鬼火之家

Kei Enomoto #2

by Yusuke Kishi, 貴志祐介, 葉韋利 (Translator)

長野県の旧家で、中学３年の長女が殺害されるという事件が発生。突き飛ばされて柱に頭をぶつけ、脳内出血を起こしたのが死因と思われた。現場は、築100年は経つ古い日本家屋。玄関は内側から鍵がかけられ、完全な密室状態。第一発見者の父が容疑者となるが……（「狐火の家」）。表題作ほか計４編を収録。防犯コンサルタント（本職は泥棒？）榎本と、美人弁護士・純子のコンビが究極の密室トリックに挑む、防犯探偵シリーズ、第２弾！

Genres: Mystery, Japanese Literature

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

He graduated from Kyoto University with a degree in Economics. After working for a life insurance company for several years, Kishi started his writing career as a freelancer. He has twice won the Japan Horror Novel Award, and boasts bestselling status in Japan with multiple works adapted to the screen. The Crimson Labyrinth marks his American debut.

Awards given to his works:
Japan Horror Novel Award 1997 (Black House), Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Novel 2005 (Glass Hammer), Japan SF Taisho Award 2008 (From the New World), Yamada Futaro Award 2010 (Lesson of the Evil), [Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!] Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year 2011 (Lesson of the Evil).

Reviews

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an interesting and light-heartened detective/crime short stories collection, narrating by a pair of unlikely partners: a former-thief and a female lawyer. Most of the murder mysteries in the book are decently done, and the sense of humor can always make you LOL. It's really entertaining.

[Annemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series of short stories was pretty good. The shorter the story, the better the pacing was. Kishi Yusuke tends to ramble, and this short story format worked really well for him. Since I have seen the drama series, I already knew all the stories and how they ended, and I think I'd have enjoyed it a bit more if not for that. The stories aren't predictable at all, so reading them without prior knowledge would have definitely been more fun.