'The solution is one of the most original that I've ever read' Anthony Horowitz

'This book is an unmissable triumph' Tom Mead, Publishers Weekly

'It's a budding Sherlock's dream' Crime Scene

A BESTSELLING AND INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED MASTERPIECE

An eccentric artist is found brutally murdered in a room locked from the inside. His diaries reveal dabblings in alchemy and astrology, and a macabre plan to kill and dismember seven women in an occult ritual. Then, shortly after his death, the artist's bloody project is carried out, as if from beyond the grave...

Decades later, astrologer and amateur detective Kiyoshi Mitarai sets out to solve these notorious crimes. His investigation leads him across the country towards a dark, shocking truth. But can you unravel the mystery of the Tokyo Zodiac Murders before he does?

"I have long wanted to recommend this debut mystery novel by a prolific master... Whether you’re attempting to solve the case yourself (I didn’t) or just immersing yourself in a true distraction, this will carry you across the ocean, amiably fill a week’s vacation or sweep you away for a few hours before bed”
—Sadie Stein, The New York Times

"A sprawling, multi-faceted epic... The solution to the mystery is deceptively simple, and yet I can honestly say I have never read one quite like it anywhere else. This book is an unmissable triumph."
--Publishers Weekly

"If you like your crime stories to be bloody and bizarre, then this one may be for you. The winner of several major awards... the solution is one of the most original that I've ever read."
--Daily Mail

"The great Soji Shimada virtually invented the "logic problem" sub-genre.:
--Guardian Top 10 Locked Room Mysteries (No. 2)

"Intricately constructed and entertainingly exotic."
--The Japan Times

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, including the casebooks of Kiyoshi Mitarai and Takeshi Yoshiki. 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.