모두가 손꼽아 기다린 세기의 명탐정 ‘긴다이치 고스케’가 새로운 사건과 함께 돌아왔다. 국내에서는 시리즈 열세 번째 출간작으로, 2014년 《가면무도회》 이후 꼭 10년 만의 귀환이다.
시공사가 야심 차게 선보이는 《미로장의 참극迷路荘の惨劇》은 요코미조 세이시가 작품 연재를 활발히 이어가던 1950년대에 <미로장의 괴인迷路荘の怪人>이라는 제목의 중‧단편으로 내놓았다가, 긴다이치 시리즈의 동명 소설을 원작으로 한 영화 [이누가미 일족](1976)이 크게 성공하면서 ‘요코미조 리바이벌 붐’이 절정에 달했던 1970년대 중반에 장편소설로 새롭게 써서 발표한 것이다.
몰락한 귀족 가문의 저택에서 일어나는 연쇄살인을 그린 작품으로 《가면무도회》, 《병원 고개의 목매달아 죽은 이의 집》 등과 함께 작가의 후기 활동을 이끈 대표작 중 하나이며, 1978년과 2002년에 두 차례 TV 드라마로 제작되었다.
Seishi Yokomizo (横溝 正史) was a novelist in Shōwa period Japan. Yokomizo was born in the city of Kobe, Hyōgo (兵庫県 神戸市). He read detective stories as a boy and in 1921, while employed by the Daiichi Bank, published his first story in the popular magazine "Shin Seinen" (新青年[New Youth]). He graduated from Osaka Pharmaceutical College (currently part of Osaka University) with a degree in pharmacy, and initially intended to take over his family's drug store even though sceptical of the contemporary ahistorical attitude towards drugs. However, drawn by his interest in literature, and the encouragement of Edogawa Rampo (江戸川 乱歩), he went to Tokyo instead, where he was hired by the Hakubunkan publishing company in 1926. After serving as editor in chief of several magazines, he resigned in 1932 to devote himself full-time to writing. Yokomizo was attracted to the literary genre of historical fiction, especially that of the historical detective novel. In July 1934, while resting in the mountains of Nagano to recuperate from tuberculosis, he completed his first novel "Onibi" (『鬼火』), which was published in 1935, although parts were immediately censored by the authorities. Undeterred, Yokomizo followed on his early success with a second novel Ningyo Sashichi torimonocho (1938–1939). However, during World War II, he faced difficulties in getting his works published due to the wartime conditions, and was in severe economic difficulties. The lack of Streptomycin and other antibiotics also meant that his tuberculosis could not be properly treated, and he joked with friends that it was a race to see whether he would die of disease or of starvation. However, soon after the end of World War II, his works received wide recognition and he developed an enormous fan following. He published many works via Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine in serialized form, concentrating only on popular mystery novels, based on the orthodox western detective story format, starting with "Honjin Satsujin Jiken" (『本陣殺人事件』) and "Chōchō Satsujin Jinken" (『蝶々殺人事件』) (both in 1946). His works became the model for postwar Japanese mystery writing. He was also often called the "Japanese John Dickson Carr" after the writer whom he admired. Yokomizo is most well known for creating the private detective character Kosuke Kindaichi (金田一 耕助). Many of his works have been made into movies. Yokomizo died of colon cancer in 1981. His grave is at the Seishun-en cemetery in Kawasaki, Kanagawa (神奈川県 川崎市).
When I said I like crime story with a COMPLICATED relationship, I did not mean it to be this complicated. The tricks being used in this book were simple, except the key, but the written stories were not that simple.
Once again, this book proved that Kindaichi had his own moral code.