A Times No.1 and Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller

A classic Japanese mystery, from the author of The Honjin Murders

'The Japanese Agatha Christie' Sara Cox, Between the Covers

Tokyo, 1947.

The Pink Labyrinth is one of the bomb-scarred city's most shady neighbourhoods. There, in the dead of night a patrolling policeman catches a young Buddhist monk digging in the back yard of The Black Cat Cafe, a notorious brothel. In the shallow grave at his feet lie the dead body of a woman, her face disfigured beyond recognition, and the corpse of a black cat.

Who is the murdered woman, and how was she connected to the infamous establishment? And where did the dead cat come from, given that the cafe's feline mascot seems to be alive and well? The brilliant sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi investigates, but as he draws closer to the truth, he finds himself in grave danger...

PRAISE FOR SEISHI YOKOMIZO

'The diabolically twisted plotting is top-notch' - New York Times

'Readers will delight in the blind turns, red herrings and dubious alibis... Ingenious and compelling' - Economist

'With a reputation in Japan to rival Agatha Christie's, the master of ingenious plotting is finally on the case for anglophone readers' - Guardian

'This is Golden Age crime at its best, complete with red herrings, blind alleys and twists and turns galore... A testament to the power of the simple murder mystery and its enduring appeal' - Spectator

'Plenty of golden age ingredients... with a truly ingenious solution' - Guardian, Best New Crime Novels

'Truly ingenious' Guardian

'The king of the locked-room mystery' CrimeReads

'The Japanese Agatha Christie' Sara Cox, Between the Covers

'Fiendishly complex and wonderfully atmospheric' S.J. Bennett, author of Murder Most Royal

"Fans of Golden Age mysteries will enjoy trying to solve Kindaichi’s whodunit alongside the rumpled detective, as well as exploring the details of the novel’s postwar Japan setting."
—Library Journal

"Playful puzzles solved by a brilliant, laconic sleuth."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Almost a half century after his death, Yokomizo remains an evergreen favorite for his skillfully constructed multilayered puzzles, expertly keeping readers' suspicions twisting and turning."
—Shelf Awareness

"For fans of Japanese detectives, historical fiction, puzzle mysteries, and novellas!"
—Book Riot

"His novels are the literary equivalent of a Rubik’s cube: all the bits of the puzzle are there, but it’s up to you to get them in the right place"
—The Times (UK)

"Excellent stories with much puzzlement"
—The Critic (UK)

"Seishi Yokomizo has been likened to Agatha Christie, and Murder at the Black Cat Cafe [is] impeccably plotted"
—Financial Times

"The story is as spare and streamlined as any of Inspector Maigret’s investigations, and as fiendishly complicated as a Sherlock Holmes puzzler"
—Irish Times

"Murder at the Black Cat Cafe serves up two sinisterly cerebral cases cracked by Kosuke Kindaichi, Seishi Yokomizo’s sublime series detective... showcasing Yokomizo’s talent for atmospheric mysteries, multilayered puzzles and brilliant deductive leaps"
—Crime Fiction Lover

Seishi Yokomizo (1902-81) was one of Japan's most famous and beloved mystery writers, best known for creating the legendary detective Kosuke Kindaichi, who featured in more than 70 stories, many of which were adapted for stage and television in Japan. The Honjin Murders, the first Kosuke Kindaichi novel, is regarded as one of Japan's great mystery novels and won the inaugural Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1948. The Inugami Curse, The Village of Eight Graves, Death on Gokumon Island, The Devil's Flute Murders, The Little Sparrow Murders, Murder at the Black Cat Cafe and She Walks at Night are also available or forthcoming from Pushkin Vertigo.