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Synopsis

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When private detective Fukusuke Kurenaimon first interviews his clients, the incidents he has to investigate always seem quite odd, but fairly benign. For example, there doesn't seem anything dangerous about the "ochazuke case", where Fukusuke has to find out why his client was sent a rice-soup set by someone pretending to be her boyfriend.
However, in each of the four cases recounted here, things rapidly turn nasty. Not far into his investigations, someone is brutally murdered. The puzzle gets more puzzling by the minute: in the "girl's uniform case", a professor is stabbed and decapitated. Plus, it seems like the head was carried to two different places in a single night. So it seems that Fukusuke is presented with a double mystery every time.
For some reason, the key to solving these mysteries always involves fish, of all things. The boyfriend of the 'ochazuke case' client is nicknamed "the Electric Eel", because of his womanising ways. Fukusuke realises that if he can recall the significance of each type of fish within Japanese culture, he may be able to unravel these macabre murders as well as his own cases.

submitted by Eline Van De Wiele

Category Level

Fiction
Mystery
Humor

Editorial Review

Told from the viewpoint of private detective Fukusuke Kurenaimon, this book presents four murder mystery cases. Drawing on aspects of life that are very important within Japanese culture, each case is set in a different season and revolves around a different type of fish. This, in combination with a typically Japanese penchant for the macabre, results in a series of fascinatingly peculiar and fast-paced stories.
Fukusuke himself is a slightly eccentric but very likable character. A self-styled, self-deprecating bachelor, he tackles his cases with humour and flair – the weirdness of his clients' requests doesn't bother him in the least. In fact, it only seems to encourage him... Because we find ourselves inside Fukusuke's head, we are treated to a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek 'running commentary' of events, as Fukusuke tries to figure out what is going on without getting into too much trouble with the local police.

Table of contents

• 1. Spring – "The Snapper with Facial Neuralgia"
  2. Summer – "The Slippery Eel"
  3. Autumn – "Grilled Pike at Dusk"
  4. Winter – "The Dangling Angler Fish"

About the Author

Ruichi Kasumi was born in Okayama Prefecture in 1959. He graduated from the Politics and Economics Faculty at Tokyo's Waseda University. In 1994 he made his debut with "Gangs of the Same Grave", winning First Runner-up at the 14th Yokomizo Seishi Prize. Many more mystery novels full of hard logic, outlandish twists as well as humour followed. "The Mystery Club", "Death of the Steam Tiger", "Dead Lobster", "The Cursed Turtle" and "The Beheaded Rokujizo" are just some of Kasumi's titles.