“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 book. But this case was different . . . This was no ordinary murder. The perpetrator had scrupulously planned the whole ghastly deed. What’s more, it was worthy of the label ‘Locked Room Murder Mystery.'”
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo was first published in 1946, and is the first of many Kosuke Kindaichi novels. Now, it’s being translated into English for the first time (by Louise Heal Kawai), and fans of Golden Age mystery and detective novels should get their hands on a copy.
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