The Tokyo Zodiac Murders (Kiyoshi Mitarai #1) [B2077]

2013 PB reprint of the 1981 Japanese original, in gift-worthy condition. One of The Guardian's 'Top 10 Locked Room Mysteries'. An amateur detective races to solve a decades-old murder mystery in this "bloody and bizarre" Japanese crime novel with a twist hailed as "one of the most original" (Daily Mail). Astrologer, fortune teller, and self-styled detective Kiyoshi Mitarai must solve a macabre murder mystery that has baffled Japan for 40 years-in just one week. With the help of his freelance illustrator friend, Kiyoshi sets out to answer the questions that have haunted the country ever since: Who murdered the artist Umezawa, raped and killed his daughter, and then chopped up the bodies of six others to create Azoth, 'the perfect woman'? With maps, charts, and other illustrations, this story of magic and illusion-pieced together like a great stage tragedy-challenges the reader to unravel the mystery before the final curtain falls. This quintessential Japanese "logic mystery"-eerie, gory, and intriguing-combines the puzzle-solving of Golden Age Western detective fiction with elements of shocking horror and dark humor.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This was my first Japanese "locked-room" (or 'impossible crime') mystery, and I can confidently say... I get the hype now. This was a brilliant, challenging, and incredibly rewarding read."; "This book is stellar, such a good book, I had no idea who the culprit was the whole time, such a clever plot."; "I don't think I've ever been this satisfied by a mystery. The puzzle! The detective! The characters! The creepiness! The ending! And did I mention the PUZZLE!!"; "Amazing..simply AMAZING! I mean.. My Mind = BLOWN! It's honestly hard to put this book down once you get started! I was hooked almost immediately, yet at the same time, I didn't want to rush through it either.. because the clues were so dense and intricate that I found myself slowing down just to process everything properly ..and when I wasn't reading, I couldn't stop thinking about it. The mystery completely occupied my thoughts throughout the day."