Seeking comfort in murders

In these times of death and distress, why not distract yourself with a classic Japanese locked-room puzzle

In these times of death and distress, it might seem antithetical to recommend a good murder mystery. But there’s something irresistible about a well-written detective procedural — especially when it involves a fiendishly difficult locked-room puzzle.

The British writers of the golden age of detective fiction — Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers among them — are often considered the pioneers of the genre. There is a familiar comfort to reading their mysteries set in atmospheric English towns and villages and almost always solved by enterprising amateur sleuths.

While it’s great to return to these old haunts in the company of Miss Marple and Lord Peter Wimsey, a reader looking for something a bit different can do no better than Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders, a new English translation of which has recently been published by Pushkin Press.

Yokomizo was one of Japan’s best-loved mystery writers. His first story was published in 1921 and he would go on to write around 77 books featuring his detective Kosuke Kindaichi.

The Honjin Murders, in which we meet Kindaichi for the first time, is now regarded as one of Japan’s greatest mystery novels. It’s not hard to see why the book became so popular in Japan — reading it is like listening to a warm and friendly neighbour sharing the latest village gossip. The mystery at the heart of the book is the murder of two newlyweds — Kenzo Ichiyanagi and his bride, Katsuko — in the winter of 1937. Kenzo was a middle-aged philosophy scholar and Katsuko was a teacher. Their marriage was not popular with either the Ichiyanagi family (headed by its powerful matriarch Itoko) or the village in general. Once the killings happen, there are plenty of suspects to be found within and outside the family.

Yokomizo narrates the story in the first person and describes his indebtedness to his British peers at the start of the book, especially Dickson Carr. That he manages to weave in a quintessentially British mystery tradition of the locked-room murder and render it uniquely Japanese is what makes the story work so well. The wintry environment, the unease of a country that will be involved in a devastating war soon, the conflict between tradition and progress — all these and more contribute to making The Honjin Murders essential reading for fans of detective and historical fiction.

And then, of course, there’s the investigator, Kindaichi, who’s brought in to solve the case. Mercurial, scruffy and topped with ‘birds’ nest hair’ he follows the familiar template of the genius detective, but one whose eccentricities don’t get on your nerves. His solution to the whole mystery does actually make your jaw drop — a rare thing these days when most readers can usually spot the murderer and motive from the first few pages of a book.

So while things do seem grim around the world right now, here’s something to keep you hopeful for the future — more of Yokomizo’s Kindaichi mysteries are being translated into English.

The author is a Bangalore-based writer and communications professional with many published short stories and essays to her credit.

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