Críticas
Plenty of golden age ingredients... with a truly ingenious solution ― Guardian, Best New Crime Fiction
Readers will delight in the blind turns, red herrings and dubious alibis... Ingenious and compelling ― Economist
At once familiar and tantalisingly strange... It's an absolute pleasure to see his work translated at last in these beautifully produced English editions ― Sunday Times
With a reputation in Japan to rival Agatha Christie's, the master of ingenious plotting is finally on the case for anglophone readers ― Guardian
An iconic slice of classic Japanese crime fiction -- Tom Hindle, author of Murder on Lake Garda
The Japanese Agatha Christie -- Sara Cox, on BBC2's Between the Covers
The perfect read for this time of year. Short and compelling, it will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie looking for a new case to break ― Irish Times
A classic murder mystery... Comparisons with Holmes are justified, both in the character of Kindaichi and Yokomizo's approach to storytelling - mixing clues, red herrings and fascinating social insight before drawing back the curtain to reveal the truth ― Japan Times
The premise alone is dazzling [and] the solution to this mystery came as a complete surprise - exactly what I asked for ― New York Times
For lovers of classic mystery and mayhem, these newly translated offerings are a must ― Tokyo Weekender
A delightfully entertaining locked room murder mystery... There are plenty of twists, red herrings, and suspects in this monkey puzzle of a story... An ideal book to curl up with on a winter's night ― NB Magazine
A classic locked room mystery... Its intricate thrills just as exciting as they were 70 years ago ― CrimeReads
Essential reading for fans of detective and historical fiction... [the] solution to the whole mystery does actually make your jaw drop ― Deccan Herald
A wickedly fun time. Its short length, quirky cast of characters, engaging mystery, and theatrical setting and plot make for a fantastic murder mystery tale. ― Books and Bao
The master of Japanese crime ― Tuttolibri
The perfect gift for any fan of classic crime fiction or locked room mysteries ― Mrs Peabody Investigates
A perfect puzzle... Doesn't fail to deliver in its extremely fun and chilling premise. You'll be reading way past your bedtime! ― Litreactor
Think you got a Sherlock Holmes knack for crime puzzles? Then have a try at Yokomizo's clever mystery riddle ― Metropolis Magazine, The Best Japanese Mystery Novels to Read in 2025
This Golden-Age Japanese mystery reminded me of Twin Peaks, with a mysterious three-fingered man, the perfect couple of newlyweds, and the perfect crime: a locked room that literally no one could have entered -- Anna Fitzgerald Healy, author of 'Etiquette for Lovers and Killers'
It's steeped in the traditions of locked-room mystery, and is one of the most fiendish examples of the 'impossible murder' I've read -- Tim Major, author of Jekyll & Hyde
An absolute hoot -- Ross Montgomery, author of 'Murder at Worlds End'
Contraportada
A fiendish classic murder mystery, from one of Japan's greatest crime writers
In 1940s Japan, the wealthy head of the Inugami Clan dies, and his family eagerly await the reading of the will. But no sooner are its strange details revealed than a series of bizarre, gruesome murders begins. Detective Kindaichi must unravel the clan's terrible secrets of forbidden liaisons, monstrous cruelty, and hidden identities to find the murderer, and lift the curse wreaking its bloody revenge on the Inugamis.
The Inugami Curse is a fiendish, intricately plotted classic mystery from a giant of Japanese crime writing, starring the legendary detective Kosuke Kindaichi.
Biografía del autor
Seishi Yokomizo (1902-81) was one of Japan's most famous and beloved mystery writers, best known for creating the legendary detective Kosuke Kindaichi, who featured in more than 70 stories, many of which were adapted for stage and television in Japan. The Honjin Murders, the first Kosuke Kindaichi novel, is regarded as one of Japan's great mystery novels and won the inaugural Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1948. The Inugami Curse, The Village of Eight Graves, Death on Gokumon Island, The Devil's Flute Murders, The Little Sparrow Murders,Murder at the Black Cat Cafe and She Walks at Night are also available or forthcoming from Pushkin Vertigo.
LOUISE HEAL KAWAI has translated around a dozen works of Japanese literature, including works by Seicho Matsumoto and Taeko Tomioka. In 2018, her translation of Seventeen
by Hideo Yokoyama was longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award. Her most recent works for Pushkin are the classic locked-room murder mysteries Murder in the Crooked House by Soji Shimada and Seishi Yokomizo's The Honjin Murders. Louise lives in Japan's Kanto region.
Extracto. © Reimpreso con autorización. Reservados todos los derechos.
Chapter 1: The Three-Fingered Man
Before recording the strange history that follows, I felt I ought to take a look at the house
where such a gruesome murder was committed. Accordingly, one afternoon in early spring, I set off,
walking stick in hand, for a stroll around that infamous residence.
I was evacuated to this rural farming village in Okayama Prefecture in May of last year, at the
height of the bombing raids. And since that day, everyone I’ve met has talked to me at least once of
what some call “The Koto Murder Case” and others “The Honjin Murder Case” at the home of the
Ichiyanagi family.
Generally, as soon as people hear that I’m a writer of detective stories, they feel compelled to
tell me of any murder case with which they have the slightest personal connection. I suppose
rumours of my profession had reached the ears of the villagers, so every single one managed to bring
up the topic of the Honjin Murder Case at some point. For the people of this village there could
hardly be a more memorable case, and yet most of them were not aware of the full horror of this
crime.
Usually when people tell me these kinds of tales, they never turn out to be as interesting to me
as they are to the teller, much less potential material for a novel. But this case was different. From
the moment I heard the first whispers about the case, I was fascinated. Then, when I finally got to
hear the account from the lips of F—, the man most directly connected to the case, I was at once
seized with a great excitement. This was no ordinary murder. The perpetrator had scrupulously
planned the whole ghastly deed. What’s more, it was one worthy of the label “Locked Room Murder
Mystery.”
The locked room murder mystery – a genre that any self-respecting detective novelist will
attempt at some point in his or her career. The murder takes place in a room with no apparent way
for the killer to enter or exit. Constructing a solution is an appealing challenge to the author. As my
esteemed friend, Eizo Inoue wrote, all of the works of the great John Dickson Carr are some variation
on the locked room murder theme. As a writer of detective novels myself, I intended one day to try
my hand at one of these, and now I’ve been unexpectedly blessed – one has fallen right into my lap. I know it’s shocking but I feel I owe a debt of gratitude to the killer for devising such a fiendish method
to stab this man and woman.
When I first heard the story, I immediately racked my brain to think of any similar cases among
all the novels I’ve read. The first that came to mind was Gaston Leroux’s The Mystery of the Yellow
Room , and Maurice Leblanc’s The Teeth of the Tiger; then there’s The Canary Murder Case and The
Kennel Murder Case, both by S.S. Van Dine; finally, Dickson Carr’s The Plague Court Murders. I even
considered that variation on the locked room murder theme, Roger Scarlett’s Murder Among the
Angells. But this real-life case wasn’t quite like any of the above mentioned. Maybe, just maybe, the
killer had read a selection of stories like these, dissected all of the different devices used, then picked
out the elements that he needed, constructing his own device… At least that’s one theory.
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