Ten years ago, English-speaking fans of the classic Japanese mystery fiction known as honkaku and shin honkaku would have been lucky to find one newly translated novel a year to enjoy. Nowadays, there’s practically a glut of them, thanks largely to publishing house Pushkin Vertigo and the talent and non-stop effort of translators like Louise Heal Kawai, Ho-Ling Wong, … Continue reading MAYHEM IN MINIATURE: Murder at the Black Cat Cafe
shin honkaku
HISTORY MYSTERY SHMISTORY! Murder in the House of Omari
In the continuing saga that is the translation and publication of Japanese honkaku mysteries into English, Pushkin Vertigo brings us another prolific but seldom read author. Taku Ashibe has been producing crime novels and stories for thirty-five years, many of them with fanciful names like The Palace of Bizarre Idea Murder Case, Murder at the House of Another … Continue reading HISTORY MYSTERY SHMISTORY! Murder in the House of Omari
MAYBE I’M A-MAZED: The Labyrinth House Murders
Back in June, 2016 I fell a little bit in love – with a book. I was able to read The Decagon House Murders (1987) due to the efforts of three men: author Yukito Ayatsuji, scholar and translator Ho-Ling Wong, and Locked Room Internationalpublisher John Pugmire. I was a fresh-off-the-farm blogger and had never heard of Japan’s honkaku mystery movement. … Continue reading MAYBE I’M A-MAZED: The Labyrinth House Murders
EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
It’s New Year’s Eve, the final day of a most, er, dramatic year, and this is my 79th and final post of 2024. It's also the time when some of my fellow bloggers review their accomplishments, perhaps name a “Book of the Year,” and make prognostications about what’s coming up in 2025 that are hopefully vague … Continue reading EVE OF POSSIBILITIES: Looking Back on ’24 and Forward to ’25
2024 REPRINT OF THE YEAR, #1: The Little Sparrow Murders
On Hayley, on Neeru, On Moira and Janet! On Aidan, on Stevie, Fly over the planet! On Bev and Mallika: It’s gonna be great To celebrate reprints - We do it for Kate!!! And that’s my miraculous little holiday rhyme to get you into the spirit of the occasion! (The real miracle would be anyone … Continue reading 2024 REPRINT OF THE YEAR, #1: The Little Sparrow Murders
MORE FUN AND GAMES WITH BOOK CLUB: Five Great Mystery Debuts
My Book Club is full of fun and fascinating people, but our collective book selections have been a decidedly mixed bag. And so last month, we took a break from these doldrums (perhaps mystery lovers should call them “humdrums”), and did something a little different: each of us shared their ten favorite mysteries from the … Continue reading MORE FUN AND GAMES WITH BOOK CLUB: Five Great Mystery Debuts
BOOK CLUB TACKLES ITS INNER DEMONS: The Noh Mask Murder
The ever-increasing availability of Japanese honkaku and shin honkaku mystery stories translated into English is one of the greatest perks of the classic mystery revival. I used to talk about each review as “this year’s book,” but now I can’t keep up with the new titles. I’ve got books on my shelf that I haven’t read yet, another Kosuke … Continue reading BOOK CLUB TACKLES ITS INNER DEMONS: The Noh Mask Murder
A MINI-SHIN HONKAKU REVIEW: “The Tragedy of Black Swan Lodge”
I haven’t subscribed to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine for years and years, mainly because the short mystery has undergone the same transformation as the modern novel: puzzles and problems have been replaced with anger and ennui. But the local library has a large, comfortable magazine room, and every two months, I pick up the newest copy of EQMM on … Continue reading A MINI-SHIN HONKAKU REVIEW: “The Tragedy of Black Swan Lodge”
WAR IS HELL: The Devil’s Flute Murders
I’ll start by giving away my surprise ending: In May of next year, The Little Sparrow Murders will be the sixth Seishi Yokomizo mystery to be released in English by Pushkin Vertigo. If the publisher continues in this vein with all seventy-eight of Yokomizo’s books, the chances of my being around long enough to read titles like Pimple … Continue reading WAR IS HELL: The Devil’s Flute Murders
MANSION W/7BD, 6B, 4CORPSES, & VIEW: The Mill House Murders
We are only a couple weeks shy of the seventh anniversary of the first time I posted about shin honkaku on this site. Since then, those of us who are extremely grateful for the Japanese obsession with the Golden Age of Detection have reveled in one release after another of both classic honkaku novels from the likes of Soji … Continue reading MANSION W/7BD, 6B, 4CORPSES, & VIEW: The Mill House Murders
Ah Sweet Mystery! 