THE JAPANESE CRIME FICTION CLASSIC: A prize-winning railway murder mystery set in 1960s Japan—for fans of Agatha Christie and Seicho Matsumoto! Full of devious twists and turns, this brilliant puzzle mystery is considered to be one of the greatest alibi deconstruction mysteries ever written Early one morning, the owner of a local mill is found lying next to the railway tracks just outside of Kuki Station. Suspicion initially falls on the workers' union, with whom the man had been embroiled in a labour dispute, then on a new religious sect that has been gaining followers recently. Chief Inspector Onitsura and his assistant Tanna are called in to investigate, and soon set off in a journey across Japan, from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka, and finally to the island of Kyūshu, in a hunt for the killer. But as they investigate, the killer strikes again, and again. Will they be able to catch the murderer before even more people are slain? Fans of Agatha Christie’s 4.50 from Paddington and Seicho Matsumoto’s Tokyo Express will delight in the devious twists and turns of The Black Swan Mystery , as well as in the characterisation and portrait of 1960s Japan. The author, Tetsuya Ayukawa, is considered to be the master of alibi deconstruction mysteries–a talent that is on full display in this brilliant classic railway murder mystery, which won the prestigious Japanese Detective Writers Club Prize. "This classic caper — fiendish but light and often funny — deserves the spotlight, as does its author" —Sarah Weinman, New York Times Tetsuya Ayukawa (1919-2002) was born in the Sugamo district of Tokyo. The son of a surveyor for the South Manchurian Railway Co., he spent much of his youth in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, returning to war-ravaged Japan only in 1944. He began writing detective mysteries, and introduced the recurring character Inspector Onitsura, for which Ayukawa later became renowned. Celebrated as one of Japan's finest writers of impossible crimes and alibi-deconstruction mysteries, he won the Japanese Detective Writers Club Prize for The Black Swan Mystery , and in 2001 he was awarded the inaugural Honkaku Mystery Grand Prix for his contribution to the genre. Many of his works have been adapted for radio and screen. ONE A Bad Day 1. Atsuko and Fumie were strolling down an elegant, tree-lined avenue full of shops and boutiques, taking in all the window displays as they made their way towards Shimbashi. It was almost noon, and the late-spring sunlight set off the bright colours of their outfits—one Japanese, the other Western. Since mid-May, the duster coats that had been so popular had vanished entirely, and now, everywhere one looked in the Ginza, women were wearing early-summer dresses. Here, Atsuko’s lace blouse, which might have seemed a little racy in other parts of Tokyo, complemented her surroundings and showed off all the more eye-catchingly her chic, sporty style. Before long, the two women stopped in front of a jeweller’s window and peered in at the display. “What a lovely tiepin!” On the little glass shelf where Fumie was pointing, there was a golden tiepin in the shape of a sabre. Atsuko took the remark as more of a comment than an invitation for her to share the opin- ion. Perhaps it just slipped out as Fumie pictured the accessory on her beloved husband’s chest. About ten days ago, he had gone to England to attend a textile convention in Lancashire, and, on the return journey, he’d be stopping off to inspect textile mills in various countries, so wasn’t expected to land back at Haneda Airport until sometime in September. “It’s nice, isn’t it? It would really suit somebody slim and with a tan.” As she said this, Atsuko in fact had no idea whether this slen- der, curving pin, which made her think of the body of a damselfly, would look better on a man with fair or dark skin: instead, she had merely described Fumie’s husband. “You’ve such a good eye, Atsuko… Say, how about some lunch? My treat.” As though having seen her friend’s empty stomach with X-ray vision, Fumie laughed giddily, and, as she did, a dimple appeared on her left cheek, while her lips parted to reveal a beautiful set of white teeth. She glanced at her watch. “Perfect timing! It’s almost noon. There’s an Italian restaurant just over there, around that corner.” No sooner had the words passed Fumie’s lips than she took Atsuko by the arm and set off again down the avenue. Atsuko was a little envious of her companion’s decisiveness and her assertive nature, which seemed to manifest itself in even the most trivial of things, like this. And yet, this was only because she had no idea of the true purpose behind Fumie’s invitation to go with her to the Ginza that day. If she had known, Atsuko might have felt very differently indeed. There was a Japanese curry restaurant on the third corner they came to, and, sure enough, next door to it was an Italian restaurant. Under a garish peach-and-green-stri