The Devil's Flute Murders

Contents Praise Title Page Contents Characters Epigraph 1: The Devil Comes and Plays His Flute 2: Viscount Tsubaki’s Parting Note 3: The Viscount’s Mysterious Trip 4: Divination 5: Kaendaiko—The Flaming Drum 6: The Silenced Flute 7: Blood and Sand 8: Gods of Wind and Lightning 9: The Golden Flute 10: Typewriter 11: The Devil’s Mark in the Flesh 12: Y and Z 13: Kosuke Kindaichi Goes West 14: The Outskirts of Kobe 15: Count Tamamushi’s Villa 16: The Devil’s Birthplace 17: Myokai, the Nun 18: Digging up a Scandal 19: The Mountains of Awaji Island 20: Assassin 21: Fujin Appears 22: The Ring 23: The Finger 24: If A=X and B=X, then A=B 25: The Accent Problem 26: Akiko’s Flight 27: The Locked Room Reborn 28: The Kaendaiko Reappears 29: The Devil’s Tale 30: A Farewell on the Devil’s Flute Also Available from Pushkin Vertigo About the Author Copyright Landmarks Cover Title Page Table of Contents Start Copyright 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PRAISE FOR SEISHI YOKOMIZO’S MYSTERIES
 ‘Readers will delight in the blind turns, red herrings and dubious alibis… Ingenious and compelling’
 
 ECONOMIST
 
 ‘At once familiar and tantalisingly strange… It’s an absolute pleasure to see his work translated at last in these beautifully produced English editions’
 
 SUNDAY TIMES
 
 ‘The perfect read for this time of year. Short and compelling, it will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie looking for a new case to break’
 
 IRISH TIMES
 
 ‘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
 
 ‘The diabolically twisted plotting is top-notch’
 
 NEW YORK TIMES
 
 ‘A stellar whodunit set in 1940s Japan… The solution is a perfect match for the baffling puzzle. Fair-play fans will hope for more translations of this master storyteller’
 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW
 ‘With a reputation in Japan to rival Agatha Christie’s, the master of ingenious plotting is finally on the case for anglophone readers’
 
 GUARDIAN
 
 ‘A delightfully entertaining locked room murder mystery… An ideal book to curl up with on a winter’s night’
 
 NB MAGAZINE
 
 ‘Never anything less than fun from beginning to end… Truly engrossing’
 
 BOOKS AND BAO
 
 ‘A classic murder mystery… Comparisons with Holmes are justified, both in the character of Kindaichi and Yokomizo’s approach to storytelling—mixing clues, red herrings and fascinating social insight before drawing back the curtain to reveal the truth’
 
 JAPAN TIMES
 
 ‘The perfect gift for any fan of classic crime fiction or locked room mysteries’
 
 MRS PEABODY INVESTIGATES
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 Title Page
 Characters
 Epigraph
 
 1: The Devil Comes and Plays His Flute
 2: Viscount Tsubaki’s Parting Note
 3: The Viscount’s Mysterious Trip
 4: Divination
 5: Kaendaiko—The Flaming Drum
 6: The Silenced Flute
 7: Blood and Sand
 8: Gods of Wind and Lightning
 9: The Golden Flute
 10: Typewriter
 11: The Devil’s Mark in the Flesh
 12: Y and Z
 13: Kosuke Kindaichi Goes West
 14: The Outskirts of Kobe
 15: Count Tamamushi’s Villa
 16: The Devil’s Birthplace
 17: Myokai, the Nun
 18: Digging up a Scandal
 19: The Mountains of Awaji Island
 20: Assassin
 21: Fujin Appears
 22: The Ring
 23: The Finger
 24: If A=X and B=X, then A=B
 25: The Accent Problem
 26: Akiko’s Flight
 27: The Locked Room Reborn
 28: The Kaendaiko Reappears
 29: The Devil’s Tale
 30: A Farewell on the Devil’s Flute
 
 Also Available from Pushkin Vertigo
 About the Author
 Copyright
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Characters
 
 THE INVESTIGATORS
 
 
 Kosuke Kindaichi
 
 
 a private detectiveChief Inspector Daishi Todoroki
 
 
 an officer with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police DepartmentDetective Degawa
 
 
 a young, inexperienced detectiveChief Inspector Tsunejiro Isokawa
 
 
 an old friend of Kindaichi’s, based in Okayama
 
 THE TSUBAKI HOUSEHOLD
 
 
 Hidesuke Tsubaki
 
 
 a former viscount, flautist and composerAkiko Tsubaki née Shingu
 
 
 Hidesuke’s wife, Toshihiko Shingu’s sister and Kimimaru Tamamushi’s nieceMineko Tsubaki
 
 
 daughter of Hidesuke and AkikoShino
 
 
 Akiko’s lady’s maidTotaro Mishima
 
 
 Hidesuke’s ward and assistantOtane
 
 
 a housemaidDoctor Jusuke Mega
 
 
 a professor and medical practitioner
 
 THE SHINGU HOUSEHOLD
 
 
 Toshihiko Shingu
 
 
 head of the family, Akiko Tsubaki’s brother and Kimimaru Tamamushi’s nephewHanako Shingu
 
 
 Toshihiko’s wifeKazuhiko Shingu
 
 
 son of Toshihiko and Hanako
 
 THE TAMAMUSHI HOUSEHOLD
 
 
 
 
 The story you will read over the next thirty chapters is fiction. Some who read it may well be reminded of certain, similar incidents. I would like to assure everyone that those incidents have nothing at all to do with this story.
 
 
 
 
 the author
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 1
 The Devil Comes and Plays His Flute
 
 As I take up my pen to begin recording this miserable tale, I cannot help but feel some pangs of conscience.
 To tell the truth, I do not want to write it. I have no pleasure in putting down in words all the misery it holds. The events I am about to describe are filled with such darkness and sadness, are so cursed and hate-filled, that not a word I write can possibly offer the faintest glimmer of hope or relief.
 Even as