Download or read book The Noh Mask Murder written by Akimitsu Takagi and published by Pushkin Vertigo. This book was released on 2024-06-04 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bewildering locked-room murder occurs as an amateur crime writer investigates strange events in the Chizurui mansion in this prizewinning classic Japanese mystery The 1st book in English from Akimitsu Takagi since his “Clever, kinky, and highly entertaining” The Tattoo Murder Case (Washington Post) This ingeniously constructed masterpiece, written by one of Japan's most celebrated crime writers and translated into English for the first time, is perfect for locked-room mystery fans who can’t resist a breathtaking conclusion. In the Chizurui family mansion, a haunting presence casts a shadow over its residents. By night, an eerie figure, clad in a sinister Hannya mask is seen roaming around the house. An amateur murder mystery writer, Akimitsu Takagi, is sent to investigate — but his investigation takes a harrowing turn as tragedy strikes the Chizurui family. Within the confines of a locked study, the head of the family is found dead, with only an ominous Hannya mask lying on the floor by his side and the lingering scent of jasmine in the air as clues to his mysterious murder. As Takagi delves deeper into the perplexing case, he discovers a tangled web of secrets and grudges. Can he discover the link between the family and the curse of the Hannya mask? Who was the person who called the undertaker and asked for three coffins on the night of the murder? And do those three coffins mean the curse of the Hannya mask is about to strike again? The Noh Mask Murder’s legendary ending offers locked-room mystery fans the perfect coda to an ingenously constructed mystery.

Download or read book The Noh Mask Murder written by Akimitsu Takagi and published by Pushkin Vertigo. This book was released on 2024-06-04 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bewildering locked-room murder occurs as an amateur crime writer investigates strange events in the Chizurui mansion in this prizewinning classic Japanese mystery The 1st book in English from Akimitsu Takagi since his “Clever, kinky, and highly entertaining” The Tattoo Murder Case (Washington Post) This ingeniously constructed masterpiece, written by one of Japan's most celebrated crime writers and translated into English for the first time, is perfect for locked-room mystery fans who can’t resist a breathtaking conclusion. In the Chizurui family mansion, a haunting presence casts a shadow over its residents. By night, an eerie figure, clad in a sinister Hannya mask is seen roaming around the house. An amateur murder mystery writer, Akimitsu Takagi, is sent to investigate — but his investigation takes a harrowing turn as tragedy strikes the Chizurui family. Within the confines of a locked study, the head of the family is found dead, with only an ominous Hannya mask lying on the floor by his side and the lingering scent of jasmine in the air as clues to his mysterious murder. As Takagi delves deeper into the perplexing case, he discovers a tangled web of secrets and grudges. Can he discover the link between the family and the curse of the Hannya mask? Who was the person who called the undertaker and asked for three coffins on the night of the murder? And do those three coffins mean the curse of the Hannya mask is about to strike again? The Noh Mask Murder’s legendary ending offers locked-room mystery fans the perfect coda to an ingenously constructed mystery.

Download or read book The Tattoo Murder Case written by Akimitsu Takagi and published by Soho Press. This book was released on 2003-07-01 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kinue Nomura survived World War II only to be murdered in Tokyo, her severed limbs discovered in a room locked from the inside. Gone is the part of her that bore one of the most beautiful full-body tattoos ever rendered. Kenzo Matsushita, a young doctor who was first to discover the crime scene, feels compelled to assist his detective brother, who is in charge of the case. But Kenzo has a secret: he was Kinue’s lover, and soon his involvement in the investigation becomes as twisted and complex as the writhing snakes that once adorned Kinue’s torso. The Tattoo Murder Case was originally published in 1948; this is the first English translation.

Download or read book Honeymoon to Nowhere written by Akimitsu Takagi and published by Soho Press. This book was released on 2003-07-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Etsuko has fallen in love with the shy young university lecturer who clumsily courts her. But her family objects to his past: his father was a war criminal; his deceased younger brother, a murderer. When Etsuko lies to force the marriage through, she thinks their troubles are over, but on their wedding night, the groom leaves in response to an urgent phone call. In the morning, he is still missing.

Download or read book The Informer written by Akimitsu Takagi and published by Soho Press. This book was released on 2003-07-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When he loses his job as a trader after the stock market crashes, Shigeo Segawa is offered lucrative work as an industrial spy. How could he say no? He is soon assigned to seduce an ex-girlfriend and steal an important formula from her husband, who runs a large chemical company. But when the husband is found murdered, Segawa becomes the prime suspect.

Download or read book The Lady Killer written by Masako Togawa and published by Pushkin Vertigo. This book was released on 2018-10-30 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A dizzying tale of lust, mystery, and murder—from a beloved Japanese crime fiction author and LGBT icon The Lady Killer leads a double life in Tokyo's shadowy underworld. By day, he is a devoted husband and hard worker; by night, he cruises cabaret bars and nightclubs in search of lonely single women to seduce. But now the hunter is being hunted, and in his wake lies a trail of gruesome murders. Who is the culprit? The answer lies tangled in a web of clues—and to find it, he must accept that nothing is what it seems. The Lady Killer pulls from author Masako Togawa’s vibrant personal life as a cabaret performer for Tokyo’s gay nightclub scene during the ‘50s and ‘60s. Throughout her writing career, Togawa continued to champion the LGBT community as a queer woman—sealing her reputation as one of Japan’s most prominent crime fiction authors and LGBT heroines.

Download or read book April Fool written by William Deverell and published by ECW Press. This book was released on 17-09-19 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new edition of the Arthur Ellis Award winning crime novel Arthur Beauchamp, the scholarly, self-doubting legend of the B.C. criminal bar, is enjoying his retirement on B.C.Õs Garibaldi Island when he is dragged back to court to defend an old client. Nick ÒThe OwlÓ Faloon, one of the worldÕs top jewel thieves, has been accused of raping and murdering a psychologist. Beauchamp has scarcely registered how unlikely it is that the rascally Faloon could commit a savage murder when his own personal life takes an abrupt turn. His new wife, Margaret Blake, organic farmer and environmental activist, has taken up residence 50 feet above ground in a tree of an old-growth forest that she is determined to save for the eagles and from the loggers. Beauchamp shuttles between Vancouver and the island, doing what he can to defend Faloon, save the forest, and rescue his wife. Part courtroom thriller, part classic whodunit, April Fool sees Deverell writing at the top of his form, with a big dollop of humour.

Download or read book The Violent Season written by Sara Walters and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The unputdownable debut thriller you will never forget. There is something terribly wrong in Wolf Ridge. Every November, every teen is overwhelmed with a hunger for violence...at least, that's the urban legend. After Wyatt Green's mother was brutally murdered last Fall, she's convinced that the November sickness plaguing Wolf Ridge isn't just a town rumor that everyone ignores...it's a palpable force infecting her neighbors. Wyatt is going to prove it, and find her mother's murderer in the process. She digs up every past brutal act she can find from Wolf Ridge's past—from car wrecks, suicides, and unnamed victims turning up in rivers—and even reaches out to an out-of-state journalist that seems to believe her. But all of her digging leads to nowhere. Everyone in Wolf Ridge accepts that the November sickness is real, and absolutely no one will talk about it. As Wyatt's best friend Cash turns on her, and her friend is almost killed in a tragic accident, Wyatt panics—how can she keep her friends safe, and find her mother's murderer, when no one believes her? As the evidence stars to disappear, Wyatt wonders: is she just imagining everything? Is the sickness real, or are the people of Wolf Ridge just naturally prone to doing bad things? Can Wyatt and her friends come out of the Violent Season unscathed, or is one of them going to be the next victim? "Holy sh....... Can I just say that? Can that be the review? Technically yes, but I **NEED** to say that this is without a doubt and by far one of the best books I have read this year!"—Brittney Green, Netgalley Reviewer "A freaking INCREDIBLE debut for Sara Walters. I have not felt this pull to a book in a hot minute. PREORDER IT, ADD IT TO YOUR TBR, AND WAIT IMPATIENTLY FOR OCTOBER BECAUSE THIS BOOK WAS ?????"—Tiffany Clark, Netgalley Reviewer "Be prepared to be captivated after the first sentence."—Rachel Milburn, Netgalley Reviewer

Download or read book The Noh Family written by Grace K. Shim and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2024-02-13 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback, this sparkling K-drama-inspired debut novel introduces irrepressibly charming teen Chloe Chang, who is reunited with her deceased father's estranged family via a DNA test, and is soon whisked off to Seoul to join them... When her friends gift her a 23andMe test as a gag, high school senior Chloe Chang doesn’t think much of trying it out. She doesn’t believe anything will come of it—she’s an only child, her mother is an orphan, and her father died in Seoul before she was even born, and before her mother moved to Oklahoma. It’s been just Chloe and her mom her whole life. But the DNA test reveals something Chloe never expected—she’s got a whole extended family from her father’s side half a world away in Korea. Turns out her father's family are amongst the richest families in Seoul and want to meet Chloe. So, despite her mother's reservations, Chloe travels to Seoul and is whisked into the lap of luxury . . . but something feels wrong. Soon Chloe will discover the reason why her mother never told her about her dad’s family, and why the Nohs wanted her in Seoul in the first place. Could joining the Noh family be worse than having no family at all?

Download or read book The Aosawa Murders written by Riku Onda and published by Bitter Lemon Press. This book was released on 2020-01-16 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On a stormy summer day the Aosawas, owners of a prominent local hospital, host a large birthday party. The occasion turns into tragedy when 17 people die from cyanide in their drinks. The only surviving links to what might have happened are a cryptic verse that could be the killer's, and the physician's bewitching blind daughter, Hisako, the only person spared injury. But the youth who emerges as the prime suspect commits suicide that October, effectively sealing his guilt while consigning his motives to mystery. The police are convinced that Hisako had a role in the crime, as are many in the town, including the author of a bestselling book about the murders written a decade after the incident, who was herself a childhood friend of Hisako' and witness to the discovery of the murders. The truth is revealed through a skilful juggling of testimony by different voices: family members, witnesses and neighbours, police investigators and of course the mesmerizing Hisako herself.

Download or read book The Five Day Nightmare written by Fredric Brown and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The clock is ticking as a husband frantically tries to save his abducted wife in this fast-paced crime novel by “a real pro” (The New York Times Book Review). Twenty-five grand if he wants his wife back alive. That’s the demand on the ransom note Lloyd Johnson found sitting in his typewriter. It has to be in unmarked bills—and it has to be delivered in five days. To make it worse, the kidnapper dropped the names of his previous victims—one who’d made it back home to her husband, and one who hadn’t. Armed with this information, Johnson hopes further investigation of those cases will improve his—and his wife’s—chances. But the more he learns, the worse things look, and time is running out, in this twisting tale by the Edgar Award–winning author.

Download or read book Noh Masks written by Toru Nakanishi and published by . This book was released on 1983 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Street of a Thousand Blossoms written by Gail Tsukiyama and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2007-09-04 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gail Tsukiyama's The Street of a Thousand Blossoms is a powerfully moving masterpiece about tradition and change, loss and renewal, and love and family from a glorious storyteller at the height of her powers. It is Tokyo in 1939. On the Street of a Thousand Blossoms, two orphaned brothers dream of a future firmly rooted in tradition. The older boy, Hiroshi, shows early signs of promise at the national obsession of sumo wrestling, while Kenji is fascinated by the art of Noh theater masks. But as the ripples of war spread to their quiet neighborhood, the brothers must put their dreams on hold—and forge their own paths in a new Japan. Meanwhile, the two young daughters of a renowned sumo master find their lives increasingly intertwined with the fortunes of their father's star pupil, Hiroshi.

Download or read book The Missing Ring written by Keith Dunnavant and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-08-21 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Keith Dunnavant's triumph is that he takes us into the heart of Alabama, into the darkness and the light, and there we see Joe Namath, Kenny Stabler, Ray Perkins, and their band of brothers play football for Bear Bryant the way life should be lived, at full throttle, indomitably." ---Dave Kindred, author of Sound and Fury: Two Powerful Lives, One Fateful Friendship The Missing Ring is more than a football book. It is both a story of a changing era and of an extraordinary team on a championship quest. Very few institutions in American sports can match the enduring excellence of the University of Alabama football program. Across a wide swath of the last century, the tradition-rich Crimson Tide has claimed twelve national championships, captured twenty-five conference titles, finished thirty-four times among the country's top ten, and played in fifty-three bowl games. Especially dominant during the era of the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant, the larger-than-life figure who towered over the landscape like no man before or since, Alabama entered the 1966 season with the chance to become the first college football team to win three consecutive national championships. Every aspect of Bryant's grueling system was geared around competing for the big prize each and every year, and in 1966 the idea of the threepeat tantalized the players, pushing them toward greatness. Driven by Bryant's enthusiasm, dedication, and perseverance, players were made to believe in their team and themselves. Led by the electrifying force of quarterback Kenny "Snake" Stabler and one of the most punishing defenses in the storied annals of the Southeastern Conference, the Crimson Tide cruised to a magical season, finishing as the nation's only undefeated, untied team. But something happened on the way to the history books. The Missing Ring is the story of the one that got away, the one that haunts Alabama fans still, and native Alabamian Keith Dunnavant takes readers deep inside the Crimson Tide program during a more innocent time, before widespread telecasting, before scholarship limitations, before end-zone dances. Meticulously revealing the strategies, tactics, and personal dramas that bring the overachieving boys of 1966 to life, Dunnavant's insightful, anecdotally rich narrative shows how Bryant molded a diverse group of young men into a powerful force that overcame various obstacles to achieve perfection in an imperfect world. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the still-escalating Vietnam War, and a world and a sport teetering on the brink of change in a variety of ways, The Missing Ring tells an important story about the collision between football and culture. Ultimately, it is this clash that produces the Crimson Tide's most implacable foe, enabling the greatest injustice in college football history. "Keith Dunnavant has written yet another fabulous book about the fabled Alabama football program. You will be amazed at how one of the great injustices in the history of college football cost them their rightful place in history. And you just thought the system was screwed up now." ---Jim Dent, author of The Junction Boys "Keith Dunnavant nails it: all the sacrifices the 1966 Alabama team made to win three national championships in a row, and how we were robbed at the ballot box." ---Jerry Duncan, one of the boys of 1966 "Dunnavant infuses reportage and passion into a tale that every Alabamian of a certain age knows: For all the crying about Penn State in 1969, Penn State in 1994, or Auburn in 2004, no team ever got shafted the way the 1966 Crimson Tide did. It's all here: the churning legs, the churning stomachs, and the dreaded gym classes where Bear Bryant's boys made the sacrifices he demanded in order to become champions. They conquered their opponents on the field, but proved to be no match for the politics of the day off the field. The

Download or read book The Old Man in the Corner Illustrated written by Baroness Orczy and published by . This book was released on 2020-07-12 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Old Man in the Corner is an unnamed armchair detective who appears in a series of short stories written by Baroness Orczy. He examines and solves crimes while sitting in the corner of a genteel London tea-room in conversation with a female journalist. He was one of the first of this character-type created in the wake of the huge popularity of the Sherlock Holmes stories. The character's moniker is used as the title of the collection of the earliest stories featuring the character.

Download or read book Death Among the Undead written by Masahiro Imamura and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2021-08-17 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "... a work of great importance." Soji Shimada, author of "The Toko Zodiac Murders" "Death Among the Undead" is the only novel ever to have achieved first place in all four major annual mystery fiction rankings in Japan. It was an overnight sensation and was turned into a film and a manga. Its success was due to the novel twist of adding zombies to a shin honkaku country house setting, but fans of locked room mysteries and closed circle plots need not worry. The iron-clad rules regarding the zombies' behaviour and existence are rigorously observed, and are used to create the boundaries of the mystery in a highly ingenious way. A dozen students decide to rent a boarding house in the mountains. A nearby bioterrorism event results in the house being surrounded by zombies. Initially they are repelled by the occupants using swords and spears, but then a murder occurs inside a room locked on the inside. A human could not have made the bite marks that killed the victim, but a zombie could not have got into the room to make them. More murders occur. Theories abound, but are knocked down as soon as they are proposed. The solution is an extraordinary exercise in deduction. Locked Room International translates and publishes the works of international impossible crime authors past and present.

Download or read book Contemporary Japanese Film written by Mark Schilling and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 1999-11-01 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive look at Japanese cinema in the 1990s includes nearly four hundred reviews of individual films and a dozen interviews and profiles of leading directors and producers. Interpretive essays provide an overview of some of the key issues and themes of the decade, and provide background and context for the treatment of individual films and artists. In Mark Schilling's view, Japanese film is presently in a period of creative ferment, with a lively independent sector challenging the conventions of the industry mainstream. Younger filmmakers are rejecting the stale formulas that have long characterized major studio releases, reaching out to new influences from other media—television, comics, music videos, and even computer games—and from both the West and other Asian cultures. In the process they are creating fresh and exciting films that range from the meditative to the manic, offering hope that Japanese film will not only survive but thrive as it enters the new millennium.