Dark Detective II

「あっ、最後にもう一つだけ。チョコレートの箱を・・・」

「行っちゃいましたね」

「最後ではく、最初に聞きたい事を聞くべきでした」

『苦い水』

"One more last thing. A box of chocolate..."

'And there she went."

"I should ask the things I want to ask first, not last"

"Bitter Water"

One of the biggest surprises I came across while playing Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (Nintendo 3DS) was an office that was decorated as the set of the TV-series Aibou. It was a brilliant reproduction of the Special Order Unit office and the office of forensics, complete with room for the cameras to actually shoot a scene. Happy Home Designer is great fun, by the way.  

Aibou ("Partners") series
Aibou Eleven
Aibou 12
Aibou 13

Tucked away in the corner of the Organized Crime Department of the Metropolitan Police Department, is the tiny office of the Special Order Unit, with room for two. The head of the Special Order Unit is Sugishita Ukyou, a gifted police inspector with a great sense of justice, but deemed dangerous by the people in the upper ranks because he doesn't play the political game along. Yet, they recognize his brain and talent to turn poltical bureaucracy to his own advantage, which is why they decided to put him close by in the SOU, but still faraway from the everyday goings of the MPO. The Special Order Unit has no investigative authority and it is rare for special orders to come, so Sugishita has now defined his unit as follows: if there is a special order, they will follow it. And unless there is a special order, the unit is free to do whatever it wants. The adventures of Sugishita and his subordinate have been a favorite on Japanese television ever since the TV series Aibou ("Partners") started in 2000, and by now it has become a big franchise that consists of 13 seasons (the 14th is being broadcast right now), three theatrical films and a lot of spin-off material like mini-series, novels and games.

I started watching the series with Aibou Eleven, the eleventh season which introduced Sugishita's third partner in the history of the series: Kai Tooru, estranged son of the current Assistant Director-General of the National Police Agency. Like with Doctor Who, I figured it'd be best to jump in with a change in the main cast and I enjoyed the series a lot. Today's review is about Aibou 13, the 13th season of the series and also the last season to feature Kai Tooru (the currently running Aibou 14 features a new partner). And yes, I know I'm about a half year late with this review. The same thing happened with Aibou 12 actually: I forget to watch the series and just when a new season starts, I remember I have to watch the previous season. Anyway, Aibou 13 ran from October 2014 until March 2015 and consists of 19 episodes, three of them being film-length TV specials.

It's always difficult to think of what to write with reviews for a whole Aibou season. It's not really practical, nor interesting if I write something short on all 19 episodes, but there's also little I can say about the series in general I haven't done already. Looking at the series broadly, one should classify it as a police procedural in the social school of mystery fiction. Many of the episodes are socially conscious and focus on problems in both 'the normal' society as well in large (government) organizations and the underlying politics. Season 13 is definitely a bit tamer than the previous two seasons, which featured stories on the international implications of a hostage situation in an embassy, protocol in hostage situations in general, and a story asking why Japan has no real witness protection program. But despite being a bit 'lighter' than the previous two seasons, the series is still firmly based on the social school. Side Story (episode 9) for example looks at the influence of mass media in portraying people: a nurse has been killed and the mass media basically attack her for working in the "entertainment" sector to pay for her studies and imply she had it coming. The Last Confession (episode 5) in turn looks at the deals police/prosecution are allowed to make with suspects.

Yet, Aibou also has enough room for other types of mystery. The 'beauty' of the concept of the Special Order Unit is that Sugishita and Tooru can appear in different kinds of story each episode. Those Who Can't Be Forgiven (episode 3) definitely has a social school angle, but is also a kind of a locked room mystery, as no camera managed to capture the murderer entering the victim's apartment building.  Best Day of My Life (episode 13) has Sugishita meet with a suspicious woman completely coincidentally and the episode brings a heartwarming, and often hilarious story in the spirit of an everyday life mystery, something a real, serious police drama could never present. There are also episodes that focus on the extended main cast, like Yonezawa Mamoru's Final Farewell (episode 11), that focuses on the forensic investigator who appears in pretty much every episode.

A lot of Aibou episodes consist of two interrelated 'levels' in crime. Usually there is a big, social problem that lies at the heart of the mystery which involves 'big' organizations or other groups. And this is usually tied to a smaller story: partly to make the 'large' problem more accessible, partly because at the end of the story, Sugishita needs to arrest somebody to end the episode and while he is a gifted policeman, he can't solve a large scale social problem in one episode, only a smaller-scale crime that is born from the bigger problem.

It's a bit of a shame Aibou seasons aren't conceived with some sort of running storyline or theme, because often a season feels like a random collection of stories. I have a feeling that season 13 does feature a lot of stories about the parent-child bond: I already mentioned The Last Confession (episode 5), Side Story (episode 9) and  Yonezawa Mamoru's Final Farewell (episode 11), but Learning Class (episode 12, about a murder on a professor), Thistle (episode 14, on a murder in the past and present) and Professor Ayukawa's Final Lesson (episodes 15-16, on an old professor of Sugishita's who wants to know why it's wrong to murder) all also focus a lot on parent-child relations. I don't remember the specifics of the episodes in earlier episodes, but I wonder if it's been like that ever since Kai Tooru became Sugishita's partner, as the series also looks a lot at Toorus' relation with his father.

Aibou 13 ends with Dark Knight, which is also the end of the cooperation between Sugishita and Kai Tooru as the titular partners, which lasted for three years / seasons. I have to say I was kinda surprised when I heard the news that the character would leave the series, but I gather that even the production team was surprised by the news. I'm pretty sure that it was only decided at a very late stage of filming the season that the character of Kai Tooru would be written out of the series, because this episode came out of nowhere. I won't go into details, but it basically portrays Kai Tooru quite differently from how he's acted in all the episodes before, all to justify his character leaving Sugishita's side. The concept of the episode might've worked if they had at least used the entire season to build to this conclusion, but now I could do was wondering why nobody noticed how out of character Tooru was compared to everything up to this point.

The series ends with Sugishita leaving Japan for a forced vacation, and it's kinda weird to see him alone. The series isn't titled "partners" for nothing. As a character, Sugishita is basically the great detective merged with the perfect policeman. Like Sherlock Holmes, Sugishita has a great mind that can uncover the most vile of machinations, but unlike Holmes, Sugishita will always work within the law and while he knows the law, and the bureaucracy needed to uphold the law, isn't perfect, he will do everything to keep justice in a lawful manner. But like many great detectives, he does need a 'normal' partner with him to really shine. As a character on his own, he's just too far away for the 'normal' viewer.

Overall, I think Aibou 13 was a fairly okay season, though it lacks the politically heavy stories that were (surprisingly) the highlights in the previous two seasons I watched. And as I usually prefer 'simple' puzzle plots, that says a lot about the quality of that sort of stories in Aibou. I do have the feeling that the latter half of the series was a bit weaker (Professor Ayukawa's Final Lesson and especially Dark Knight) and it results in a bad aftertaste of the series. Of the three seasons starring Kai Tooru as the partner, this may be the least impressive overall. And I have no idea when/if I'll review Aibou 14. I'll probably forget about watching the series and now binge-watch it next year, when Aibou 15 has started

Original Japanese title(s): 『相棒１３』

The Singing Detective

ダメダメいけませんわと涙

輪廻の根黄表紙　

とうとう最終章『しょっ』

『古書屋敷殺人事件』（てにをは）

No, no, you shouldn't, I say with tears

The root of the cycle of reincarnation and a yellow book cover

Finally the last chapter (sho)

"The Old Books Mansion Murder Case" (Teniwoha) 

I have written a lot about detective fiction in various media, from books, TV series and films to games and even musicals. I'm pretty sure however that this is the first time I write about something that started as a detective song.

Teniwoha's Jogakusei Tantei to Henkutsu Sakka - Kosho Yashiki Satsjin Jiken Zenya ("The Girl Student Detective and the Eccentric Writer - The Night Before The Old Books Mansion Murder Case", 2014) has a rather long, yet very to-the-point title. The titular girl student detective is Hibari: an active girl and longtime fan of mystery fiction. While not actively pursuing a caree as a detective, Hibari has the luck (?) of occassionally getting involved with murders and other mysteries and in true amateur detective fashion, she does not give up until she's solved the case. The titular eccentric writer is Kudou Renma, a mystery writer and longtime family friend/customer of the coffee shop of Hibari's father. While eccentric, Kudou is also quite the talented amateur detective: he just has no interest in actually using his powers of observation, prefering to simply not sticking his nose in other people's business. And occcasionally giving Hibari hints so she can solve the case instead of him. This first volume in the Girl Student Detective series collects two novelettes and one short story.

The Girl Student Detective series is a media mix concept conjured by Teniwoha that finds its origin in... music! Hibari and Kudou Renma were first introduced in the popular song Kosho Yashiki Satsujin Jiken ("The Old Books Mansion Murder Case"). The lyrics are strongly influenced by detective fiction (Hibari singing about how the case is too difficult) and the song is sung by Hatsune Miku, the famous Vocaloid (voice synthesizer software) who has been taking over the (music) world the last few years. Teniwoha not only produced the song, but also wrote novels that further explored the world of Kosho Yashiki Satsujin Jiken, resulting in the Girl Student Detective series, which is probably the only detective franchise to consist out of music and books. The volume discussed here is the first in the series and the prequel to both the song and the novel Kosho Yashiki Satsujin Jiken, hence the subtitle The Night Before The Old Books Mansion Murder Case.

The book opens with Akebi Kou Okujou Toushin Jiken ("The Akebi High School Rooftop Jumping Case"), which not only introduces us to the characters and the postwar setting, but also gives us an impossible situation: one morning, Hibari discovers the body of a classmate on the roof of the school. Her classmate barely lives, but is unable to answer two important questions. One: what is the meaning behind the "dying" message "X" she left with her own blood? And two: how come her wounds indicate she had thrown herself of a building, even though she was on top of the school roof and there was no higher building in the neighbourhood?

The result is a rather basic detective story that is easily solved when the hints are set on stage. Actually, the moment one certain thing is mentioned, I think everybody can guess what happened. The setting of a school in post-war Japan is interesting though. I love the setting, but most books set in those times (like the books of Yokomizo Seishi, Takagi Akimitsu and Kyougoku Natsuhiko) don't deal (much) with students and school life. The girl detective and the antics at school (as well as the impossible crime angle) reminded me of Higashigawa Tokuya's Koigakubo Academy Detective Club series, though sadly enough never as good plotted or as funny.

Tantei Himatsubushi Yuugi ("A Detective's Time Killing Game") is a very short story where Kudou Renma refuses to rewrite a manuscript (half-eaten by rats) for his publisher, unless Hibari manages to solve his riddle: she has to guess which book he wants to read with just three hints. In this story, the lighthearted character of the series and the relation between Hibari and Renma is used much better than the opening story and while not perfect (it's not completely fair), this story is most ambitious and original of the three stories in the volume, despite being much shorter than the other two. It does spoil a  certain (famous!) book, but mentioning that book by title kinda gives away the whole picture.

Ryougoku Yuurei Yashiki Satsujin Jiken ("The Ryougoku Ghost Mansion Murder Case") has Hibari and Renma acting as delivery girl/man for an antiquarian bookshop, owned by Renma's friend. The book (a study on ghosts) is to be delivered in the mansion of a well-known amateur researcher on the folklore of ghosts in the Ryougoku neighbourhood in Tokyo. When they arrive at the mansion though, Hibari and Renma, together with the daughter of the family, find the ghost researcher in a rather dead state. A lack of footprints around the garden indicate that the poor man committed suicide with one of his rifles, but both Hibari and Renma suspect there's more to it (especially as they were about to deliver a book the man had been wanting for years).

This last case in the volume is the biggest and most 'traditonal', with a spooky mansion and stuff... but not really. The title might say ghost mansion, the characters might be talking about a ghost mansion, but there is not an inkling of a scary atmosphere. The trick behind the murder (No, it was not suicide. The title spoils it) is not bad, but the inclusion of a map would have helped make the mystery more fair and fun. I think the basic idea behind the murder is alright, but the story itself is rather bland and boring. Definitely the most disappointing of the volume.

I have to admit, I am not sure who the exact target market is for the Girl Student Detective series. Simply as a detective book, Jogakusei Tantei to Henkutsu Sakka is nothing special. The plots are not really bad, but not very inspired either and often quite basic. I'll be honest here and say I had expected something much better than this. Especially as I like the setting of a girl student detective and post-war Japan. For fans of the song and the characters introduced there, Jogakusei Tantei to Henkutsu Sakka probably has more to offer: the constant bickering between Hibari and Renma is, again, not very inspired, but can be quite amusing at times and the novel obviously has more room to explore the world than a four minute song.

But if Jogakusei Tantei to Henkutsu Sakka is really mostly aimed at the fans of the music, I think it's a missed chance. The media-mix concept with music is interesting, the setting has potential, so I think I should be allowed to ask for more challenging mystery plots. And slightly more engaging writing. I think three books have been released now, the second book being based on the song. I might try that one one day, just to see if the series manages to evolve or not.

Original Japanese title(s): てにをは　『女学生探偵と偏屈作家　古書屋敷殺人事件前夜』

Antiquity Tree

「ブラッディローズ！！　敵に向かって放たれたが最後まっすぐに敵の心臓を射抜く白薔薇。その白薔薇の花弁が真紅に染まったその時、お前の部下は死ぬ」

『聖闘士星矢 THE LOST CANVAS　冥王神話』

"Bloody Rose!! All is over once the white rose is thrown and flies straight into the heart of my enemy. When the petals of the white rose have turned crimson, your underling will die."

"Saint Seiya THE LOST CANVAS The Legend of Hades"

I already mentioned it in my review of Detective Conan 87, but ever since the start of Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R ("The Young Kindaichi Case Files R"), I had been reviewing Conan and Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R together in short shorts because their release dates were practically always on or about the same day. A visit to the hospital of Conan artist Conan upset the schedule however, which is why I reviewed Conan 87 on its own, and today, I review two volumes of the Kindaichi Shounen manga as a standalone review, which is the first time in more than two years.  

Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R 6 (released in July of this year) is mostly filled with The Antlion Trench Murder Case, which started in the previous volume. Hajime, Miyuki and reporter Itsuki are participating in a psychological experiment held in a building in the middle of a field of quicksand that used to be a bunker.  The professor heading the experiment is doing research on fears and traumas and has the participants dressed in clothes in colors they don't like, and uses special wristbands to monitor the heartbeat of each participant. As expected from the series, other participants in the experiment are getting murdered one after another. The problem is that the murders happen in locked rooms and with no way of communicating with the outside world, it's up to Hajime to find out the identity of the murdering Antlion.

As I already noted in the previous review:  The Antlion Trench Murder Case features the most ridiculously designed bulding in more twenty years of Kindaichi Shounen history. And this is a series that has featured a bunch of strangely designed buildings. To be honest, I actually found it hard to follow, as all the rooms have generic names like "West-4" or "East-6" and doors that can be locked from both sides and more. The story reminds of early Kindaichi Shounen stories with an emphasis on (possible) movements of characters in the building, but it doesn't help if all the rooms look exactly the same, with vague nomers like West-4. I wonder if this story looks better animated: it's a lot easier to visualize where everybody is when in motion. But I know I will forever remember this story as The One With The Silly Layout.

The story itself is okay. It has some interesting points, with fear and trauma playing a role in the story, but the main tricks are borrowed from earlier Kindaichi Shounen stories. In fact, now I think about it, it resembles one story in particular in more than one way, and it's almost like a remake of that story. Only not as good. Also, once the hint appears, it's amazingly easy to figure out who the murderer is.

The Blood Drinking Cherry Blossom Murder Case takes up the rest of volume 6 and the whole of volume 7 (released in September). As part of a school Mystery Club activity, Hajime, Miyuki and Saki (no. 2) go to a hotel in the outskirts of Tokyo, that used to be a sanatorium. Many years ago, a doctor there killed his patients to feed the bodies to the cherry blossom trees in the garden.  The doctor escaped and nobody knows where he went. Now the sanatorium's a hotel, but every year the cherry blossom trees still bloom red, as if they sucked the blood out of the victims. At the hotel, the gangs gets to know a group of three young professionals, who've been coming every year to enjoy the cherry blossoms. And of course, on the first night, one of them is murdered. But not only was the man found inside a locked room, a piece of one of the Blood Cherry Blossoms was also stuck into his chest, as if feeding on the man. And of course, he was just the first...

The scale of The Blood Drinking Cherry Blossom Murder Case is relatively small: with a limited cast and mostly set inside the hotel. The murders and the problem of the locked rooms are also fairly simple and to be honest, the way Hajime solves the case is not exactly fair to the reader. In fact, in terms of Kindaichi Shounen, I'd say the clueing was a bit weak in this story. We've seen much better and conclusive ways to arrive at the murderer in this series, so that was a bit disappointing to be honest.

But still, I can't help but like this story. It features something that is not particularly rare in mystery fiction, but seldom seen in Kindaichi Shounen and it really works here. Obviously, I can't talk about it in details because it'd spoil the whole story, but I think long-time readers of Kindaichi Shounen will find this story surprisingly refreshing. Feeling-wise, it's similar to an earlier story, The Yukikage Village Murder Case, with a 'cozy' story. Also, the setting of a small pension with a past and a cast of regular guests reminds of the Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo GameBoy Color game. A classic,  The Blood Drinking Cherry Blossom Murder Case certainly isn't, but I definitely find it more entertaining than the more classically-constructed The Antlion Trench Murder Case.

And that's it for now! While the series is still running, volume 8 has no formal release date as of now, so I'm not sure whether I'll be able to discuss it together with Conan 88 (which is scheduled for December). Also, because Kindaichi Shounen stories are basically always longer than one volume, I think I might actually skip volume 8 and do a double review with volume 9, because I very much doubt volume 8 will contain a complete story. 

Original Japanese title(s): 天樹征丸（原）、さとうふみや（画）　『金田一少年の事件簿Ｒ』第６＆７巻

Ashes to Ashes

いつでも捜しているよ どっかに君の姿を

交差点でも　夢の中でも 

こんなとこにいるはずもないのに

「One More Time, One More Chance」（山崎まさよし）

I'm always looking for a sign of you

Even at the intersection, even in my dreams

Even though you couldn't possibly be there

"One More Time, One More Chance" (Yamazaki Masayoshi) 

While I understand it's to protect the smaller novelists and publishers, I do always lament the fact the Netherlands has a rather rigid law for book prices. It's definitely a reason why I seldom buy Dutch books (and thus the law has the opposite effect in my case).

M.P.O. Books' De Laatste Kans ("The Last Chance", 2011) starts with the discovery of the body of Jacques Vermin, covered by his paternal ashes once held in the urn that killed him. The grotesque murder gives rise to several questions with Inspector Petersen and his team at the District Heuvelrug in central Netherlands. The obvious question is of course who did it, but other questions also keep the inspector busy: why was Jacques so determined to keep his residence in nature-filled Leersum a secret to practically everyone? How did he make his money? Is there a connection between his death and a lost child who was left somewhere down Jacques' street the night of his murder? Petersen leads his team of detectives in search for answers, but is not only having trouble with witnesses and other interested parties, his own team also serves as a hurdle to be taken as personal problems start to influence the effectiveness of the team and the investigation itself.

De Laatste Kans is the fifth novel in the District Heuvelrug series by Dutch writer M.P.O. Books. My colleague over at Beneath The Stains Of Time has written very often and praisingly on his blog about M.P.O. Books' series as a good, recent Dutch police procedural that actually invokes the spirit of the puzzle plots we so love, and I had been saying for years I would try reading one of the books. This is the first time I read something by Books by the way, but De Laatste Kans can be read without any knowledge of prior entries in the series.

The most memorable feature of the De Laatste Kans is the structure: the story constantly jumps between a very varied cast of characters, both the police and the suspects, giving you a glimpse in each of their minds. In videogames, this is usually referred to as a "zapping system", i.e. the reader is zapping between "channels" that each focus on a different character (games I discussed with a zapping system are: Machi, 428, Detective Conan: Marionette Symphony and Detective Conan: Phantom Rhapsody). The result is that De Laatste Kans seldom bores, as it keeps on giving the reader something different, without feeling chaotic or padded out. While there are more books that feature jumping between points of view, the fact it's all neatly organized through time-stamps really reminds me of the zapping systems of videogames.

The plot of De Laatste Kans was also surprisingly well-constructed. The book had a bit of bad luck: I was juggling between De Laatste Kans and another book that just happened to do something similar, so I realized who Jacques Vermin's murderer probably was very early on, but that didn't make De Laatste Kans any bit less fun: it is still a well-written detective story. One hint in particular was wonderfully done. A minor gripe I had was with some coincidences that led to the murder, but nothing game-breaking.

As I said, this is the fifth book in a running series and features a fairly wide cast starring Inspector Peterson and his team of detectives. It appears that these characters have been developed quite a lot in the run of the series, and the dynamics within the team is also a crucial part of De Laatste Kans. It never interferes with the puzzle plot and we're not talking about oh-woe-is-me-life-of-a-police-officer, but there is a good part of the novel about the people investigating the case. I guess that people who have been reading from the start will be more emotionally invested in the caracters, but even without really knowing these characters, De Laatste Kans strikes a good balance between the plot and its characters (and luckily in favor of the plot).

But for the Dutch readers here, De Laatste Kans is a recommended read as a fun detective novel that actually delivers. For the non Dutch-readers, alas, I don't think M.P.O. Books are available in English yet. Then again, most of the books I discuss are not available in English...

Original Dutch title(s): M.P.O. Books "De Laatste Kans"

In The Best Families

Chim Chiminey

Chim Chiminey

Chim Chim Cheree

A sweep is as lucky 

As lucky can be

"Chim Chim Cheree"

You know, I think this is the first time I reviewed something by Agatha Christie on this blog that wasn't an adapation! I had already gone through most of Christie's more interesting books (Poirot, Marple) before I began the blog, and I seldom reread them...

A chance meeting in Africa between Anthony Cade and his friend James McGrath brings Anthony back to England, where he is to deliver a manuscript to a publisher instead of McGrath. The manuscript, a diary, is connected to the national politics of the nation of Herzoslovakia, which after a period of unrest is heading for restoration of the monarchy. Meanwhile, George Lomax (politician) persuades Lord Caterham to hold a weekend party at the lord's home, Chimneys. The goal of the party is to seal a deal between the candidate for the Herzoslovakian crown and the British govenment (political support for oil concessions). But a murder is committed in Chimneys and some escapades revolving around the manuscript also brings Anthony Cade to Chimneys. It is up to him, and Superintendent Battle to solve Agatha Christie's The Secret of Chimneys (1925).

Was I the only person who for the longest time thought the title was The Secret of The Chimneys?

I love The Secret Adversary. I am actually quite fond of The Big Four. So I like to think I have some capacity to appreciate Christie's more chaotic and less polished plots. But I just don't like The Secret of Chimneys. Is it because there are no series characters (except for Superintendent Battle, who is a bit too sobre for the role)? Perhaps. Is it because Anthony Cade is 'just' the typical adventurer/rogue type of protagonist who is not particularly outstanding except for those traits? Maybe. Is it because the international plot of backdoor dealings and people after the McGuffin is actually quite boring? Quite possible.

Reading through some of the old reviews quoted on the Wikipedia page for The Secret of Chimneys, I see a lot of reviews praised the book for being an exciting story with lots of elements and a satisfying, unexpected conclusion. While I agree a lot of things happen in the book, I find it more chaotic than entertaining and while I usually can appreciate a lighthearted touch in a detective story, it doesn't really work for me here. At least in The Secret Adversary, we had two young people who had nothing to lose and were full of energy and guts. But here we start with the setting of a heavy international plot and stolen jewels and murder and I don't know what more, and the lightheartedness doesn't really fit. And the unexpected conclusion is not really unexpected. I don't even think that it's me recognizing Christie patterns here, the conclusion is just rather obvious.

But like always, Christie is a great writer specializing in simple, to-the-point writing. I flew through the book, even though I did not really enjoy the plot. I can also understand if people like the characters of The Secret of Chimneys, because Christie can put characters on a page like no one else, but personally, I think both plot and characters have been done much better by Christie herself in plenty of her other books.

I have to admit though, reading The Secret of Chimneys has made a bit weary of going through those last Christies I haven't read yet. I made my way through all the Ellery Queen novels and that had its ups and downs, but I find it difficult to really enjoy Christie's thrillers. Maybe I'll only go through the remaining Tommy & Tuppence stories...

Anyway, The Secret of Chimneys. Didn't really like it, wouldn't recommend it either. Christie has done much better, much more enjoyable, many more times.

Platinum Rose

薔薇が咲く　薔薇が散る

君の中に　僕がいる

気高く美しく華麗に舞い上がれ！

「薔薇が咲く　薔薇が散る」（愛内里菜）

Roses bloom, roses scatter

I'm living inside you

Fly up with pride, beauty and magnificence!

"Roses Bloom, Roses Scatter" (Aiuchi Rina)

I love Japanese pockets (bunko) both for their (uniform!) size and the price, so I don't have that many Japanese hardcover books: mostly books that were never made available in pocket form for anyway. I understand that Japan is quite unique with uniform pocket book dimensions and all and I don't suffer from an OCD, but I have to admit: I am a bit annoyed that my only two hardcover books from publisher Soronsha, both from the same writer featuring the same translator, are of slightly different dimensions...

About a year ago, I wrote about Kim Nae-seong (1909-1957), commonly seen as the father of the Korean detective story. Despite his status though, he doesn't appear to be available in English (save for this translation I made of his short story Muma), so a short introduction: the Great Korean Empire had been annexed by Japan the year after Kim's birth. He moved to Japan, where he studied at the famous Waseda University in Tokyo. It is during this period he made his debut as a professional detective writer (in Japanese). He moved back to Korea in 1936, where he continued with both writing new stories in Korean, as well as translating some of his older, Japanese stories to Korean. Kim Nae-seong Tantei Shousetsu Sen ("A Selection of Detective Stories by Kim Nae-seong") collects the Japanese writings by Kim Nae-song, both fiction as well as essays, in one neat volume, giving the reader a glimpse into the early makings of Korean detective fiction. In Japanese (for more early Korean detective stories in Japanese, see this review). I'll only be reviewing the fiction part, by the way.

The book opens with Daenkei no Kagami ("An Elliptical Mirror"), Kim Nae-song's debut story, which was published in the magazine Purofiru (Profile) in 1935. The story starts with an advertisement in the magazine Phantom, which challenges its readers to solve the most heinous crime commited in recent Keijou history (Seoul as it was called during the colonization). The "To-yeong Murder Case" happened six years ago: To-yeong, the wife of the writer Mo Hyeon-cheol, was found murdered in her bedroom. The only people in the house were the victim's husband Mo Hyeon-cheol, a young writer whom Mo Hyeon-cheol had taken in the house and the two servant women. Investigation reveals that To-yeong had an affair with the young writer and that they appeared to had a fight, but no decisive evidence could be found. After the case, Mo Hyeon-cheol commited suicide, leaving an atmosphere of suspicion surrounding the young writer. And now six years later, the young writer finally has a chance to clear his name by sending in his solution to the To-yeong Murder Case to the magazine Phantom.

A great story overall. It starts with a great premise (the contest asking readers to solve the case), has thrilling developments (one of the suspects participating in the contest) and a surprising ending. A bit too surprising perhaps, because it was not completely fair to the reader: a vital hint is kept away from the reader until the detective-character suddenly decides to remember it. But the interesting twists and turns lead to a great pay-off and personally, I really like the letter-to-the-editor style of the story that is used until the very end of the story (somewhat similar to that short story collection by Yamada Fuutarou by the way).

Tantei Shousetsuka no Satsujin ("Murder on a Detective Writer") starts with the murder on Park Yeong-min, the head of the theater troupe Poseidon. Suspects include both his wife Lee Mong-nan, as well as one of the troupe's actors, Ra Un-gwi (who is in love with Lee Mong-nan), who were both absent from a little party during the time of the murder. Among the people who luckily do have an alibi is the mystery writer Yu Bu-ran (who also happens to be in love with Yeong-min's wife). Yu Bu-ran tries to save his love from the suspicions of the police writing a play "The Second Shot", based on the actual murder. The solution he proposes clears Lee Mong-nan, and incriminates Ra Un-gwi, but the police isn't completely convinced by Yu Bu-ran's solution.

An appearance by Kim Nae-seong's series detective Yu Bu-ran (who is named after Maurice Leblanc). Like in Main, he appears to have a love for the adulterous affair, as well as being a rather faulty detective. He's almost like Roger Sheringham. The idea of Tantei Shousetsuka no Satsujin is actually quite similar to that of Daienkei no Kagami: a murder case with an adulterous affair at the core, an alternative solution proposed to the police investigation using unconventional means (a solution sent to a magazine VS a theater play), a hint that was hidden from the reader until the plot suddenly calls for it. I'd say that Daienkei no Kagami is the superior story though: the second half of Tantei Shousetsuka no Satsujin suddenly throws a ridiculous secret society subplot at the reader that just feels out of place and the way the solution to the murder is revealed is also not nearly as satisfying.

Kitan Koibumi Ourai ("A Tale: Coming and Going of Love Letters") is a short short in which two people bicker through a series of letters about a mistakenly sent love letter. The ending is rather predictable, but I thought it quite cute. It was also rewritten in Korean to a longer and more detailed version with a slightly different title ("A Tale of Love Letters"). The previous stories were also translated to Korean with new titles by the way, but the stories are the same, as far as I know.

Shisou no Bara ("A Rose of Thought") has a interesting history: it was the first novel Kim Nae-song had written, in Japanese, but he never managed to get it published in Japan. He took the story with him back to Korea and translated it to Korean, where it was published with the current title in 1953~1956 (the original title was Chizakuro, "The Blood Pomegranate"). The story is about an recently promoted prosecutor Yu Jun and his writer/loafer friend Baek Su. One night. Baek Su wants to meet wth Yu Jun and there he admits to being the one responsible for the murder on the actress Chu Jang-mi, a case the police is currently investigating. Yu Jun is appaled, not sure what to do with his friend, but later Baek Su denies everything and says it was just a joke. But Yu Jun suspects there was something behind Baek Su's confession and when Yu Jun himself is put on the case, he can't help but suspect his friend, especially after finding some very incriminating facts, one of them being a manuscript called "A Rose of Thought", which details a hidden past between him and Chu Jang-mi. But Yu Jun doesn't give up and through Baek Su, he discovers more facts which also seem to point to other suspects. Should Yu Jun believe in his friend or stick to his professional duty?

I was quite charmed by the short stories in this volume, as well as Main, but Shisou no Bara...no. It is overly melodramatic, with Yu Jun and Baek Su constantly lamenting about what friends are, what love is, what it means to trust your friends... Baek Su's actions throughout the story also make no sense whatsover ("I did it!", "No, I didn't do it!", "He did it!", "I did it!" ad infinitum) and while there's a sorta neat trick that leads the reader and Yu Jun to the real murderer, it's just too little, too late. Shisou no Bara is tiring, as the story constantly stops to lament about everything. Main had a little melodrama too, but was at the heart always a mystery novel with a good sense of speed. Shisou no Bara on the other hand just is a little plot, made into a long novel through characters who really should learn to talk to each other in a more direct way. It's too bad: Shisou no Bara is the main piece of this book, but is easily the most boring and disappointing story.

I've read six stories by Kim Nae-seong now, and it's funny to see how some elements already feel typical "Kim Nae-seong". Take the maps for example. Almost all stories feature figures of the crime scenes, with detailed maps that really draw the reader in. On the other hand, it's seldom that the maps are really vital to the story, even if they really add to the atmosphere. Kim Nae-seong's stories also often feature writers: his series detective Yu Bu-ran is a mystery writer, but the non-series stories like Daenkei no Kagami, Shisou no Bara  and Muma feature writers extensively in the plot. These writers are often not particularly well-off, but manage to live thanks to gifts from family. These writers (including Yu Bu-ran) are also very often involved in adulterous affairs with beautiful young and married women. You'd almost suspect that Kim Nae-seong was drawing from real-life with his playboy-writer-detectives. Also, his stories often have a touch of melodrama, occassionaly more dramatic than others (Shisou no Bara) and lamenting about love and stuff is not rare.

I loved Main last year and while Kim Nae-seong Tantei Shousetu Sen is not as good as that book, it still had its entertaining points. The short stories are definitely more enjoyable than the novel Shisou no Bara, with Daienkata no Kagami standing out as a really a good detective story. The book is not cheap though, so I'd recommend people to start with Main and then see if they want to read more from the father of the Korean detective story. For those who can't read Japanese, try out this translation of mine of one of his short stories.

Original Japanese title(s): 金来成 『金来成探偵小説選』　（創作編）：「楕円形の鏡」 / 「探偵小説家の殺人」 / 「思想の薔薇」 / 「綺譚・恋文往来」 / 「恋文綺譚」

Make Me A Perfect Murder

「この程度の謎で頭を悩ませておいでは、お嬢様は本当に役立たずでございますね」

 「彼女は何を奪われたでございますか」

"My lady, you really are good for nothing if you need to puzzle over a problem of this level."

 "What Was Stolen From The Lady?"

Man, I love these stylized covers.

Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de 3 ("Mystery Solving Is After Dinner 3") is the third volume in Higashigawa Tokuya's popular armchair detective series. In the past, I've written about the TV drama adaptation (which was based on the first two volumes) as well as the motion picture, but this is the first time I wrote about the original books, I think (I do have all of them). Anyway, the third volume is at the core precisely the same as the previous two volumes. We follow the adventures of Houshou Reiko, a young police detective who, unknown to her collegues, is actually an insanely wealthy heiress of the gigantic Houshou Group. Every day, after a hard day of work, she enjoys a luxurious banquet, during which she often spews complaints about how difficult her cases are. Luckily for her, her butler Kageyama can usually point out the truth behind each case just by listening to her stories. Unlucky for Reiko however is that Kageyama has no qualms whatsoever about ridiculing and insulting his mistress' intelligence while explaining everything. The bunko (pocket) version of this third volume (released in January 2015) collects six stories, as well as one bonus short short not included in the original release.

Reiko and her boss Inspector Kazamatsuri investigate the death of an old man in Hannin ni Doku wo Ataenaide Kudasai ("Please Don't Provide Poison To The Murderer"). The man died of some arseneous acid, but it is unclear whether it was murder or suicide. At one hand, the family appears to have enough motive to want the man dead, on the other hand, the victim is also said to have been depressed lately because of the disappearance of the family cat. Kageyama however points out a very neat solution. This story is not brilliant or anything, but is a good showcase of Higashigawa's MO: he is very experienced in leaving little hints in the story (often 'dressed' in a comedic manner) and then connecting everything in good order. These stories are actually quite solvable for the reader if the reader tries a little. In a way, it feels like Higashigawa's writings often reward the reader with the feeling of "I solved it!". They're never too difficult or easy. 

Kono Kawa de Oborenaide Kudasai ("Please Don't Drown In This Rivier") is one of the better stories in the volume and deals with a drowned corpse found...just a little away from the river. Everything points to murder and Reiko and Kazamatsuri manage to discover that the man had lately been living off a distant (and wealthy) relative. The police discovers everyone had a motive to do the man in, but also that the family has an alibi for the time of the murder, as they were holding a party at their home. The solution Kageyama points out to is not particularly surprising, but again, the solution is not screaming-in-your-face obvious and requires a little effort from the reader. The hints are elegantly hidden and overall, this story is a very solidly constructed plot.

Kaitou Kara no Chousenjou de gozaimasu ("Presenting A Challenge by A Phantom Thief") is the only story where Reiko doesn't act in her role as police officer, but as her heiress self. The phantom thief Legend declares he is going to steal the "Golden Pig", a piece of art owned by Reikos father. Her father tells Reiko to call their family detective (something like a family attorney) and they try to prevent the theft... with some success. For Legend doesn't manage to steal the "Golden Pig", but does get away with the "Silver Pig", the counterpart to the "Golden Pig". But why did Legend steal the wrong statue, and more importantly, how did he manage to steal the thing from inside a locked room? A large part of the story is quite obvious, and sadly enough, the solution to the locked room is not really satisfying because it's not really well hinted at. As shown in the other stories of the volume, Higashigawa is quite good at hinting and hiding those hints in plain sight, but it doesn't really work here.

Satsujin ni wa Jitensha wo Goriyou Kudasai ("Please Use A Bicycle For Murder") is my favorite story of the volume, and involves a case where Reiko and Kazamatsuri suspect a man of killing his aunt, but he has an almost perfect alibi. On the night of the murder, two friends visited him, but he was out for 15 minutes for a smoke. And the only way he could've made his way to the murder scene was by bike, but that would mean he would have needed to go a steady 40 KM per hour to pull the thing off. The basic trick of this story is very similar to another story in this volume and I think the solution is also a bit more obvious in this story than the other one, but I like this story better because the narrative is simply more fun to read.

The title of Kanojo wa Nani wo Ubawareta no de Gozaimasu ka ("What Was Stolen From The Lady?") asks the most important question in the newest case Reiko and Kazamatsuri are investigating: a college student has been killed, but for some reason everything she was wearing besides her clothes (belt, shoes, etc) was removed. Reiko soon guesses that the murderer only wanted to take one thing, but took everything as a camouflage, but what was the real object? Kageyama points out a solution that takes a little jumping in logic, but overall a well-constructed mystery that involves logic you actually seldom see in detective stories. At least, it's not something you'd see in Golden Age stories, but it is something we've come to expect from modern, Japanese stories and especially Higashigawa, who is always very modern and his mysteries are often very close to 'everyday life mysteries'.

The title of Sayonara wa Dinner no Ato de  ("The Farewell Is After Dinner") is actually about the epilogue of this story, which deals with a farewell. But the main mystery is about an old man who was beaten to death in his house. It appears to be the work of some burglars who have been making their rounds in the neighbourhood at first, but a chance witness changes the case. Kageyama's solution is really fun, as it really turns all previous ideas around, yet still remains quite plausible. One of the best stories.

The pocket version of Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de 3 adds a "bonus track" in the form of a very special crossover: Tanteitachi no Kyouen ("The Banquet Of The Detectives") brings Reiko and Kageyama together with... Detective Conan! In this short short, Reiko and Kageyama make their acquaintance with Edogawa Conan and Mouri Kogorou at a party held by publisher Shogakukan (the actual publisher behind both Detective Conan and Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de). Because Conan is basically a Walking Death God, it doesn't take long for a corpse to appear: a policeman, known by all as the Columbo of Takao, was found stabbed outside on the emergency stairs. But just before he died, he managed to say one thing: Kamsahamnida ("thank you" in Korean). The solution Kageyama and Conan arrive at is...well, you have to read this one for yourself. The story is a short short and really nothing more than a little bonus, but okay.

I'd say that Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato 3 is more of the same. It differs not at all from the previous volumes, which can be taken as both a good and a bad thing. There's no really excellent or outstanding story in the volume, and nothing that makes it memorable, but on the other hand, it was always an entertaining and well-constructed read. I think any reader will have a good time with this volume, even if it's not especially inspiring.

Original Japanese title(s): 東川篤哉　『謎解きはディナーのあとで3』: 「犯人に毒を与えないでください」 /  「この川で溺れないでください」 / 「怪盗からの挑戦状でございます」 / 「殺人には自転車をご利用ください」 / 「彼女は何を奪われたのでございますか」 / 「さよならはディナーのあとで」 / 「探偵たちの饗宴」