Death on Gokumon Island – Seishi Yokomizo
Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Louise Heal Kawai / ISBN 9781782277415 / 317-page paperback from Pushkin Vertigo
***
A fiendish, classic locked room murder mystery, from one of Japan’s greatest crime writers
“An exceptional whodunit… The brilliant and intricate plot will keep readers turning the pages.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Seishi Yokomizo took a pinch of John Dickson Carr and a dash of Agatha Christie in creating Kosuke Kindaichi, solver of impossible crimes… Kosuke’s arrival [on Gokumon Island] coincides with a string of bizarre and gruesome murders. As deaths mount, the quirky, endearing detective strings together the clues to solve this fiendish puzzle.” — Sarah Weinman, New York Times
Detective Kosuke Kindaichi arrives on the remote Gokumon Island bearing tragic news—his friend and fellow soldier, the son of one of the island’s most important families has died, on a troop transport ship bringing him back home after the Second World War. But Kindaichi has not come merely as a messenger–with his last words, the dying man warned that his three step-sisters’ lives would now be in danger. The scruffy detective is determined to get to the bottom of this mysterious prophecy, and to protect the three women if he can.
As Kindaichi attempts to unravel the island’s secrets, a series of gruesome murders begins. He investigates, but soon finds himself in mortal danger from both the unknown killer and the clannish locals, who resent this outsider meddling in their affairs.
Loosely inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, the sensational second outing of Japan’s most famous detective is perhaps the most highly regarded of all the great Seishi Yokomizo’s classic Japanese mysteries.
Seishi Yokomizo (1902-81) was one of Japan’s most famous and best-loved mystery writers. He was born in Kobe and spent his childhood reading detective stories, before beginning to write stories of his own, the first of which was published in 1921. He went on to become an extremely prolific and popular author, best known for his Kosuke Kindaichi series, which ran to 77 books, many of which were adapted for stage and television in Japan. Death on Gokumon Island is one of Seishi Yokomizo’s most highly regarded mysteries. The Honjin Murders, The Inugami Curse and The Village of Eight Graves are also available from Pushkin Vertigo.
