🕵️‍♀️ 推理小説読書会 📚 Mystery Novel Book Club 👮‍♂️ NOW VOTING!

While I love a mystery, was trying to resist joining this as I’m already reading far too many different things. That said, this book has been on my ‘want to read’ list for ages so if it ends up getting selected I feel like my limited self control will crumble and I’ll have to join in! (

I guess it depends what kind of difficulty level and speed you’d be wanting for this group. The advanced WK book club have read mystery novels like すべてがfになる (524 pages) before - but at a pace of 50+ pages a week which could be a lot depending on reading experience. That said, I feel like most mysteries are paced in a way that reading at a slow pace could be somewhat difficult…

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Don’t tell anyone, but I’m almost kind of hoping that a book I’m not interested in gets picked so I’m safe for the time being. @.@ Stop recommending interesting-looking books, guys!

Speaking of which, all three of my suggestions are by the same author. I haven’t read any of their work, but the more I looked at their stuff the less I was able to decide. Let me know if I should limit them or anything like that.

Edit: can’t post more than three times in a row, so I’ll post my final suggestion after someone reples.

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Book: 体育館の殺人 | L30
Is there an ebook available?: yes
Is there an audiobook available?: yes

Summary - Japanese

風ヶ丘高校の旧体育館で、放送部部長の少年が何者かに刺殺された。放課直後で激しい雨が降り、現場は密室状態だった!? 早めに授業が終わり現場体育館にいた唯一の人物、女子卓球部の部長の犯行だと、警察は決めてかかるが……。死体発見現場にいあわせた卓球部員・柚乃は、嫌疑をかけられた部長のために、学内随一の天才と呼ばれている裏染天馬に真相の解明を頼んだ。内緒で校内に暮らしているという、アニメオタクの駄目人間に――。しかしなぜ彼は校内に住んでいるのだろう? “平成のエラリー・クイーン”が単行本版より大幅改稿で読者に挑戦!

Summary - English

A boy, the head of the broadcasting club, was stabbed to death by someone in the old gymnasium of Kazugaoka High School. It was right after school, raining heavily, and the scene was a locked room! The police assume that the crime was committed by the head of the women’s table tennis club, the only person who was in the gymnasium after classes ended early. … Yuzuno, a member of the ping-pong club who was at the scene when the body was found, asks Tenma Urasome, who is known as the best genius in the school, to find out the truth for the suspected club leader. He is a no-good anime geek who lives on campus without telling anyone. But why is he living on campus? The “Ellery Queen of the Heisei Era” challenges the readers with a major revision of the book version!

Content warnings if known

Unknown

Why are you nominating this book: So I initially heard about this book after a Chinese webnovel author who’s book I enjoyed recommended it in an interview: “Another honorable mention is 90’s Japanese mystery novelist Aosaki Yugo, in particular three novels from his Urazome Tenma series—The Red Letter Mystery, The Gymnasium Murder, and The Aquarium Murder. Traditional detective stories are in a decline in modern literature, but his works are filled with young vitality and refreshingly unique in their own way.” So take that as you will? Seemed like a pretty simple set-up from the book description, so thought I’d toss it into the ring.

Also won the 22nd Tetsuya Ayukawa Prize in 2012.

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Book: https://learnnatively.com/book/9ce4863e44/
Is there an ebook available?: yes

Summary - Japanese

吸血鬼に人造人間、怪盗・人狼・切り裂き魔、そして名探偵。異形が蠢く十九世紀末のヨーロッパで、人類親和派の吸血鬼が、銀の杭に貫かれ惨殺された……!? 解決のために呼ばれたのは、人が忌避する“怪物事件”専門の探偵・輪堂鴉夜と、奇妙な鳥籠を持つ男・真打津軽。彼らは残された手がかりや怪物故の特性から、推理を導き出す。謎に満ちた悪夢のような笑劇(ファルス)……ここに開幕!

Summary - English

Vampires, artificial humans, phantom thieves, werewolves, cutthroats, and great detectives. In Europe at the end of the 19th century, where deformities were stirring, a pro-humanity vampire was slaughtered by a silver stake. …? To solve the case, Rando Rakuya, a detective who specializes in “monster cases” that people avoid, and Shinchi Tsugaru, a man with a strange birdcage, are called in to solve the case. They draw their deductions from the clues left behind and from the characteristics of the monstrous creature. A nightmarish farce filled with mystery … opens here!

Content warnings if known

Unknown

Why are you nominating this book: Fantasy is probably my favorite genre, so being able to get a fantasy/mystery mix sounds right up my alley. There’s a manga version of this book, which is currently being published in English by Kodansha (link here, Natively link), so you can also check that out if interested.

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In case it’s plus for anyone, there is an audiobook for this. It’s also included in the ‘all you can listen’ audible.jp membership. I read a review on a Japanese book blog on this one that mentioned that it is an easy read many times, so that could also be a plus!

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Book: ノッキンオン・ロックドドア | L32
Is there an ebook available?: yes

Summary - Japanese

密室、容疑者全員アリバイ持ち──「不可能」犯罪を専門に捜査する巻き毛の男、御殿場倒理。ダイイングメッセージ、奇妙な遺留品──「不可解」な事件の解明を得意とするスーツの男、片無氷雨(ひさめ)。相棒だけどライバル(?)なふたりが経営する探偵事務所「ノッキンオン・ロックドドア」には、今日も珍妙な依頼が舞い込む……。新時代の本格ミステリ作家が贈るダブル探偵物語、開幕!(解説:杉江松恋)

Summary - English

Gotemba Gori, a man with curly hair who specializes in investigating “impossible” crimes - locked rooms, suspects all having alibis. Dying messages, strange leftovers - the man in the suit, Hisame Katanashi, specializes in solving “unexplained” cases. They are partners but rivals (?). The detective agency “Knockin’ on Locked Doors” run by these two partners but rivals (or rivals?), receives unusual requests today as well. … A double detective story by a real mystery writer of the new age is about to begin! (Commentary by Matsuko Sugie)

Content warnings if known

Unknown

Why are you nominating this book: The dual-detective setup sounds super interesting! Haven’t read it yet, but there appears to be a free sampler of some kind for the book (on Amazon and Bookwalker, Natively link) that has an intro manga chapter and the first chapter from the nominated book.

Won the 70th Japan Mystery Writers Association Prize in 2017.

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Side note: ノッキンオン・ロックドドア and it’s sequel seem to be half-off at the time of writing on Amazon right now. Checked Bookwalker, but no luck. :frowning:

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Tbh people can vote for it or not. I added a couple of books to Natively for nomination only to realize they were quite long :joy: and they were only first volumes!

If people are open to that I have no problem with it! I think it’s also worth calling out that falling behind and posting in the relevant weeks as you get to them is perfectly fine imo

You have no idea how happy I am that we’re getting so many nominations :smiley:

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I take this to mean that it’s okay to go crazy with nominations? :smiley:

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Go wild. Many will enter, only one will be read.

This first round anyways! :joy:

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Oh I meant as classic of the genre. It’s always recommended.

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Final nominations from me, promise!

Book: スマホを落としただけなのに 囚われの殺人鬼 | L29
Is there an ebook available?: yes, and an audiobook as well!

Summary - Japanese

神奈川県警生活安全サイバー犯罪対策課の桐野良一は、あるPCの中から、死体で見つかった女の情報を探っていた。
そのPCは、世間を震撼させた「丹沢山中連続殺人事件」の犯人のものだった。犯人は、桐野にある取引を持ちかける――。
いっぽう、巨額の仮想通貨流出事件が発生。
セキュリティ会社で桐野の恋人・美乃里のもとに、ハッカーらしき男からコンタクトがあり……。

Summary - English

Ryoichi Kirino of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Community Safety Cybercrime Unit was searching for information on a woman found dead on a certain PC.
The PC belonged to the perpetrator of the “Tanzawa Yamanaka Serial Murder Case” that shook the world. The murderer offers Kirino a deal.
Meanwhile, a huge amount of virtual currency is leaked.
Minori, Kirino’s lover at a security company, is contacted by a man who looks like a hacker …

Content warnings if known

So the first book contained references to child abuse, sexual assault, some consensual sex scenes, revenge porn, and torture. I have no idea what this book might contain, but be aware it might span quite a few things.

Why are you nominating this book: I enjoyed the first book in this series (although the tech explanations were a bit of a yawn) and found the writing style very approachable and easy. It is likely to have dark themes and also possibly corny. It’s a pulpy book, not a thinker. That said, if you’re like me and enjoy trash, it’s fine garbage.
You do not need to have read the first book to understand the second one. They’re standalone novels based on the same theme.

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Book: 砂の家 | L30??
Is there an ebook available?: yes

Summary - Japanese

殺人犯の父を、許せるか?警察小説の旗手が、家族の限界を描くサスペンス!

大手企業「AZフーズ」で働く浅野健人に、知らない弁護士から電話が。「お父さんが出所しました」健人が10歳のとき、父親が母と妹を刺し殺して逮捕された。以来「殺人犯の子」として絶望的な日々を過ごしてきたのだ。もういないものと、必死で忘れてきたのに。父の動向を気にする健人だが、同じ頃AZフーズ社長・竹内に、社長個人の秘密を暴露する脅迫メールが届く。竹内から息子のように信頼される健人は解決役を任されるが……。

Summary - English

Can you forgive your father, a murderer? The standard-bearer of police novels depicts the limits of family in this suspense!

Kenjin Asano, who works for a major company, AZ Foods, receives a phone call from a lawyer he doesn’t know: "Your father has been released from prison. When Kenjin was 10 years old, his father was arrested for stabbing his mother and sister to death. Since then, he has lived a life of despair as the "son of a murderer. He has tried his best to forget his father, thinking that he is no longer with us. Kento is concerned about his father’s movements, but at the same time, he receives a threatening e-mail from Takeuchi, the president of AZ Foods, revealing the president’s personal secrets. Trusted by Takeuchi like a son, Kento is entrusted with the role of resolving the situation. …

Content warnings if known

None that I know of

Why are you nominating this book: This author is quite famous and I’ve been meaning to read their work for awhile now. I’m also a sucker for ‘tangled-web’ type stories so this is right up my alley.

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Book: 変な家 | L30 (Probably closer to L28)
Is there an ebook available?: yes
Is there an audiobook available?: yes :musical_note:

Summary - Japanese

謎の空間、二重扉、窓のない子供部屋----
間取りの謎をたどった先に見た、
「事実」とは!?

知人が購入を検討している都内の中古一軒家。
開放的で明るい内装の、ごくありふれた物件に思えたが、
間取り図に「謎の空間」が存在していた。

知り合いの設計士にその間取り図を見せると、
この家は、そこかしこに「奇妙な違和感」が
存在すると言う。

間取りの謎をたどった先に見たものとは…。

不可解な間取りの真相は!?
突如消えた「元住人」は一体何者!?

本書で全ての謎が解き明かされる!

Summary - English

Mysterious space, double doors, windowless children’s room: ----
What is the “fact” that I saw when I followed the mystery of the floor plan?
What is the “fact”?

An acquaintance of mine is considering purchasing a second-hand house in Tokyo.
It seemed to be an ordinary house with an open and bright interior, but the floor plan showed a "mysterious space.
However, there was a “mysterious space” in the floor plan.

When he showed the floor plan to an architect he knew, he was surprised to find that the house had “strange spaces” all over the place.
He said that the house had “strange and uncomfortable” spaces here and there.
I showed the floor plan to an architect I knew.

What did he see when he followed the mystery of the floor plan? …

What is the truth behind the puzzling floor plan?
Who is the “former resident” who suddenly disappeared?

All mysteries will be revealed in this book!

Content warnings if known

殺人, カルト

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Book: 木洩れ日に泳ぐ魚 | L33??
Is there an ebook available?: yes

Summary - Japanese

直木賞のみならず、本屋大賞を2度までも受賞した著者の隠れた傑作!

舞台は、アパートの一室。別々の道を歩むことが決まった男女が最後の夜を徹し語り合う。
初夏の風、木々の匂い、大きな柱時計、そしてあの男の後ろ姿-――。
共有した過去の風景に少しずつ違和感が混じり始め、〝最後の夜〟に濃密な心理戦が繰り広げられる。かつての恋人は、ひょっとして殺人犯なのか?
過去をめぐる物語は次々と意外な事実を明らかにし、朝の光とともに訪れる真実とは――。

「相手が殺人犯ではないか」というシンプルな攻防が続く心理戦が、いつしか「事件の真相」以上に衝撃的な事実にたどり着く。次々と明らかになる過去の秘密と、移ろいゆくふたりの心……。互いの腹を探り合うスリリングな興奮と、好きなのに疑ってしまう恋愛の切なさに一気読み必至の、傑作心理サスペンス。

Summary - English

Set in Tokyo over the course of one night, Aki and Hiro have decided to be together one last time in their shared flat before parting. Their relationship has broken down after a mountain trek during which their guide died inexplicably. Now each believes the other to be a murderer and is determined to extract a confession before the night is over. Who is the murderer and what really happened on the mountain?

In the battle of wills between them, the chain of events leading up to this night is gradually revealed in a gripping psychological thriller that keeps the reader in suspense to the very end.

Content warnings if known

None that I know of.

I’ve been wanting to read some Riku Onda, and after reading several summaries, I settled on this one. I love the title, and the setting was intriguing. It’s also been freshly translated into English. (I don’t plan to read it in English, but it’s still easier to read summaries and reviews in something other than Japanese…)

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Book: 白光 | L30??
Is there an ebook available?: yes

Summary - Japanese

家族に渦巻く殺意、衝撃の結末! 連城ミステリーの真骨頂。

ごく普通のありきたりな家庭。夫がいて娘がいて、いたって平凡な日常――のはずだった。しかし、ある暑い夏の日、まだ幼い姪が自宅で何者かに殺害され庭に埋められてしまう。この殺人事件をきっかけに、次々に明らかになっていく家族の崩壊、衝撃の事実。殺害動機は家族全員に存在していた。真犯人はいったい誰なのか? 連城ミステリーの最高傑作がここに。

Summary - English

Murderous intent swirling in a family, shocking consequences! The quintessential Renjo mystery.

An ordinary family:a husband, a daughter, an ordinary life - that was supposed to be it. However, one hot summer day, someone murders her young niece at home and buries her in the garden. The murder triggers a series of shocking revelations about the breakdown of the family. A motive for the murder exists for everyone in the family. Who is the real murderer?

Content warnings if known

I don’t know of any.

I read a review about it and thought it might be interesting. It starts off with the crime itself, then we hear the story from multiple points of view, each one adding something new to the puzzle. It’s supposed to be easy to read.

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Book: 模倣の殺意 | L30??
Is there an ebook available?: yes

Summary - Japanese

七月七日の午後七時、新進作家、坂井正夫が青酸カリによる服毒死を遂げた。遺書はなかったが、世を儚んでの自殺として処理された。坂井に編集雑務を頼んでいた医学書系の出版社に勤める中田秋子は、彼の部屋で偶然行きあわせた遠賀野律子の存在が気になり、独自に調査を始める。一方、ルポライターの津久見伸助は、同人誌仲間だった坂井の死を記事にするよう雑誌社から依頼され、調べを進める内に、坂井がようやくの思いで発表にこぎつけた受賞後第一作が、さる有名作家の短編の盗作である疑惑が持ち上がり、坂井と確執のあった編集者、柳沢邦夫を追及していく。著者が絶対の自信を持って読者に仕掛ける超絶のトリック。記念すべきデビュー長編の改稿決定版!

Summary - English

At 7pm on 7 July, budding writer Masao Sakai died of cyanide poisoning. There was no suicide note, but the death was treated as a suicide of a dying man. Akiko Nakata, who works for a medical book publisher who had asked Sakai to do some editorial work for her, becomes concerned about the existence of Ritsuko Togano, whom she met by chance in his room, and begins to investigate on her own. Meanwhile, reportage writer Tsukumi Shinsuke is asked by a magazine company to write an article on the death of Sakai, a fellow fanzine writer, and as he investigates, he comes under suspicion that Sakai’s first novel after winning an award, which he finally managed to publish, is a plagiarised short story by a famous author, and pursues the editor Yanagisawa Kunio, who was feuding with Sakai.

The author is absolutely confident in his work. The author plays a superb trick on the reader with absolute confidence. A revised and definitive edition of his memorable debut full-length novel!

Content warnings if known

Not known.

This book was first published in 1973 under the title “新人賞殺人事件”, then it got renamed and republished in 2004. I read a favourable review about it. The part that I found most interesting was that the author apparently involves the reader in the solving of the case. There are supposed to be little details that don’t fit throughout the book, and an attentive reader can try and piece them together to figure it out. It sounded fun to me, especially in a book club setting.

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That description is giving me serious House of Leaves vibes.

Okay, added Natively links to all my nominations! @cat do we want to cut off nominations at a certain number? Is there a limit to the number of options on a poll?

I’ve been considering nominating 孤島の鬼 | L37, but I don’t know if I’d be able to read it comfortably at my level or not. :\ Never read any 江戸川乱歩 before.

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I was also getting House of Leaves vibes but didn’t know how many people would get the reference if I said it! :sweat_smile:

I can do two polls if needed. I’m not planning to do any more nominations myself but I am thinking of ways to make it easier for people to view all the nominations at once to make voting easier.

Also I love 江戸川乱歩 but he’s not an easy read, at least his books aimed at adults. 少年探偵団 and such is fine, but I tried reading 黄金仮面 last winter (admittedly a paper copy while trying to keep up with the audiobook :sweat_smile: ) and the sheer amount of new vocab combined with older writing styles forced me to give up. I recommend trying one of his short stories, ex 人間椅子 | L37 or 幽霊 | L35 to get an idea of what that work is probably like.

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Okay, so you think we’ll keep nominations open until the 22nd?