4.5 stars, but this is quintessential Kindaichi so I’ll round it up (it does lack Miyuki, though she gets to help out a couple times).
A reality TV shoot goes horribly wrong and soon, yes, killing is somebody’s business and business is good. Naturally the small group of suspects is isolated by a blizzard, meaning the killer must be... one of them! (Also there’s the third masked man in as many stories. I hadn’t realized how often they went to that well.)
Anyway, this volume is rather significant because it introduces the smug bastard that is Superintendent Akechi, whose incredible arrogance makes him a fantastic foil for Kindaichi as they try to out-sleuth one another to the solution.
We also get the first appearance of Reika Hayami, who mostly exists to annoy Miyuki in her attempts to win over Kindaichi. She doesn’t add much to the mystery, but she’s certainly significant to the series.
And what a mystery! This is SO emblematic of the series, in that everything hinges on the most insanely intricate timing and on top of that it’s got a couple of cracking false solutions before the real one, which is itself so absurd and ludicrous that it is absolutely perfect.
It’s a tremendous example of what this series does so well and as a fun bonus, it has the best cover art of the series (that’s great static). These have been a lot of fun to re-read; I really wish Kodansha would release the rest of series digitally.