MURDER AT THE BLACK CAT CAFÉ

A pair of baffling mysteries feature an iconic Japanese sleuth.

Set in the 1940s and written in the 1970s, this is the eighth of the prolific Yokomizo’s many novels to be translated into English. The meta strain of this volume’s title mystery begins with a mind-bending prologue in which a letter to Yokomizo from Kosuke Kindaichi, the fictional detective in his long-running mystery series as well as the two stories here, is followed by the author’s announcement that this first mystery is a “faceless corpse” type rather than a “locked room” or “double role” type. Though he doesn’t appear as a character, Yokomizo casts himself as the Watson who documents Kindaichi’s cases. Digging in a garden near the title restaurant reveals a naked, faceless corpse with the body of a jet-black cat nearby. Constable Hasegawa and veteran Det. Murai doggedly investigate. Every interview of a new person of interest shifts the plot like a Rubik’s Cube. Illustrations are provided to help armchair detectives, but the case won’t be solved until the inimitable Kindaichi arrives. The second mystery, Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?, springs from the tangled family history of the wealthy Honiden clan, set forth in intricate detail. After this foundation, the story is presented through a series of letters between family members supplemented by newspaper articles. Kindaichi makes an eleventh-hour appearance, identified as the genius who solved the crime.

Playful puzzles solved by a brilliant, laconic sleuth.