Description
A prize-winning classic railway murder mystery set in 1960s Japan, this perfectly crafted whodunit will delight fans of Agatha Christie and Seicho Matsumoto
Full of devious twists and turns, this brilliant puzzle mystery is considered to be one of the greatest alibi deconstruction mysteries ever written
Early one morning, a man is found lying next to the railway tracks just outside of Kuki Station in Saitama Prefecture, shot dead. The body is identified as belonging to the owner of a local mill which is embroiled in a labour dispute. Suspicion initially falls on the workers’ union, then on a new religious sect that has been gaining followers recently.
Chief Inspector Onitsura and his assistant Tanna are called in to investigate, and soon set off in a journey across Japan, from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka, and finally to the island of Kyushu, in a hunt for the killer.
But as they investigate, the killer strikes again, and again. Will they be able to catch the murderer before even more people are slain?
Winner of the prestigious Japanese Detective Writers Club Prize, The Black Swan Mystery is a classic railway mystery that will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie’s 4.50 from Paddington and Seicho Matsumoto’s Tokyo Express.
Fans of Seishi Yokomizo will also delight in the devious twists and turns of The Black Swan Mystery, as well as in the characterisation and portrait of 1960s Japan. The author, Tetsuya Ayukawa, is considered to be the master of alibi deconstruction mysteries – a talent that is on full display in this brilliant puzzle mystery.
