I shouldn’t have bought this book. But, in mitigiation, M’lud, it does have one of those classic covers all the rage on the Japanese table at Waterstones or the like that suggest a uniquely Japanese mystery, equal parts creepy and qirky. I suppose the mysteries (the book actually had two stories, Murder at the Black Cat Cafe and Why did the Well Wheel Creek?) were creepy and quirky, invovling the author writing as if these were real murder mysteries being investigated by a real detective in the immediate aftermath of the war (although they were written in the 1970s). Both involved hidden identities, not only of the murderer of course, but also of the victims. And while the stories were atmospheric and of their time and place, I couldn’t get into them — puzzle mysteries where it’s hard to care about the characters are not really my thing.
No. 10 of 24 books I intend to read and review in 2026.
I’m Patrick Sherriff, an Englishman who survived 13 years working for newspapers in the US, UK and Japan. Between teaching English lessons at my conversation school in Abiko, Japan, I write and illustrate textbooks for non-native speakers of English, release Hana Walker mystery novels, short stories, paint, and write essays and Our Man in Abiko, a monthly newsletter highlighting good writing in English, often about about Japan, art, crime fiction and teaching.
