys to get out of the Labyrinth House disappear early on in the story. The closed circle is once again a much-used trope of Ayatsuji, although this time it is not as natural as in Jukkakukan no Satsujin. But the setting! Just imagine being locked up in a labyrinth with a murderer on the loose! Ayatsuji is quite good at writing easy-to-read, but very exciting stories and this is no exception. I have to admit though, that at times it almost feels too much is going on. A locked room murder, a dying message, the labyrinth, the murders made to resemble the stories the disciples were writing... It almost feels like overkill, especially near the last half of the story-within-the-story, as events follow each other rather rapidly.

The murders made to resemble the scripts, as a plot-device, is fun to read though. One day, I will come up with a better English term for the Japanese mitate-satsujin than 'resembling' murder, but until that day, I will always refer to this older post. The previous two novels, despite obvious differences in characters and setting, were actually very similar in an abstract way, also looking tropes in use. The 'resembling' murder trope here thus feels quite 'fresh', even though it is an often employed trope within Japanese detective fiction. The motive for the resembling murders here is a lot more amusing than the motives you usually in detective fiction though and what is even more interesting is that Ayatsuji actually plays with the common motives, acknowledging them as legit, but also going one level deeper with the trope.

I also liked how the mansion built by Nakamura Seiji actually appeared to be a really menacing location within the story. In Jukkakukan no Satsujin, Nakamura Seiji as a person seemed of more importance than the titular Decagon House, while the Water Mill House of Suishakan no Satsujin, admittedly worked as a creepy setting (and it gave us a creepy discovery-of-the-corpse-scene!), but it never felt threatening as an object on its own. The claustrophobic Labyrinth House with an actual labyrinth inside it and references to Greek mythology however is really impressive as a location and much more fitting to be mentioned in the title.

And of course, the genre-savviness! I still like the meta-conciousness of Jukkakukan no Satsujin more than this novel, as the discussions there feel a lot more natural / realistic to me. This time, most of the genre-savviness and meta-talk derives from Shimada himself. The contents themselves might be as entertaining as always, but these kind of things just feel more natural when spoken by a member of a Mystery Club. Yes, this is a totally personal feeling, but hey, opinions on novels are based personal experiences.

So short story, I like this novel. A lot. Which makes it very alluring to move up the other books in the series up in my reading pile...

Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人 『迷路館の殺人』

「突然の雨に降られるときだって焦らずに晴れを待とうよ」

「レールの上を走れる電車は走らない電車よりもいい電車」

『クビキリサイクル』

"A train running on rails is better than a train not running at all"

"The Deheading Cycle"

Rewatching Detective Conan: The Fourteenth Target and Detective Conan: Lost Ship in the Sky with people of the Mystery Club didn't change my opinion about the movies, but it sure was fun to watch those movies with foreknowledge, which led to amusing comments and shared feelings. The sounds of sorrow and pain when inspector Megure first appeared in The Fourteenth Target were priceless. Oh, and people who remember every person in the keyholes at the back of every volume are amazing. And never underestimate the international power of Super Smash Bros.

Anyway, I was surprised in the weekend by the sudden early release of Conan 76, but I had also forgotten that the first volume of Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo ("The Casefiles of Young Kindaichi") was also released last weekend. First volume, you ask? Surely I reviewed it earlier this year, you say. Or you might even point out that the first volume of the series was released quite some time ago. 20 years to be exact.

Which would all be correct. But to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo series, publisher Kodansha actually commissioned a new serialized series, as opposed to the short limited series of the last couple of years. This means that like Conan, Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo now has regained a regular publishing schedule without a planned conclusion. This is also reflected in this new release of Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo: it is branded as the first volume in the 20th Anniversary series and like the old serialized series, stories are spread over multiple volumes, unlike the one-shot approach (one or two volumes containing a complete story) of late (something like this). The brand name suggest that this serialization might only run in this anniversary year, but who knows, it might continue for some years like the original series too!

Kindaichi Hajime's return to the world of regular serialization starts with Hitokui Kenkyuujo Satsujin Jiken ("The Human Eating Lab Murder Case"), which brings us back to familar grounds (especially compared to last year's adventure, which was a bit different). Hajime and Miyuki go visit an old middle school friend of theirs, Midorigawa Mayu, who is now the (very young!) head of a research laboratory. The lab is located in Hitokui Village, also known as Nostalgia Village, because it is like times stood still in this village. From the buildings to the cars and the public phones, everything seems it is from the post-war Showa period. In fact, the town actually manages to attract tourists because everything is still so well preserved.

Mayu invited Hajime and Miyuki to ask them for help in solving a code her father left her before he commited suicide many years ago, when he was the head of the lab. It seems that the laboratory has a strange history related to suicides: the suicide of Mayu's father was one in a series of several suicides and suicide attempts and this would hardly be a Kindaichi Shounen story if the suicide chains wouldn't start again, right? Someone jumping off the building, another hanging himself inside a locked room... What is making these people commit suicide? Is the location itself, Hitokui Lab, which can be interpreted as Man-Eating Lab, maybe the catalyst here?

As Kindaichi Shounen story, this is really a classic set-up. A visit to a friend that ends up in murder? A isolated location far away from the outside world? Locked rooms and other impossible crimes? Suggestion of the supernatural? It's all here and it feels good. The story is not completed yet in this volume (a major con of publications of regularly serialized material!), so I can't comment too much on the whole story, but it feels familiar. In a good way. I don't familiar in the sense of 'I've seen that trick in another story' or anything like that, just familiar because this is what I expect from the series. Some tricks might seem more suitable to Tantei Gakuen Q than Kindaichi Shounen and the interesting setting of Nostalgia Village is thrown away quickly for more focused view on the the rather bland Hitokui Lab (with a lot of shots of different white research rooms and keys which are kept in all kinds of places), which was a shame. I did find it amusing to see that there was no man running around dressed as a monster this time and that the research laboratory itself was presented as the 'murderer'. That would have been more suitable for a Opera House story!

And now to wait until October for the new volume! Really happy that the series is running regularly again, but I wish I could avoid having to wait for the conclusion of the story...

Original Japanese title(s): 天樹征丸、さとうふみや　『金田一少年の事件簿　20周年記念シリーズ』第1巻