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Detective Kosuke Kindaichi (English Translation Order) #7
Murder at the Black Cat Cafe
FROM ONE OF JAPAN'S GREATEST CRIME WRITERS—THE AUTHOR OF THE HONJIN MURDERS: Nothing at The Black Cat Cafe is as it seems....
In order to solve this sensational standalone murder mystery, scruffy detective Kosuke Kindaichi will have to untangle a complex web of love, jealousy, and betrayal.
In post-war Tokyo, still recovering from the devastating wartime bombing raids, a patrolling policeman passing The Black Cat Cafe makes a gruesome the body of a woman, lying in a hastily dug hole, with a dead black cat by her side. The woman's face is disfigured beyond recognition, and the café's black cat seems alive and well, so where did the two corpses come from, and why were they buried in the café's garden?
As the legendary scruffy sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi investigates, he realizes the café's enigmatic madam, Oshima, has a past shrouded in secrecy, and what exactly is her relationship with the owner, Itoshima?
In order to solve this sensational standalone murder mystery, scruffy detective Kosuke Kindaichi will have to untangle a complex web of love, jealousy, and betrayal.
In post-war Tokyo, still recovering from the devastating wartime bombing raids, a patrolling policeman passing The Black Cat Cafe makes a gruesome the body of a woman, lying in a hastily dug hole, with a dead black cat by her side. The woman's face is disfigured beyond recognition, and the café's black cat seems alive and well, so where did the two corpses come from, and why were they buried in the café's garden?
As the legendary scruffy sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi investigates, he realizes the café's enigmatic madam, Oshima, has a past shrouded in secrecy, and what exactly is her relationship with the owner, Itoshima?
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Published April 21, 2026
About the author
Seishi Yokomizo
240 books946 followersSeishi 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).
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).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,205 reviews
December 1, 2025
Murder at the Black Cat Café - 4/5
Detective Kindaichi reminisces about his “faceless corpse” case with the author of his books. The author then lets us read the story he wrote, inspired by said case.
As for the story itself, a policeman comes across a monk digging behind the Black Cat Café, a brothel that just got a new owner. The monk screams in surprise. There’s a body buried there. And apart from the human body, there’s also the body of a black cat.
Since this is a novella rather than a full novel, the setting in particular feels much smaller. The setting is a small neighborhood in post-war Tokyo, with a lot of the buildings being burned out ruins. The story itself is short but solid. More complex than you’d think at first sight.
Why did the Well Wheel Creak? – 2,5/5
An epistolary short story that ends with newspaper articles explaining what happened. The beginning feels like a chore to get through as it crams so much boring information about the families in one chapter. Thankfully, the story gets better after the first chapter. Though once pulled out of a story, it’s hard to pull me back in.
Detective Kindaichi reminisces about his “faceless corpse” case with the author of his books. The author then lets us read the story he wrote, inspired by said case.
As for the story itself, a policeman comes across a monk digging behind the Black Cat Café, a brothel that just got a new owner. The monk screams in surprise. There’s a body buried there. And apart from the human body, there’s also the body of a black cat.
Since this is a novella rather than a full novel, the setting in particular feels much smaller. The setting is a small neighborhood in post-war Tokyo, with a lot of the buildings being burned out ruins. The story itself is short but solid. More complex than you’d think at first sight.
Why did the Well Wheel Creak? – 2,5/5
An epistolary short story that ends with newspaper articles explaining what happened. The beginning feels like a chore to get through as it crams so much boring information about the families in one chapter. Thankfully, the story gets better after the first chapter. Though once pulled out of a story, it’s hard to pull me back in.
July 4, 2025
1.5
Roughly 15% of the titular story is a long-winded preamble about mystery tropes that's completely unnecessary. There's an awkward set-up where the narrator was an author whose only connection to the world is being told the story by a detective. Wouldn't it be easier to just tell the story rather than have this author shoehorned into it? There's such limited time to grab a reader's attention and this excruciating prologue just... didn't...
The actual story is really telling-heavy and linear. The writing was stilted with little to choose between any of the characters. There's a lot of repetition and meandering. Because the heavy-handed prologue gives the tropes away, there was very little mystery to the events of the story because they'd already told us what was going to happen! The police work was unconvincing (relying almost entirely on hearsay) and the resolution was just ridiculous. As was the rationale for killing the black cat. The author was trying to pull a 'gotcha' and it felt so forced, like a really clunky magic show finale. Then, we have to sit through the whole thing again as a character tells the entire story from beginning to end!
How can a story that's 135 pages be so overwritten and stuffed with so much padding? I get this is likely a product of its time (1947) but I'm not sure this mystery does what it sets out to do in 2025... not without much more stringent editing.
There's a second story that makes up about 40% of the page count that follows the same format: a long and obvious road to an underwhelming end.
This title was available to review from Pushkin Vertigo on NetGalley.
Roughly 15% of the titular story is a long-winded preamble about mystery tropes that's completely unnecessary. There's an awkward set-up where the narrator was an author whose only connection to the world is being told the story by a detective. Wouldn't it be easier to just tell the story rather than have this author shoehorned into it? There's such limited time to grab a reader's attention and this excruciating prologue just... didn't...
The actual story is really telling-heavy and linear. The writing was stilted with little to choose between any of the characters. There's a lot of repetition and meandering. Because the heavy-handed prologue gives the tropes away, there was very little mystery to the events of the story because they'd already told us what was going to happen! The police work was unconvincing (relying almost entirely on hearsay) and the resolution was just ridiculous. As was the rationale for killing the black cat. The author was trying to pull a 'gotcha' and it felt so forced, like a really clunky magic show finale. Then, we have to sit through the whole thing again as a character tells the entire story from beginning to end!
How can a story that's 135 pages be so overwritten and stuffed with so much padding? I get this is likely a product of its time (1947) but I'm not sure this mystery does what it sets out to do in 2025... not without much more stringent editing.
There's a second story that makes up about 40% of the page count that follows the same format: a long and obvious road to an underwhelming end.
This title was available to review from Pushkin Vertigo on NetGalley.
July 9, 2025
(thank you pushkin press and netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review)
‘Murder at the Black Cat Café’ is the seventh title in the Detective Kosuke Kindaichi series in order of translation. It is a collection of two stories that both had me point to my screen, grinning like a banshee while resentfully muttering, “You tricked me!”
In the first story, the titular Murder at the Black Cat Café, behind the Black Cat Café, a police officer on patrol discovers someone digging up the soil, only to find the decomposing body of a woman and a dead black cat by her side. Her identity cannot be confirmed but once the former owners (who suddenly sold their café) are investigated, the police start untangling a messy story of love, jealousy and betrayal.
The second story, Why Did The Well Wheel Creak?, is a murder case told in the form of newspaper articles and letters between the main characters, the Honiden family.
I thoroughly enjoyed these two stories, the first especially. (Mainly because our beloved Kosuke is present) I especially love how they made a fool out of me. My update at the 30% was: This must have been mind-blowing in 1947 but I've read way too many mysteries to not have already figured this out😅 only for my expectations to be completely shattered at the 50% mark: I would like to apologise to Seishi Yokomizo. Turns out, I did not guess that correctly💀 Oh the hubris I displayed.
I can’t wait for the next one!
I cannot help recalling that fusty old saying: that truth is stranger than fiction.
‘Murder at the Black Cat Café’ is the seventh title in the Detective Kosuke Kindaichi series in order of translation. It is a collection of two stories that both had me point to my screen, grinning like a banshee while resentfully muttering, “You tricked me!”
In the first story, the titular Murder at the Black Cat Café, behind the Black Cat Café, a police officer on patrol discovers someone digging up the soil, only to find the decomposing body of a woman and a dead black cat by her side. Her identity cannot be confirmed but once the former owners (who suddenly sold their café) are investigated, the police start untangling a messy story of love, jealousy and betrayal.
The second story, Why Did The Well Wheel Creak?, is a murder case told in the form of newspaper articles and letters between the main characters, the Honiden family.
I thoroughly enjoyed these two stories, the first especially. (Mainly because our beloved Kosuke is present) I especially love how they made a fool out of me. My update at the 30% was: This must have been mind-blowing in 1947 but I've read way too many mysteries to not have already figured this out😅 only for my expectations to be completely shattered at the 50% mark: I would like to apologise to Seishi Yokomizo. Turns out, I did not guess that correctly💀 Oh the hubris I displayed.
I can’t wait for the next one!
December 30, 2025
The best thing about this book was the front cover
October 9, 2025
So many random names and objects thrown into every sentence made it difficult to follow and disrupted the flow of the story.
There were some fascinating moments and twists that I appreciated but again, I found it almost too wordy.
If I didn’t need this for book club I would’ve DNF’d
There were some fascinating moments and twists that I appreciated but again, I found it almost too wordy.
If I didn’t need this for book club I would’ve DNF’d
February 21, 2026
The Independent Press Top 40 Bestsellers: Fiction For the week ending February 1, 2026
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Tokyo, 1947. In order to solve this sensational stand-alone murder mystery, scruffy detective Kosuke Kindaichi will have to untangle a complex web of love, jealousy, and betrayal
The Pink Labyrinth is one of the bomb-scarred city's most shady neighbourhoods. There, in the dead of night a patrolling policeman catches a young Buddhist monk digging in the back yard of The Black Cat Cafe, a notorious brothel. In the shallow grave at his feet lie the dead body of a woman, her face disfigured beyond recognition, and the corpse of a black cat.
Who is the murdered woman, and how was she connected to the infamous establishment? And where did the dead cat come from, given that the cafe's feline mascot seems to be alive and well? The brilliant sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi investigates, but as he draws closer to the truth, he finds himself in grave danger...
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: An internal-chronology follow-on to The Inagumi Curse , this is a fix-up of a novella, of the title, and a short story, "Why did the well wheel creak?". It's outside the novel canon established for Kindaichi, so it's an optional read in his timeline; it's not really a thrillfest and I found it pretty mid-.
Completists will want it, but I can't say I think it's worth the investment.
Pushkin Vertigo wants $13.99 for you to read the ebook.
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Tokyo, 1947. In order to solve this sensational stand-alone murder mystery, scruffy detective Kosuke Kindaichi will have to untangle a complex web of love, jealousy, and betrayal
The Pink Labyrinth is one of the bomb-scarred city's most shady neighbourhoods. There, in the dead of night a patrolling policeman catches a young Buddhist monk digging in the back yard of The Black Cat Cafe, a notorious brothel. In the shallow grave at his feet lie the dead body of a woman, her face disfigured beyond recognition, and the corpse of a black cat.
Who is the murdered woman, and how was she connected to the infamous establishment? And where did the dead cat come from, given that the cafe's feline mascot seems to be alive and well? The brilliant sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi investigates, but as he draws closer to the truth, he finds himself in grave danger...
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: An internal-chronology follow-on to The Inagumi Curse , this is a fix-up of a novella, of the title, and a short story, "Why did the well wheel creak?". It's outside the novel canon established for Kindaichi, so it's an optional read in his timeline; it's not really a thrillfest and I found it pretty mid-.
Completists will want it, but I can't say I think it's worth the investment.
Pushkin Vertigo wants $13.99 for you to read the ebook.
October 16, 2023
Un breve giallo scritto veramente molto bene, anche se di Yokomizo Seishi ho preferito Il detective Kindaichi. Resta comunque una lettura piacevole e che cattura, con una trama molto arzigogolata (tanto che per alcuni passaggi avrei forse preferito maggiore chiarezza).
January 7, 2026
The hidden second story, Why Did The Well Wheel Creak?, was better than the book I actually bought to read.
This opened the story by telling us exactly what to expect, the tropes that would be used. For me, this removed all suspense and all my interest too and I just plodded along with the story while, I felt, the author deperately tried to shoehorn these concepts in and make them work.
Tropes in the first story do tie into the second story, but I felt this story, told through letters written by a sick girl to her injured brother, flowed so much better. I was curious to find out what the solution was, and while it was also clunky, I found it more satisfying. I don't think this author is for me though.
This opened the story by telling us exactly what to expect, the tropes that would be used. For me, this removed all suspense and all my interest too and I just plodded along with the story while, I felt, the author deperately tried to shoehorn these concepts in and make them work.
Tropes in the first story do tie into the second story, but I felt this story, told through letters written by a sick girl to her injured brother, flowed so much better. I was curious to find out what the solution was, and while it was also clunky, I found it more satisfying. I don't think this author is for me though.
January 4, 2021
Nei romanzi di Seishi Yokomizo (e questo è il secondo che leggo, dopo “Il detective Kindaichi”), gialli di stampo classico che richiamano le trame machiavelliche di quelli di John Dickson Carr, l’atmosfera è sempre così squisitamente giapponese.
Squisitamente giapponese.
Le strade di campagna, i campi incolti, i ryokan con le stanze in legno, le locande semideserte, le ville con i shoji e i tatami, i piccoli e graziosi giardinetti…ogni dettaglio dei luoghi in cui la vicenda è ambientata contribuisce a creare un fascino del tutto particolare, minimal, molto orientale, quasi bonariamente kitsch, che in nessun altro giallo classico si può trovare. Anche il detective Kindaichi Kosuke, trasandato, balbuziente, poco brillante, è una figura così diversa da quella dei maestri di Carr che, con le loro epiche entrate in scena, i loro dialoghi mirati e i loro infiniti discorsi lungimiranti, risultavano a loro modo personaggi indimenticabili, tanto carismatici e tanto incisivi. Eppure anche qui Kindaichi alla fine, come un Deus Ex Machina, pare spuntare dall’ombra e risolve in un baleno l’enigma al centro del romanzo. E’ solo che chi è abituato ai gialli della camera chiusa occidentali si troverà di certo un po’ spaesato, diviso tra un senso di squisitezza e uno di spaesamento. Per me, ripeto, squisitezza.
Diverso è il discorso della trama, che più gialla classica non si può. Qui si gioca, tra l’altro, con un elemento ben noto al lettore di gialli classici occidentali, quello dello scambio d’identità, del doppio, che confonde il lettore ma che in realtà vuole essere, nella mente di chi scrive, un gioco molto semplice.
Dove casca Seishi, dunque? Nella risoluzione del caso, che risulta troppo, troppo confusionaria, più che nel romanzo precedente. E alla fine quello che nella sua mente voleva essere semplice diventa complicato in quella del lettore, il quale si ritrova a porsi una serie di domande soprattutto sul movente di chi uccide chi. Troppa macchinazione, troppa. Anche se alla fine lo sforzo di fare un “sunto” su quanto è accaduto, tramite la bocca del personaggio, si sente. Avrei preferito più semplicità, più chiarezza per un romanzo poi tanto breve e tanto piacevole.
In definitiva un gradino sotto “Il detective Kindaichi”, apprezzabile da chi ama già tanto il genere ma di certo non imperdibile (e non consigliabile) per chi vi si accosta.
Squisitamente giapponese.
Le strade di campagna, i campi incolti, i ryokan con le stanze in legno, le locande semideserte, le ville con i shoji e i tatami, i piccoli e graziosi giardinetti…ogni dettaglio dei luoghi in cui la vicenda è ambientata contribuisce a creare un fascino del tutto particolare, minimal, molto orientale, quasi bonariamente kitsch, che in nessun altro giallo classico si può trovare. Anche il detective Kindaichi Kosuke, trasandato, balbuziente, poco brillante, è una figura così diversa da quella dei maestri di Carr che, con le loro epiche entrate in scena, i loro dialoghi mirati e i loro infiniti discorsi lungimiranti, risultavano a loro modo personaggi indimenticabili, tanto carismatici e tanto incisivi. Eppure anche qui Kindaichi alla fine, come un Deus Ex Machina, pare spuntare dall’ombra e risolve in un baleno l’enigma al centro del romanzo. E’ solo che chi è abituato ai gialli della camera chiusa occidentali si troverà di certo un po’ spaesato, diviso tra un senso di squisitezza e uno di spaesamento. Per me, ripeto, squisitezza.
Diverso è il discorso della trama, che più gialla classica non si può. Qui si gioca, tra l’altro, con un elemento ben noto al lettore di gialli classici occidentali, quello dello scambio d’identità, del doppio, che confonde il lettore ma che in realtà vuole essere, nella mente di chi scrive, un gioco molto semplice.
Dove casca Seishi, dunque? Nella risoluzione del caso, che risulta troppo, troppo confusionaria, più che nel romanzo precedente. E alla fine quello che nella sua mente voleva essere semplice diventa complicato in quella del lettore, il quale si ritrova a porsi una serie di domande soprattutto sul movente di chi uccide chi. Troppa macchinazione, troppa. Anche se alla fine lo sforzo di fare un “sunto” su quanto è accaduto, tramite la bocca del personaggio, si sente. Avrei preferito più semplicità, più chiarezza per un romanzo poi tanto breve e tanto piacevole.
In definitiva un gradino sotto “Il detective Kindaichi”, apprezzabile da chi ama già tanto il genere ma di certo non imperdibile (e non consigliabile) per chi vi si accosta.
November 25, 2020
Questo romanzo giallo è scritto molto bene, mi piace la penna dell'autore.
La trama è carina, si legge volentieri in circa una giornata.
Riassumendo: trama 3/5 e stile di scrittura 5/5.
Lo consiglio a chi volesse leggere un romanzo breve ma "di buona compagnia".
La trama è carina, si legge volentieri in circa una giornata.
Riassumendo: trama 3/5 e stile di scrittura 5/5.
Lo consiglio a chi volesse leggere un romanzo breve ma "di buona compagnia".
May 24, 2025
Another Seishi Yokomizo's book to be added to the list of Japanese murder mysteries! I love how simple the premise is but so much doubts and intriguing mysteries behind these crimes. Murder at the Black Cat Cafe is not a single novel but rather a novella with one short story in the book. Opening up with the introduction of our narrator as an author that received an interesting case from the man himself, Kosuke Kindaichi, the first story Murder at the black cat cafe took place right after the incident of Honjin Murders. We get to know how our author unexpectedly meet with Kindaichi since he has been writing the case and the detective got curious and meet the author. One particular question was raised in this meet up is the fact that locked room murder mystery was a staple in most novels but what about the "faceless corpse" case where one person get killed by another but turned out the victim and the murderer is the other way round. Kindaichi did gave the narrator a similar case to this and its what happened in The Black Cat Cafe.
If u expected a direct murder mystery, think again since this one is more than that. Its both clever, cruel and twisted. The plot moves fast since this is a short one so we get the reveal and the background quickly. Oh yeah, there is a black cat but dang, this one was quite violent in nature of the descriptions of the murder.
The second story, When you hear the wheel creak is another murder mystery but involve a family drama what I loved the most when it comes to Yokomizo's murder mystery. There are the usual family affairs, strained relationship, doubts and interesting dynamic between each member. This one is written in letter form, an exchange between a younger sister to her sickly brother in sanatorium as she chronicled the mystery of her older brother return from the war. I love this one a lot cuz it gave you the sense of foreboding and urgency with each letter mainly come from the younger sister as she told the stories. A pretty sad ending, very tragic and one that gets me everytime I read on this family drama because nothing good will happen to them and only heartbreak and suffering. This gave us more glimpses into Seishi Yokomizo's flairs of writing stories not featuring Kosuke Kindaichi as the detective to solve the murder case
Overall, I love this sort of prelude or interlude to other novels which gave you more context on the stories to come.
Thank you to Pushkin Vertigo and Edelweiss for the review copy
If u expected a direct murder mystery, think again since this one is more than that. Its both clever, cruel and twisted. The plot moves fast since this is a short one so we get the reveal and the background quickly. Oh yeah, there is a black cat but dang, this one was quite violent in nature of the descriptions of the murder.
The second story, When you hear the wheel creak is another murder mystery but involve a family drama what I loved the most when it comes to Yokomizo's murder mystery. There are the usual family affairs, strained relationship, doubts and interesting dynamic between each member. This one is written in letter form, an exchange between a younger sister to her sickly brother in sanatorium as she chronicled the mystery of her older brother return from the war. I love this one a lot cuz it gave you the sense of foreboding and urgency with each letter mainly come from the younger sister as she told the stories. A pretty sad ending, very tragic and one that gets me everytime I read on this family drama because nothing good will happen to them and only heartbreak and suffering. This gave us more glimpses into Seishi Yokomizo's flairs of writing stories not featuring Kosuke Kindaichi as the detective to solve the murder case
Overall, I love this sort of prelude or interlude to other novels which gave you more context on the stories to come.
Thank you to Pushkin Vertigo and Edelweiss for the review copy
April 5, 2026
I’ve read quite a few of Seishi Yokomizo’s murder mysteries featuring Kosuke Kindaichi, the scruffy but brilliant private investigator, and they are all over the place: some are four- and five-star reads and one, The Village of Eight Graves, is godawful. Murder at the Black Cat Café falls in the middle.
Perhaps the novel, set in a bar, despite the spot’s name, is middling because Kindaichi doesn’t show up until nearly the 40 percent mark. The novel really does pick up at that point, but it just isn’t enough to make this more than a mediocre read even though the plot and denouement are quite clever. In the included novelette Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?, Kindaichi doesn’t even investigate, so I didn’t bother finishing that. Yokomizo wrote around 70 Kosuke Kindaichi novels, so why bother with the weak ones?
Perhaps the novel, set in a bar, despite the spot’s name, is middling because Kindaichi doesn’t show up until nearly the 40 percent mark. The novel really does pick up at that point, but it just isn’t enough to make this more than a mediocre read even though the plot and denouement are quite clever. In the included novelette Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?, Kindaichi doesn’t even investigate, so I didn’t bother finishing that. Yokomizo wrote around 70 Kosuke Kindaichi novels, so why bother with the weak ones?
June 13, 2025
I received a review copy of this book from Pushkin Press via Edelweiss for which my thanks.
The latest to be translated (by Bryan Karetnyk) of the detective novels by Japanese author Seishi Yokomizo and featuring his detective Kindaichi Kosuke, this is the fourth of his I’ve read (I missed the first two when they came out and bumped this one over the previous one I have waiting on the TBR). First published in 1971 and in this version in 2025, it wasn’t clear from the description that this book has two stories, one around novella length and the other slightly shorter and it is only the first, the titular Murder at the Black Cat Café, which involves a cat.
Murder at the Black Cat Café is set, as is the case with the other Kindaichi stories I’ve read so far in the years just following World War II, and its impact is felt in the characters and places. But it is also different in that it opens with a ‘letter from Kindaichi’ received by our author/narrator who inserts himself into the book as Kindaichi’s chronicler rather than a Watson. So while he isn’t present during any investigations, he writes about them, initially without Kindaichi’s knowledge but once he receives his approval (how this happens we see in the story), with Kindaichi’s involvement in the form of forwarding relevant papers and information to put together the account. Also, somewhat reminiscent of John Dickson Carr, the book starts off with a brief reflection on types of mysteries and their usual solutions with the author wanting very much to write about a ‘faceless corpse’ story. While with Kindaichi, he gets this chance, the outcome is not quite typical.
The book is also different from the usual Kindaichi stories in that it has fewer characters and less complications but that said, the puzzle is by no means any easier to solve, though Kindaichi seems to do so with ease. The setting is a small place outside the Tokyo Metropolitan railway’s ring where the Black Cat Café, run by the Itojimas (husband Daigo and wife Oshige, the latter always dressed in a kimono with a distinctive icho gaeshi or inverted Ginko leaf hairstyle), is among a set of slightly sordid establishments. The Itojimas have apparently sold the business and while it is being renovated by the new owner, a police constable on patrol one night catches someone digging at the back of the café. This turns out to be a monk from the Renge-In temple close by and what he’s uncovered is the faceless corpse of a woman who’s clearly been dead some time. Not only that there’s also the body of a black cat, killed rather brutally but before the police can identify it as the café’s cat, a black cat with yellow eyes appears on the scene, very much alive.
Who is the woman who’s been murdered and who is the cat and why were they killed? There seem no easy answers though the Itojimas who seem to have sold the café somewhat suddenly and left, had far from simple lives—as murky as the place they were running. Having been in China during the war, the story of their return and of the time up to their taking over the café has many complications during which Daigo Itojima had acquired a mistress and Oshige a patron. The police speak to the girls who worked at the café, workers undertaking the renovation, and others around and seem to come upon a solution, but suddenly that too is turned on its head. Kindaichi (I won’t say how he becomes involved) has the answers and delivers the proof too.
The mystery here was one with its fair share of twists and surprises and I enjoyed how Kindaichi both solves it as well as presents it theoretically as an example of the faceless corpse case but one that doesn’t follow the rules. The black cat of the title does certainly have a role: partly it was of the kind I find hard to handle being a victim of murder and that too, ruthlessly done, but also presenting a puzzle as to why and what connection it had with the woman’s death and with the other black cat that is alive and well. Not perhaps the strongest as far as Reading the Meow is concerned but still, I think an acceptable entry.
A few words too on the non-cat-ty second short story: Why Did the Well Wheel Creek? This was a more typical Kindaichi story in a remote setting with complicated family and village dynamics and plenty of twists in the mystery. The Honiden family is at the centre of the narrative, having turned wealthy, at times at the expense of others through moneylending among other avenues. One of the patriarchs, Daizaburo, has both a legitimate son, Daisuke and illegitimate Goichi who are almost identical (one difference alone setting them apart), their looks only altered off and on by circumstances—Daisuke easy living and Goichi working hard in the fields. Gochi has a half-sister O’Rin while Daisuke later a younger brother Shinchi and sister Tsuriyo who becomes the narrator for part of the story through letters written to Shinchi who is at a sanitorium.
Things get complicated in the village and for the family with the commencement of the war where Daisuke and Goichi are both serving. While families that had left the village begin to return because of the war and old differences are raised once again, Daisuke’s return in an injured state ends up causing confusion rather than relief. The atmosphere gets increasingly tense, not helped by incidents in the village and in the Honiden home, and ultimately death strikes. But answers here are not very simple. Kindaichi reaches the answer but almost simultaneously with it coming to light of its own.
In Murder at the Black Cat Café, we thus have two very readable and twisty stories, a little less complex than usual on account of length but still packed with surprises as well as a sense of the period. The black cat has a part to play, even if not significant, the answer to the puzzle of its killing linking in with the other murder!
The latest to be translated (by Bryan Karetnyk) of the detective novels by Japanese author Seishi Yokomizo and featuring his detective Kindaichi Kosuke, this is the fourth of his I’ve read (I missed the first two when they came out and bumped this one over the previous one I have waiting on the TBR). First published in 1971 and in this version in 2025, it wasn’t clear from the description that this book has two stories, one around novella length and the other slightly shorter and it is only the first, the titular Murder at the Black Cat Café, which involves a cat.
Murder at the Black Cat Café is set, as is the case with the other Kindaichi stories I’ve read so far in the years just following World War II, and its impact is felt in the characters and places. But it is also different in that it opens with a ‘letter from Kindaichi’ received by our author/narrator who inserts himself into the book as Kindaichi’s chronicler rather than a Watson. So while he isn’t present during any investigations, he writes about them, initially without Kindaichi’s knowledge but once he receives his approval (how this happens we see in the story), with Kindaichi’s involvement in the form of forwarding relevant papers and information to put together the account. Also, somewhat reminiscent of John Dickson Carr, the book starts off with a brief reflection on types of mysteries and their usual solutions with the author wanting very much to write about a ‘faceless corpse’ story. While with Kindaichi, he gets this chance, the outcome is not quite typical.
The book is also different from the usual Kindaichi stories in that it has fewer characters and less complications but that said, the puzzle is by no means any easier to solve, though Kindaichi seems to do so with ease. The setting is a small place outside the Tokyo Metropolitan railway’s ring where the Black Cat Café, run by the Itojimas (husband Daigo and wife Oshige, the latter always dressed in a kimono with a distinctive icho gaeshi or inverted Ginko leaf hairstyle), is among a set of slightly sordid establishments. The Itojimas have apparently sold the business and while it is being renovated by the new owner, a police constable on patrol one night catches someone digging at the back of the café. This turns out to be a monk from the Renge-In temple close by and what he’s uncovered is the faceless corpse of a woman who’s clearly been dead some time. Not only that there’s also the body of a black cat, killed rather brutally but before the police can identify it as the café’s cat, a black cat with yellow eyes appears on the scene, very much alive.
Who is the woman who’s been murdered and who is the cat and why were they killed? There seem no easy answers though the Itojimas who seem to have sold the café somewhat suddenly and left, had far from simple lives—as murky as the place they were running. Having been in China during the war, the story of their return and of the time up to their taking over the café has many complications during which Daigo Itojima had acquired a mistress and Oshige a patron. The police speak to the girls who worked at the café, workers undertaking the renovation, and others around and seem to come upon a solution, but suddenly that too is turned on its head. Kindaichi (I won’t say how he becomes involved) has the answers and delivers the proof too.
The mystery here was one with its fair share of twists and surprises and I enjoyed how Kindaichi both solves it as well as presents it theoretically as an example of the faceless corpse case but one that doesn’t follow the rules. The black cat of the title does certainly have a role: partly it was of the kind I find hard to handle being a victim of murder and that too, ruthlessly done, but also presenting a puzzle as to why and what connection it had with the woman’s death and with the other black cat that is alive and well. Not perhaps the strongest as far as Reading the Meow is concerned but still, I think an acceptable entry.
A few words too on the non-cat-ty second short story: Why Did the Well Wheel Creek? This was a more typical Kindaichi story in a remote setting with complicated family and village dynamics and plenty of twists in the mystery. The Honiden family is at the centre of the narrative, having turned wealthy, at times at the expense of others through moneylending among other avenues. One of the patriarchs, Daizaburo, has both a legitimate son, Daisuke and illegitimate Goichi who are almost identical (one difference alone setting them apart), their looks only altered off and on by circumstances—Daisuke easy living and Goichi working hard in the fields. Gochi has a half-sister O’Rin while Daisuke later a younger brother Shinchi and sister Tsuriyo who becomes the narrator for part of the story through letters written to Shinchi who is at a sanitorium.
Things get complicated in the village and for the family with the commencement of the war where Daisuke and Goichi are both serving. While families that had left the village begin to return because of the war and old differences are raised once again, Daisuke’s return in an injured state ends up causing confusion rather than relief. The atmosphere gets increasingly tense, not helped by incidents in the village and in the Honiden home, and ultimately death strikes. But answers here are not very simple. Kindaichi reaches the answer but almost simultaneously with it coming to light of its own.
In Murder at the Black Cat Café, we thus have two very readable and twisty stories, a little less complex than usual on account of length but still packed with surprises as well as a sense of the period. The black cat has a part to play, even if not significant, the answer to the puzzle of its killing linking in with the other murder!
May 23, 2020
Sono ignorantissima in materia di giallo, ma le storie del detective Kindaichi sono sempre succosissime. In questa seconda avventura pubblicata da Sellerio e tradotta impeccabilmente da Francesco Vitucci, oltre allo splendido lavoro sul contesto storico, che fa da potente sfondo alle vicende, la parte più gustosa è la volontà dell'autore di presentarsi a carte scoperte e di lanciare una sfida diretta al lettore: ecco a te le regole del gioco, con tutti i suoi luoghi comuni e le sue caratteristiche fondanti ben descritte, nero su bianco. Riuscirai a sfruttarle per sconfiggermi e risolvere il caso prima che ti fornisca la soluzione nell'epilogo? La storia scorre liscia come un ingranaggio complicatissimo, ma oliato alla perfezione. E io non vedo l'ora di incontrare di nuovo il buffo detective balbuziente che affronta ogni delitto come un rompicapo da decostruire in poche mosse sotto allo sguardo incredulo di tutti i presenti.
June 22, 2026
A fun couple of stories, but definitely not at the level of other books in the Kindaichi series.
Full review to come
Full review to come
May 28, 2026
The needless set-up for this book is that a famous detective is turning over his notes about an actual crime to a mystery writer, so that he can then use them as a basis for the mystery novel which we will now read. The crime involves the discovery of a faceless murder victim, along with a dead cat. They are both found by a monk on the grounds of a recently abandoned brothel. The set up is just one of the ways in which this short novel uses too many words. A lot of the words are used on a plot that is nonsensical. It is also so convoluted that about 25% of the book is taken up by explaining the plot in tedious detail. I did not enjoy it. Following this novel is a short story with a similarly contrived and convoluted plot. I’ve actually enjoyed a couple of this author’s books, but not this one.2.5 stars
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
January 22, 2022
Bravo Yokomizo eh, ma davvero, e poi bravo anche a Francesco Vitucci che si sbatte a tradurre impeccabilmente le novelle del detective Kindaichi per noi che non sappiamo il giapponese. La locanda del Gatto nero è un giallo dall'impianto iperclassico - del resto non è una roba scritta ieri - meno weird e meno inquietante rispetto alle cose di Ranpo Edogawa, in cui l'autore, in un gioco metaletterario in cui riceve il materiale su cui scrivere direttamente dal suo personaggio, si ingegna per tirare fuori un meccanismo cervellotico per far fare la figura da Sherlock a Kindaichi, elementare, no? Ammetto che alla fine di romanzi del genere mi viene un po' mal di testa, e qualche domanduccia ancora ce l'avrei (secondo me funziona un po' meglio Il detective Kindaichi, il primo della serie), anche se l'atmosfera funziona piuttosto bene e si arriva alla fine che manco ci se ne accorge. Bene così.
Read
March 17, 2025Mam nadzieję, że wybudzą mnie po kolonoskopii, bo inaczej opuszczę ten świat mega rozczarowana ostatnim przekładem Yokomizo
May 6, 2026
Bullet Review:
+ I liked the additional short story more than the main novel? LOL
+ No seriously, the main story here was okay. I didn't realize this novel was originally written in the 1940's, not that that really changed anything. It's a pretty standard pulpy mystery novel, more emphasis on the whodunnit than characters as well as seeing if you the reader can deduce the mystery alongside Kosuke Kindaichi (Japan's Sherlock, if you will).
+ I had no problem reading this, even though it was apparently book 7.
+ Included in my version, "Why did the well wheel creak?", I found truly phenomenal. I loved reading from Tsuyuro's letters and piecing together the mystery - and I was really moved by the end.
+ The main story took me quite a while to read; the last short story I swallowed in a sitting (this is not typical for me).
+ I would not be opposed to reading more of Seishi Yokomizo's work.
+ I liked the additional short story more than the main novel? LOL
+ No seriously, the main story here was okay. I didn't realize this novel was originally written in the 1940's, not that that really changed anything. It's a pretty standard pulpy mystery novel, more emphasis on the whodunnit than characters as well as seeing if you the reader can deduce the mystery alongside Kosuke Kindaichi (Japan's Sherlock, if you will).
+ I had no problem reading this, even though it was apparently book 7.
+ Included in my version, "Why did the well wheel creak?", I found truly phenomenal. I loved reading from Tsuyuro's letters and piecing together the mystery - and I was really moved by the end.
+ The main story took me quite a while to read; the last short story I swallowed in a sitting (this is not typical for me).
+ I would not be opposed to reading more of Seishi Yokomizo's work.
June 21, 2026
2,8*
Knygoje yra dvi apysakos. Pirmoji vadinasi taip pat kaip ir pati knyga, o antroji – „Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?“. Abi jos man pasirodė tik pusė velnio. Ankstesnės mano skaitytos šio japonų detektyvų klasiko knygos man patiko labiau. Ehhh. Bet viršelis - tai labai ;)
Knygoje yra dvi apysakos. Pirmoji vadinasi taip pat kaip ir pati knyga, o antroji – „Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?“. Abi jos man pasirodė tik pusė velnio. Ankstesnės mano skaitytos šio japonų detektyvų klasiko knygos man patiko labiau. Ehhh. Bet viršelis - tai labai ;)
May 27, 2026
This was awful - first DNF of 2026!
I just can't stick with it any longer
I just can't stick with it any longer
July 21, 2026
Un giallo classico giapponese senza troppe pretese, ma capace di catturare l'attenzione del lettore fin da subito. Il libro è breve e scorrevole, nella seconda parte entra in scena il nostro detective Kindaichi: un personaggio trasandato e bizzarro, che risolve prontamente il caso spiegando minuziosamente tutti i dettagli logicamente. Un libro godibile e di puro intrattenimento, ideale in questo periodo estivo per passare qualche ora piacevole e farsi sorprendere da un finale inaspettato.
March 30, 2026
3 stars
Murder at the Black Cat Café by Seishi Yokomizo was kind of a mixed bag for me.
Murder at the Black Cat Café
It starts off pretty strong with a creepy setup: a body is found buried behind this sketchy café, and things get weird fast. The whole mystery around who the victim is and what actually happened had a lot of potential.
I did like the vibe, dark, slightly eerie post-war Japan setting that pulls you in. And the puzzle itself feels very classic, with twists and hidden connections. But as the story went on, it started to feel a bit messy and all over the place.There are quite a few twists, but they don’t always land the way you expect, and sometimes it just gets confusing. Also, the detective shows up kinda late, which made it harder to stay fully invested.
Why did the Well Wheel Creak
Ther second story in the book, was kind of psychological and very dark on mistaken identity and matter surrounding the same which leads to cascading issue.
Not bad,interesting idea, cool atmosphere but it didn’t fully come together for me. Just an okay read in the end.
Happy Reading!!
Murder at the Black Cat Café by Seishi Yokomizo was kind of a mixed bag for me.
Murder at the Black Cat Café
It starts off pretty strong with a creepy setup: a body is found buried behind this sketchy café, and things get weird fast. The whole mystery around who the victim is and what actually happened had a lot of potential.
I did like the vibe, dark, slightly eerie post-war Japan setting that pulls you in. And the puzzle itself feels very classic, with twists and hidden connections. But as the story went on, it started to feel a bit messy and all over the place.There are quite a few twists, but they don’t always land the way you expect, and sometimes it just gets confusing. Also, the detective shows up kinda late, which made it harder to stay fully invested.
Why did the Well Wheel Creak
Ther second story in the book, was kind of psychological and very dark on mistaken identity and matter surrounding the same which leads to cascading issue.
Not bad,interesting idea, cool atmosphere but it didn’t fully come together for me. Just an okay read in the end.
Happy Reading!!
July 8, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Vertigo for the ARC of the English translation of this book!
This was a n interesting reaf - it was much dryer than I anticipated. It reads more like a newspaper article than a work of creative writing. Kindaichi is endearing, a sort of Japenese Hercules Poirot, but no one character was developed enough for me to care very much.
I'm not sure what passed for thriller in 1947, but I'm surprised by how... normal the first crime was? I know True Crime wasn't really a genre, but given the proximity to WWII, its hard to believe that there wasn't more creativity when it came to imagining crime scenarios.
The baked in misogyny is honestly funny - they really said "Oh, he's having an affair? His wife must have killed his girlfriend! Oh... the girlfriend is alive and the wife is missing and there is a witness to the husband digging a human sized hole? THE GIRLFRIEND DID IT!" Like... excuse me?
That beind said, I didn't expect the twist. it was enjoyable as a short story but I feel like I will forget it shortly.
The second story was much more interesting to me, but there was a shock factor involved that made it memorable. The letter format was more enjoyable.
Either way, this book suffers from telling us, not showing us, the details of the story.
As far as the translation goes, it was perfectly understandable to me and a job well done.
P. 136 has a formatting issue where the graphic cuts off the top half of the first sentence.
This was a n interesting reaf - it was much dryer than I anticipated. It reads more like a newspaper article than a work of creative writing. Kindaichi is endearing, a sort of Japenese Hercules Poirot, but no one character was developed enough for me to care very much.
I'm not sure what passed for thriller in 1947, but I'm surprised by how... normal the first crime was? I know True Crime wasn't really a genre, but given the proximity to WWII, its hard to believe that there wasn't more creativity when it came to imagining crime scenarios.
The baked in misogyny is honestly funny - they really said "Oh, he's having an affair? His wife must have killed his girlfriend! Oh... the girlfriend is alive and the wife is missing and there is a witness to the husband digging a human sized hole? THE GIRLFRIEND DID IT!" Like... excuse me?
That beind said, I didn't expect the twist. it was enjoyable as a short story but I feel like I will forget it shortly.
The second story was much more interesting to me, but there was a shock factor involved that made it memorable. The letter format was more enjoyable.
Either way, this book suffers from telling us, not showing us, the details of the story.
As far as the translation goes, it was perfectly understandable to me and a job well done.
P. 136 has a formatting issue where the graphic cuts off the top half of the first sentence.
August 15, 2025
Murder at the Black Cat Cafe is a Kosuke Kendaichi case which is, as Kendaichi himself says, a faceless corpse murder with a twist.
A man is found in the grounds of the deserted Black Cat Cafe digging. When a body is exhumed it is clear that it is a young woman but who? The owners decamped months before having sold the cafe and land. They've been seen since. So who is the mystery woman.
The local police have their suspicions - in fact several theories crop up before another character calls in Kendaichi to solve the mystery.
This first story is a typical Kendaichi mystery where he seems to do very little before he unravels a case but he's always so goodnatured about showing up the cops that they all like him.
My copy had a second story which echoes the first, in that it is also a "faceless" corpse mystery. Kendaichi does not appear in it and I did get a bit lost, at times, trying to work out all the characters but it was enjoyable all the same.
You always know what you're getting with the master, Seishi Yokomizo. Plots are invariably complicated with lots of characters but he sticks to a winning mystery novel formula after twisting it to breaking point.
If youve read Yokomizo before you'll love this but any fan of classic mysteries (especially Japanese ones) will enjoy Black Cat.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Pushkin Vertigo for the advance review copy.
A man is found in the grounds of the deserted Black Cat Cafe digging. When a body is exhumed it is clear that it is a young woman but who? The owners decamped months before having sold the cafe and land. They've been seen since. So who is the mystery woman.
The local police have their suspicions - in fact several theories crop up before another character calls in Kendaichi to solve the mystery.
This first story is a typical Kendaichi mystery where he seems to do very little before he unravels a case but he's always so goodnatured about showing up the cops that they all like him.
My copy had a second story which echoes the first, in that it is also a "faceless" corpse mystery. Kendaichi does not appear in it and I did get a bit lost, at times, trying to work out all the characters but it was enjoyable all the same.
You always know what you're getting with the master, Seishi Yokomizo. Plots are invariably complicated with lots of characters but he sticks to a winning mystery novel formula after twisting it to breaking point.
If youve read Yokomizo before you'll love this but any fan of classic mysteries (especially Japanese ones) will enjoy Black Cat.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Pushkin Vertigo for the advance review copy.
July 14, 2022
Definito il Simenon giapponese, leggo questo romanzo giallo di Seishi Yokomizo trovato per caso in biblioteca. Il caso è particolare: si trova il cadavere di una donna senza testa, e subito si pensa che ad ucciderla forse sia stato il marito, proprietario della locanda del gatto nero. Ma il detective protagonista non è convinto di questa messinscena e inizia a scavare nel passato della coppia dei gestori, scoprendo sorprendenti verità.
Un bel giallo, da leggere in spiaggia.
Un bel giallo, da leggere in spiaggia.
April 21, 2026
Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. Whilst I enjoyed reading a story set in a different country/culture than the usual, I found the story telling just rambled on which made it a tedious read. The first story reveal in particular fell flat for me, probably because the prologue had already alluded to what was going to happen.
October 24, 2025
The story is simpler and more straightforward than his other works I’ve read, maybe because this time it’s two short stories. But the plot? Sooo good! It’s unmistakably Seishi Yokomizo
Thoughts still brewing; full review to come.
Thoughts still brewing; full review to come.
October 27, 2025
Narration all over the place. Too many names and plot twists that switch around all the time, story doesn’t flow as a result.
March 15, 2026
Convoluted is a good word to describe this book's plot. The solution is credulity stretching.
The story begins just after midnight on 20th March 1947.
Constable Hasegawa is making his rounds of the Pink Labyrinth area when he sees a young monk apparently digging a hole in a plot of open land belonging to the Black Cat Cafe which is really a knocking shop or brothel. At the bottom of the hole is the decomposed body of a young woman whose face is largely unrecognisable. The body of a black cat is also found in a different hole nearby, but it's not the cafe's cat as that animal is close at hand observing proceedings.
The married owners of the 'cafe' have gone. Their names are Daigo and O-Shige Itojima, who returned to Japan from China after the end of World War II. They both appear to have had lovers and knew about the other's lovers.
The police are baffled and then the private detective Kosuke Kindaichi offers his services as he's done many times before (this is number 7 in the series) and he finds out the highly-improbable solution.
The story begins just after midnight on 20th March 1947.
Constable Hasegawa is making his rounds of the Pink Labyrinth area when he sees a young monk apparently digging a hole in a plot of open land belonging to the Black Cat Cafe which is really a knocking shop or brothel. At the bottom of the hole is the decomposed body of a young woman whose face is largely unrecognisable. The body of a black cat is also found in a different hole nearby, but it's not the cafe's cat as that animal is close at hand observing proceedings.
The married owners of the 'cafe' have gone. Their names are Daigo and O-Shige Itojima, who returned to Japan from China after the end of World War II. They both appear to have had lovers and knew about the other's lovers.
The police are baffled and then the private detective Kosuke Kindaichi offers his services as he's done many times before (this is number 7 in the series) and he finds out the highly-improbable solution.
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