Akimitsu Takagi

Kenzo Matsuchita, a young repatriated doctor specializing in the study of forensic medicine, joins his brother, the police detective in charge of the case, to investigate the brutal murder of a young woman--Kenzo's secret lover--whose killing may be tied to her beautiful full-body tattoos.

The Tattoo Murder Case

Jesse Kirkwood

Noh Mask Murder

The Tattoo Murder

The Noh Mask Murder

"Etsuko loves the shy, young lecturer who clumsily (albeit charmingly) courts her. Her family does not. His past is suspect - unthinkable for a suitor in Japan. They marry anyway. On their wedding night he is called away by an urgent phone call. By morning he is still missing."--BOOK JACKET.

Honeymoon to Nowhere

"A wickedly plotted mystery with a metafictional twist that feels far fresher than those of more contemporary versions with the same idea" — The New York Times A bewildering locked-room murder occurs as an amateur crime writer investigates strange events in the Chizui mansion in this prizewinning classic Japanese mystery The 1st book in English from Akimitsu Takagi since his “Clever, kinky, and highly entertaining” The Tattoo Murder Case (Washington Post) This ingeniously constructed masterpiece, written by one of Japan's most celebrated crime writers and translated into English for the first time, is perfect for locked-room mystery fans who can’t resist a breathtaking conclusion. In the Chizui family mansion, a haunting presence casts a shadow over its residents. By night, an eerie figure, clad in a sinister Hannya mask is seen roaming around the house. An amateur murder mystery writer, Akimitsu Takagi, is sent to investigate — but his investigation takes a harrowing turn as tragedy strikes the Chizui family. Within the confines of a locked study, the head of the family is found dead, with only an ominous Hannya mask lying on the floor by his side and the lingering scent of jasmine in the air as clues to his mysterious murder. As Takagi delves deeper into the perplexing case, he discovers a tangled web of secrets and grudges. Can he discover the link between the family and the curse of the Hannya mask? Who was the person who called the undertaker and asked for three coffins on the night of the murder? And do those three coffins mean the curse of the Hannya mask is about to strike again? The Noh Mask Murder’s legendary ending offers locked-room mystery fans the perfect coda to an ingenously constructed mystery.

Tatsumaki kaidō

A Japanese mystery set in 1947 Tokyo featuring Kenzo Matsushita, a young doctor who has an affair with a married woman with a tattooed torso. One day he finds her murdered, the torso missing, and sets out to find the killer. A look at the art of tattooing in Japan where it is banned.

When he loses his job as a trader after the stock market crashes, Shigeo Segawa is offered lucrative work as an industrial spy. How could he say no? He is soon assigned to seduce an ex-girlfriend and steal an important formula from her husband, who runs a large chemical company. But when the husband is found murdered, Segawa becomes the prime suspect.

The Informer

Il mistero della donna tatuata

Etsuko has fallen in love with the shy young university lecturer who clumsily courts her. But her family objects to his past: his father was a war criminal; his deceased younger brother, a murderer. When Etsuko lies to force the marriage through, she thinks their troubles are over, but on their wedding night, the groom leaves in response to an urgent phone call. In the morning, he is still missing.

Akimitsu Takagi

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