"As an anthologist, Ellery Queen is without peer, his taste unequalled. As a bibliographer and a collector of the detective short story, Queen is, again, a historical personage. Indeed, Ellery Queen clearly is, after Poe, the most important American in mystery fiction." - Otto Penzler, from Detectionary: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Characters in Mystery Fiction
The 12 stories in this book will lead you through dramatic twists and unexpected turns-a newspaper receives a letter from a man claiming to have been murdered; five strangers who share the same initials are invited to spend the night in a luxury hotel...but one of them is a murderer.
The legendary Ellery Queen selected these stories by award-winning Japanese authors from among many thousands published in postwar Japan. Each story features an unusual crime and a complex set of clues investigated by a diverse and colorful cast of characters that includes a calculating inspector, a tenacious journalist, and a determined scientist.
The stories include:"Perfectly Lovely Ladies" by Kawabata Award winner Yasutaka Tsutsui: Eight women fight the high cost of living using violent means but will they get away with murder?"The Cooperative Defendant" by Akutagawa Prize winner Seicho Matsumoto: After a man confesses to a killing, he retracts his confession and accuses the detectives of coercion. But who is right?"Devil of a Boy by Edogawa Ranpo Prize winner Seiichi Morimura: A schoolboy may still be very young but he is as sinister as the most hardened of criminals...or is someone else involved?"The Kindly Blackmailer" by Mystery Writers of Japan Award winner Kyotaro Nishimura: A man involved in a fatal hit-and-run is blackmailed by a mysterious witness. Who is this enigmatic stranger?
Ellery Queen's Japanese Mystery Stories is sure to delight lovers of great detective and crime fiction, as well as true crime podcasts and documentaries. The book features a new foreword by Japanese detective fiction expert Satoru Saito which helps place the stories in the context of Japanese society and modern Japanese literature.
Overall I found this to be excellent value and I appreciated the opportunity to experience some writers who were completely new to me.
Read my full review, including notes on each story, at Mysteries Ahoy! (This was previously released as Ellery Queen's Japanese Golden Dozen)