The Tokyo Zodiac Murders

February 8, 2016
First published in Japan in 1981, Shimada's intriguing first novel blends metafiction with a locked-room mystery. The title refers to a (fictional) series of sensational unsolved murders committed in 1936. In 1979, freelance illustrator Kazumi Ishioka, "a huge fan of mysteries," and his moody artist friend, Kiyoshi Mitarai, a self-styled amateur detective, are intent on unraveling the decades-old ritualistic killings. Painter Heikichi Umezawa left an eerily specific note about how he wanted to create the perfect woman, his Azoth, made up of the severed parts of his six daughters and nieces. These women, all with different astrological signs, ended up dead and buried all over Japan, but it was impossible for Umezawa to be the killer, because he had been dead for days himself, murdered in his locked studio. Kazumi and Kiyoshi spend a lot of time getting up to speed on the case by simply relating facts to each other. But once Shimada enters his own narrative as an investigator, the pace picks up considerably, and readers will understand why Shimada is considered one of Japan's most fiendishly clever crime writers.

September 1, 2015

This Japanese puzzler opens with the rantings of a madman with a fetish for astrology and the macabre. The last will and testament of artist Heikichi Umezawa, written in 1936, states that he will create a perfect woman, formed by using different body parts of six girls--Umezawa's four daughters and two nieces. Each will have a part that represents their zodiac sign cut off; their remains will be buried in a mine where that astrological element is found. Flash-forward 40 years and friends Kiyoshi Mitarai and Kazumi Ishioka believe they can solve these crimes, now known as the Tokyo Zodiac Murders. VERDICT This new translation of a 1981 crime novel will introduce American readers to Shimada, renowned in Japan as the "God of Mystery." The clues are carefully laid out in the archetypal locked-room mystery manner, so if the reader has followed the signs, the reveal will come as no surprise. A nice discovery for fans of classics in the vein of Sherlock Holmes or for anyone who wants to learn about Japanese culture. [Pushkin Vertigo is Pushkin's new crime fiction imprint; it will publish crime classics from around the world.--Ed.]

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