The Geometry of Murder

A group of people is stuck on an island, with no way off. Stuck on the island with them is a mad, cunning killer, determined to pick off the group members one by one. It’s a race against time, a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. No, I’m not talking about Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Rather, I’m talking about a recently-published translation of a Japanese detective story: The Decagon House Murders.

The titular Decagon House is, of course, shaped like a decagon, and the island upon which it sits was recently the site of a gruesome series of murders. Naturally, a university’s mystery club (modelled on such a club at Kyoto University) decides the island is a great place for a club excursion. Thus the members meet up, each of them known by a pseudonym taken from one of the great Western Golden Age writers: Agatha, Orczy, Van Dine, Leroux, Ellery, Carr, and Poe. It doesn’t take long for murder to occur, and as the body count rises, the list of suspects gets shorter and shorter…

How to Make "Saw" Look Like a Family Film: A Lesson in Detection

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I am a huge fan of classic mysteries, particularly from the Golden Age, and those by authors who emulate the style. But there are times where I have tried getting through modern mysteries. I have come to the conclusion that imagination, creativity, and fair play with clues must be considered crimes for some reason or another— how else to explain the character angst that drives far too many novels, the touches of faux artistry, and the mysterious lack of a plot?

If my theory is correct, then Soji Shimada is a wanted man. Shimada is a Japanese author whose work has not really been translated into English. The only translated work of his I can find is his first mystery novel, The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, originally published in 1981. A translated publication was made available in 2004. If you’ve never read this book, I urge you to check your local library. If they don’t have it, I would recommend purchasing it from a bookstore. It is an investment I guarantee you will not regret, or I will eat my hat.

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders starts with a brief forward from the author, and I find it comforting that a modern mystery novelist insists on the very first page he will play fair with the clues. No evidence will be hidden- there will be an even playing field for the reader and the author’s detective, Kiyoshi Mitarai. Shimada is not lying. He gives you all the clues and plays 100% fair. In addition, he writes the best “Challenge to the Reader” I have ever read. After a specific point in the novel, Shimada tells you that you have all the necessary clues in your possession, and wishes you good luck in finding the solution. He doesn’t sound condescending or like he’s showing off: no, it’s genuine delight in the duel between author and reader. Shimada understands the mystery novel and has fun with it! He shows great creativity, originality, and imagination and this makes for a great read.