Seishi Yokomizo (1902–1981)

Death on Gokumon Island is set in Japan in 1946 and that's what makes it interesting. Most of the young and middle-aged men had been drafted into the armed services and had been out of touch with their families for years, so no one knew whether they were dead or alive. The survivors are now returning from combat zones. The world-famous detective, Kosuke Kindaichi, has returned from New Guinea, where he befriended the heir to a powerful fishing family on Gokumon Island. The heir dies on the way back to Japan, and with his dying breath exhorts Kindaichi to hasten to Gokumon Island to prevent the deaths of his three younger sisters. The inhabitants of Gokumon Island are descended from criminals and other undesirables, and are notorious for their lawlessness.

Yokomizo's Kosuke Kindaichi books are intricately plotted "impossible crimes". The other books in the series are mainly locked room mysteries, but this one depends on timetables. Characters behave bizarrely in order to accommodate the extraordinarily artificial plot, in which murders are set up to parody Haiku.

As a mystery [Death on Gokumon Island] is sub-par, but the book is worth reading for its picture of post-war Japan.… (altro)

The Devil's Flute Murders is set in 1947 and was was first published in 1951. It is particularly interesting for its depiction of post-war Japan: there are food shortages; transport is unreliable; the power goes off every day; enormous numbers of buildings have been destroyed in bombings and subsequent fires. The family at the centre of the story once belonged to the nobility, which has recently been abolished. Viscount Tsubaki has disappeared and is thought to have committed suicide because he has discovered a terrible family shame. He leaves behind his inbred, hysterical wife who believes she can see her dead husband. Her daughter, Mineko, employs Detective Kindaichi to investigate her father's disappearance.

The other characters are the wife's evil brother and his wife and son; an elderly Count, uncle to Tsubaki's wife and her brother; a mysterious young man who is thought to be the son of Tsubaki's old school friend; the wife's devoted servant; another servant; the Count's young mistress. There is also a horde of minor characters, most of whose names start with "O" or "K" so it's hard to keep track.

The narration is highly melodramatic and beset by similes. Initially I found it distracting, but after a while the excessiveness became part of the book's charm. The plot is extraordinarily complicated, with many strands and a central locked-room mystery.

An entertaining read.… (altro)

The head of the Inugami family has died, leaving a complex will that leads to murder. Inugami had three daughters, each to a different mistress, and showed neither them nor their mothers any interest or affection. His daughters married and each produced a son, one of whom stands to inherit the bulk of the Inugami fortune should he be chosen as a husband by the beautiful granddaughter of Inugami's mentor, a priest who saved him from starvation and death. This is a ludicrously artificial mystery, but very entertaining. It was first published in 1946, when soldiers were returning from the war. A disfigured returned soldier in a rubber mask plays an important role, as does another returned serviceman who hides his identity with a muffler. There are lots of interesting cultural bits and pieces.… (altro)

Originally written in 1973 and now released by Bolinda Publishing with translation from the Japanese by Jim Rion and narrated by Akira Matsumoto. The story is set in post WW2 Japan and was reflective of the times post war which was contemporary for the author. The Detective Kindaichi Mysteries first came out as serials and later as books which were popular in Japan. The series is finding new readers among those whose families originated there and seems to be quite popular with those who have a greater understanding of the background. Which is my roundabout way of saying that while the deductions were exemplary, I found it slow and difficult for me to relate. But it is interesting and I do favor books set in places I can never afford to visit. And I geek history. Glad that I read it.
I requested and received a free temporary audio copy from Bolinda Audio via NetGalley. Thank you!… (altro)