For one thing, it's almost meta in its discussion of similar books on the shelf – can internal mechanisms for trapping the victims be counted as a flaw in the plot's construction, and so on. That's not to say it's an outstanding, brilliant success, but it is still a little remarkable that nobody thought to translate it for fans of the genre. The whole book has a peculiar aspect to it, namely that this classic of Japanese crime, published immediately post-WW2, has never been in English before now. What with a man missing parts of his fingers being in the neighbourhood, and some mysterious use of a traditional musical instrument at the time of the crime, this case has a lot of the peculiar about it. Either way, the celebrations have gone ahead as planned, only for the wedded couple to be slashed to death in their private annex before the sun rises on their marriage. She only has an uncle representing her family, for one thing. The oldest son of an esteemed family is belatedly getting married, although the whole affair is really not as ostentatious as it might be – hardly anybody has turned up, what with it being arranged at great haste. For those who need more, here is the extra background – we're in rural Japan in the 1930s.

To many readers, the phrase 'locked room murder mystery' is enough to make the book one to read preferably quantified by the words 'clever' or 'good'. Summary: A book that goes off the boil slightly from its wonderfully peculiar premise, but that still certainly can deliver for genre fans.

One arranged murders book review