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Murder in the Crooked House

Part of Pushkin Vertigo

Author Soji Shimada
Translated by Louise Heal Kawai
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$14.95 US
Pushkin Press | Pushkin Vertigo
On sale Jun 25, 2019 | 320 Pages | 9781782274568
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A delightfully comic Japanese murder mystery “reminiscent of Agatha Christie” from a master of the genre—now available for the first time in English (Wall Street Journal)!

“One of those locked-room head-bangers that invite . . . the reader to decipher the clues and solve a murder along with an all-seeing detective.” —New York Times Book Review

The Crooked House sits on a snowbound cliff overlooking icy seas at the remote northern tip of Japan. A curious place for the millionaire Kozaburo Hamamoto to build a house, but even more curious is the house itself—a disorienting maze of sloping floors and strangely situated staircases, full of bloodcurdling masks and uncanny, lifesize dolls. When a man is found dead in one of the mansion's rooms, murdered in seemingly impossible circumstances, the police are called. But they are unable to solve the puzzle, and powerless to protect the party of house guests as more bizarre deaths follow.

Enter Kiyoshi Mitarai, the renowned sleuth, famous for unmasking the culprit behind the notorious Umezawa family massacre. Surely if anyone can crack these cryptic murders he will. But you have all the clues too—can you solve the mystery of the murders in The Crooked House first?
Dramatis Personae 7
Prologue 9
Act One
Scene 1 · The Entrance of the Ice Floe Mansion 23
Scene 2 · The Salon of the Ice Floe Mansion 29
Scene 3 · The Tower 45
Scene 4 · Room 1 53
Scene 5 · The Salon 59
Scene 6 · The Library 90
Act Two
Scene 1 · The Salon 123
Scene 2 · Room 14, Eikichi Kikuoka’s Bedroom 132
Scene 3 · Room 9, Mr and Mrs Kanai’s Bedroom 138
Scene 4 · Back in the Salon 147
Scene 5 · Kozaburo’s Room in the Tower 153
Scene 6 · The Salon 161
Scene 7 · The Library 175
Scene 8 · The Salon 205
Scene 9 · The Tengu Room 209
Scene 10 · The Salon 225
Act Three
Scene 1 · The Salon 235
Scene 2 · The Tengu Room 242
Scene 3 · Room 15, The Detectives’ Bedroom 247
Scene 4 · The Salon 249
Scene 5 · The Library 260
Scene 6 · The Salon 272
Entr’acte 277
Challenge to the Reader 285
Final Act
Scene 1 · The Ground Floor Landing of the West Wing Staircase, or By the Door of Room 12 289
Scene 2 · Room 14 297
Scene 3 · The Tengu Room 302
Scene 4 · The Salon 305
Scene 5 · The Hill 343
Epilogue 347
Born in 1948 in Hiroshima prefecture, Soji Shimada has been dubbed the 'God of Mystery' by international audiences. A novelist, essayist and short-story writer, he made his literary debut in 1981 with The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, which was shortlisted for the Edogawa Rampo Prize. Blending classical detective fiction with grisly violence and elements of the occult, he has gone on to publish several highly acclaimed series of mystery fiction. He is the author of 100+ works in total. In 2009 Shimada received the prestigious Japan Mystery Literature Award in recognition of his life's work.
Soji Shimada View titles by Soji Shimada

About

A delightfully comic Japanese murder mystery “reminiscent of Agatha Christie” from a master of the genre—now available for the first time in English (Wall Street Journal)!

“One of those locked-room head-bangers that invite . . . the reader to decipher the clues and solve a murder along with an all-seeing detective.” —New York Times Book Review

The Crooked House sits on a snowbound cliff overlooking icy seas at the remote northern tip of Japan. A curious place for the millionaire Kozaburo Hamamoto to build a house, but even more curious is the house itself—a disorienting maze of sloping floors and strangely situated staircases, full of bloodcurdling masks and uncanny, lifesize dolls. When a man is found dead in one of the mansion's rooms, murdered in seemingly impossible circumstances, the police are called. But they are unable to solve the puzzle, and powerless to protect the party of house guests as more bizarre deaths follow.

Enter Kiyoshi Mitarai, the renowned sleuth, famous for unmasking the culprit behind the notorious Umezawa family massacre. Surely if anyone can crack these cryptic murders he will. But you have all the clues too—can you solve the mystery of the murders in The Crooked House first?

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae 7
Prologue 9
Act One
Scene 1 · The Entrance of the Ice Floe Mansion 23
Scene 2 · The Salon of the Ice Floe Mansion 29
Scene 3 · The Tower 45
Scene 4 · Room 1 53
Scene 5 · The Salon 59
Scene 6 · The Library 90
Act Two
Scene 1 · The Salon 123
Scene 2 · Room 14, Eikichi Kikuoka’s Bedroom 132
Scene 3 · Room 9, Mr and Mrs Kanai’s Bedroom 138
Scene 4 · Back in the Salon 147
Scene 5 · Kozaburo’s Room in the Tower 153
Scene 6 · The Salon 161
Scene 7 · The Library 175
Scene 8 · The Salon 205
Scene 9 · The Tengu Room 209
Scene 10 · The Salon 225
Act Three
Scene 1 · The Salon 235
Scene 2 · The Tengu Room 242
Scene 3 · Room 15, The Detectives’ Bedroom 247
Scene 4 · The Salon 249
Scene 5 · The Library 260
Scene 6 · The Salon 272
Entr’acte 277
Challenge to the Reader 285
Final Act
Scene 1 · The Ground Floor Landing of the West Wing Staircase, or By the Door of Room 12 289
Scene 2 · Room 14 297
Scene 3 · The Tengu Room 302
Scene 4 · The Salon 305
Scene 5 · The Hill 343
Epilogue 347

Author

Born in 1948 in Hiroshima prefecture, Soji Shimada has been dubbed the 'God of Mystery' by international audiences. A novelist, essayist and short-story writer, he made his literary debut in 1981 with The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, which was shortlisted for the Edogawa Rampo Prize. Blending classical detective fiction with grisly violence and elements of the occult, he has gone on to publish several highly acclaimed series of mystery fiction. He is the author of 100+ works in total. In 2009 Shimada received the prestigious Japan Mystery Literature Award in recognition of his life's work.
Soji Shimada View titles by Soji Shimada

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