The House of Crooked Walls

The holder of the No. 1 literary prize in Japan — "Japanese Detective Literature". Shortlisted for the "Edogawa Rampo" prize. Several tens of millions of books sold in Asia alone. Japan, Christmas 1983. Wealthy industrialist Kozaburo Hamamoto has gathered friends... and acquaintances in his mansion. The guests are amazed by his house — a whimsical structure with many rooms, slanted floors, and staircases leading to who knows where, with a "falling" tall tower reminiscent of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. They all marvel at the host's imagination and prepare to joyfully celebrate Christmas. But their expectations are not destined to come true. Because on Christmas Eve, a murder occurs in the house. The driver of one of the guests dies from a stab wound. Police called in urgently are in complete confusion. After all, it was impossible to commit the murder — all the circumstances and conditions are against it. And no one has a motive... While the inspector and his assistants are scratching their heads, and the guests are in a daze, a second, even more incredible murder occurs in the house. After contacting their superiors, the stunned police learn that a person is coming to them who is capable of finding the criminal. It is an astrologer and fortune-teller from Tokyo, Kiyoshi Mitarai. And only he can untangle this mind-boggling riddle... You will have all the necessary keys. But will you be able to find the solution before the detectives do? "The God of Riddles" — as Shimada Soji is called in Japan. He created the honkaku detective — a new genre, so popular in the Land of the Rising Sun. A detective in which the reader is offered an honest intellectual game: to solve the case before the main character does. Soji was the first to combine European classics with Japanese exoticism, rationalism with mysticism. His great detective is not just a person of sharp mind and brilliant analytical abilities, like Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Nero Wolfe, but also an astrologer and fortune-teller. Soji's novel belongs to the "must read" category for every self-respecting Japanophile — it is literally soaked