Japan, 1936. An old eccentric artist living with seven women has been found dead - in a room locked from the inside. His diaries reveal alchemy, astrology and a complicated plan to kill all seven women. Shortly afterwards, the plan is carried out: the women are found dismembered and buried across rural Japan.By 1979, these Tokyo Zodiac Murders have been obsessing a nation for decades, but not one of them has been solved. A mystery-obsessed illustrator and a talented astrologer set off around the country - and you follow, carrying the enigma of the Zodiac murderer through madness, missed leads and magic tricks. You have all the clues, but can you solve the mystery before they do?
'Ignites the mind' - Huffington Post
'Shimadas novel is a classic of the popular Japanese honkaku or "authentic" subgenre of crime fiction, which prioritises tight plots and carefully scattered clues' - The National
'If you like your crime stories to be bloody and bizarre, then this one may be for you. The winner of several major awards... the solution is one of the most original that Ive ever read' - Anthony Horowitz
'An intricate, compelling, violent, and exciting [read]. Full of hints, its a budding Sherlocks dream; Shimada encourages the reader to be as much of a detective as his protagonist.' - Crime Scene
'A wonderful example of excellent plotting and characterization, with a brilliant sense of the mysterious and the bizarre' - At the Scene of the Crime
Born in 1948 in Hiroshima prefecture, Soji Shimada has been dubbed the God of Mystery by international audiences. A novelist, essayist and short-story writer, he made his literary debut in 1981 with The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, which was shortlisted for the Edogawa Rampo Prize. Blending classical detective fiction with grisly violence and elements of the occult, he has gone on to publish several highly acclaimed series of mystery fiction, including the casebooks of Kiyoshi Mitarai and Takeshi Yoshiki. He is the author of 100+ works in total.In 2009 Shimada received the prestigious Japan Mystery Literature Award in recognition of his lifes work.
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