3.5/5 rounded up to 4


I very rarely read crime or detective novels despite generally enjoying the genre (usually on screen or as sub genre). However, I have heard of Yokomizo's works before and my interest is easily captured if you throw in a cat or give it a Japanese setting. Although this is part of the Detective Kosuke Kindaichi series, it can be read perfectly on its own. I am not sure if Kindaichi has a stronger presence in other volumes but he didn't even appear all that much in this instalment. What little we do see gave me a positive impression of him though; he seems a little quirky and his generally kind demeanour make him an interesting detective character.

As for the actual stories - because, to my surprise, this consists of two short stories as opposed to one longer - they were pretty good. Both follow a similar pattern in that they try to mislead you and while you think you've got it, there'll come another surprise that you didn't quite expect. I enjoyed the post WW2 setting and the fact that this series was written during the 40s and 50s also adds to the tone. They author doesn't shy away from some uglier themes and they were both cleverly put together mysteries. One thing I did not enjoy was that both stories had a very drawn out prologue of sorts. They went into far more detail than I think was necessary and may even put readers off. Once the first chapter was overcome though the pacing as just right.

Translated by Bryan Karetnyk — Murder at the Black Cat Cafe serves up two sinisterly cerebral cases cracked by Kosuke Kindaichi, Seishi Yokomizo’s sublime series detective. While the motive, means and opportunity differ quite considerably, the nefariousness at the heart of both novellas is firmly of the impossible crime kind, showcasing Yokomizo’s talent for atmospheric mysteries, multilayered puzzles and brilliant deductive leaps.

And in contrast to the apparent impossibility, the two novellas are also united by the unflinching realism of their settings. Both stories take place in the early post-war period in Japan, where the urban sprawl and the bucolic countryside are similarly marred by material devastation and haunted by the trauma of World War II. This bleak setting establishes a tone of uncertainty and dislocation that permeates both narratives.

In Murder at the Black Cat Cafe, a policeman on night patrol in the Pink Labyrinth, a particularly dubious area of outer Tokyo still awaiting restoration in 1947, stumbles upon a monk disinterring a disfigured female corpse from a shallow grave in the garden of the eponymous cafe. And that’s not the only body he discovers – some fiend has also killed and disposed of a black cat.

The abandoned cafe was previously one of the neighbourhood’s most prosperous brothels. Its former owners – the distinctive Daigo and Oshige Itojima – are thought to have sold up and moved on to parts unknown, although the police quickly discover that their black cat, which gave the cafe its name, is still very much alive and on the premises. Who is the dead woman? Who killed her? And where did the extra cat spring from?

The grisly nighttime discovery of the corpses immediately establishes the ominous tone of the story. There’s a nightmarish quality to events that extends beyond the fact of murder, which fosters the almost supernatural atmosphere that Yokomizo’s mysteries are characterised by. It’s fortunate that the unflappable and deceptively logical Kosuke Kindaichi has reason to insert himself into the investigation.

While Yokomizo’s signature expertise in the Golden Age of Murder is evident from the early discourse on the ‘double role’ versus ‘locked room’ versus ‘faceless corpse’ mystery, he also takes the step of inserting himself into the case as the – first unofficial and later approved – chronicler of Kindaichi’s exploits. Through the letters and reports he purports to receive from the detective, he slowly teases out the truth of the Black Cat Cafe.

This approach adds some unexpected levity to the story, allowing Kindaichi to rib both Yokomizo and readers, sending them down many a blind alley. The notion that Kindaichi is having fun with others’ attempts to solve the case is augmented by the fact that he doesn’t appear in person until quite late in the story. This also frames him as the ‘great detective’, swooping in at the last minute with the solution to the mystery.

And the mystery certainly requires the involvement of an almost preternatural sleuth. The corpse’s disfigurement means that the victim’s identity is unknown, as is the likely motive for the crime. Every new potential victim and possible killer that the police identify introduces new twists, turns and obfuscations, while the clues and red herrings they uncover complicate the mystery to the point of bamboozlement.

The cafe itself is equally intriguing and confusing. It’s not just a setting for murder but also a symbol of post-war Japanese society – gritty, morally ambiguous and scarred by recent history. The Itojimas returned from China to start a new life in the brothel-keeping business, bringing with them secrets and lies. The war’s shadow hangs over everything, creating a disturbing background to the mystery.

The second novella, Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?, explores the (mis)fortunes of several generations of the Honiden family and their neighbours. Following demobilisation in 1946, Daisuke Honiden returns home to the village of K – after having lost his eyes in combat. He bears more than the physical scars of war, and his return triggers a series of inexplicable events and tragedies.

Told primarily through letters and newspaper clippings, the story marks another shift in tone and structure for Yokomizo. The haunting puzzle surrounding the wealthy Honiden family represents a further twist on the faceless corpse mystery – a deeply unsettling one at that. The narrative style creates distance from the immediate action but offers a rich view of the family dynamics, long-held secrets and deep-seated resentments.

Kosuke Kindaichi again appears only in the later stages of the intrigue, stepping in to solve a crime that seems destined to become a cold case. His insights cut through the deceit and deliberate misdirection with clarity, while the epistolary elements allow for the almost real-time reveal of clues, statements and alibis. The spooky aspects are again strong, as is the burden of family history.

Yokomizo’s plotting in both novellas is ingenious, being carefully calibrated to deliver surprises that never feel contrived. The post-war setting is not merely background but a living, breathing force that shapes every motive, every action and every cover-up. The dual structure of the book also enhances its impact: the first story is visceral, urban and raw, while the second is more cerebral, rural and reflective.

Both stories balance traditional mystery elements with subtle innovations. The crimes are gruesome, the characters flawed and the motives complex, but nothing feels gratuitous. As ever, Kosuke Kindaichi is quirky and infuriating but razor-sharp when it comes to cracking an uncrackable case.

This book contains two short stories, the stories are based on information the private detective Kosuke Kindaich passed to the author, the first story is the Murder at the Black Cat cafe where a body is discovered buried in the grounds at the back of the cafe. The body has started to decompose so cannot be identified, and this leads to confusion and the police initially believing the body to belong to someone else. The second story, also set in post war Tokyo, involves a murder, in this case the person killed is believed to be a lookalike.
I enjoyed both stories and was caught out in the second one.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

I read the latest translation of Seishi Yokomizo's Kosuke Kindaichi series! I love this series of crime novels following our beloved, if eccentric, detective.

Unlike the others in this series, Murder at the Black Cat Cafe is actually two novellas in one. Both were great, but I really loved The Wheel Well Creaks. It has a lot of set up, but the payoff is so worth it.

Please check content warnings for this one, especially for animal death.

Murder at the Black Cat Café contains two mystery short stories, which I wasn't aware of when I started the book and I was quite confused when the epilog started already at 60% of the book. So it was a bit of a surprise when I found out that there was another story in the book besides the story around the murder at the Black Cat Café.

The first story, which is the story mentioned on the cover and in the blurb, follows the police and an indipendent detective who try to solve the mysterious faceless corpse murder at the Black Cat Café in Tokio. The second story follows a family on the countryside welcoming home the first born son coming home from the battle front of WWII quite a bit different to his state he left in.

Both mystery/crime stories were good, but a little too short for me and in comparison the intros were way too long, especially for the second story.

With the first story I was hooked immediately and it was really easy to read. But I was a bit disappointed that we didn't really see the way the case was solved, it was rather a recapitulation told from the detective to the rest of the group and in the end I was still wondering how he knew some of the details. It was just a bit too easy and quick for me - which makes sense for a short story, but I was hoping for a full book here.

The second story started reeeally slow and it didn't catch me for a while, but then it got really interesting around the halfway point of the second story. This story would have been so much better, in my eyes, if the intro would have been only half as long or maybe even less. Though this story definetly makes sense as a short story, I have to say.

With all that being said, I have to admit, with both stories I thought I had figured it out so fast, but then it turned out I fell for the bait in both of them. So that's at least a big plus in terms of writing.

In general, I still enjoyed reading this book. I guess overall my rating is just a bit tainted by the fact that I was expecting one full story about a faceless corpse case and ended up with two short stories that both didn't fully hit the mark for me. My rating would probably be better, if I would have known it were two short stories from the beginning. But, at least for me, that wasn't clear from the synopsis or the blurb.

Murder At The Black Cat Cafe is a Japanese take on the golden age of crime.

I can see why Seishi Yokomizo novels were so popular at the original time of publication, as this a very clever murder novel set in a Japenese brothel; Not the cafe I was expecting!

The book is told via letters, and other documents, detective Kosuke Kindaichi to an unnamed person, on the subject of a faceless murder, retold as a novel.

It’s a very twisty novel, and I’d absolutely recommend it as a read for folks who are fans of the golden age, but might be a little burnt out on the western tales.

As a little bonus surprise, there is a second short story after, told through letters (without the novelisation as above) but it took a few pages for me to realise this!

Seichi Yokomizo was influenced by the golden age of Western detective novels, think Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr and of course from an earlier period Arthur Conan Doyle. His novels often feature locked room murder mysteries, puzzle mysteries and in the Murder at the Black Cat Cafe it's a faceless corpse mystery. As with many of Yokomizo's novels it features his unusual private detective Kosuke Kindaichi who has an unnamed chronicler (think Watson to Holmes).

Murder at the Black Cat Cafe is a great read for fans of classic golden age crime mysteries, Kindaichi's appearance in the novel moves the plot and the puzzle along nicely. There is a really great second short story which is told through letters which Kindaichi has sent to his chronicler, it deals with the downfall Honiden family and is called Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?

If you are a fan of the Golden Age of Detective fiction then pick up some Seishi Yokomizo, Kindaichi is an unusual but likeable detective and you will enjoy yourself dipping into these novels.

Seishi Yokomizo was a mid century Japanese crime writer. He began writing his Western-style detective series in 1946 with the book The Honjin Murders. This featured his Sherlockian consulting detective Kosuke Kindaichi. The series ran to 77 cases, until just before Yokomizo’s death in 1981. Kindaichi has of course as a result, appeared in numerous films, TV series and manga. Some of the series have been translated but not in the order that they were published. Murder at the Black Cat Café is the third case in the series but the seventh to be translated (by Bryan Karetnyk).
Murder at the Black Cat Café is introduced by Kandaichi’s chronicler (his Watson although the wrtier does not participate in the investigation). It tells of a letter and pile of documents sent to him which detail Kandaichi’s solving of a ‘faceless corpse’ case. Kandaichi says has already solved a ‘locked room’ mystery and was keen to have a ‘faceless corpse’ case, as detailed in some of the famous detective novels and was lucky to run across one. The story itself revolves around the uncovering of a faceless female body in the garden of the Black Cat Café in a small town outside of Tokyo. The police think that they know what trick is trying to be pulled before Kandaichi arrives and unravels a more complex and diabolical plot.
Murder at the Black Cat Café is absolutely classic mid-century crime fiction. “Using the templates laid down by the likes of Conan Doyle and Christie, Yokomizo puts his own Japanese spin on the prevailing tropes. So while there is a mystery to be solved, he is also using the genre exploring the world of post war Tokyo in which there was still a fair amount of privation and Japanese people who fled to China were returning. And while this all seems a little staid, given the amount of crime fiction that has followed, it is still fascinating to see how effectively these forms translate to another time and place.

Murder at the Black Cat Café by Seishi Yokomizo isn't my usual type of read, but I found myself pleasantly surprised.

The book is made up of two shorter stories. The first, the title story, is set in post-war Tokyo and begins when a patrolling police officer discovers a faceless woman buried in the garden of the Black Cat Café, alongside what seems to be the café’s black cat. It has a moody, noir-like atmosphere that pulled me in right away. The pace is brisk, and I found myself trying to stay one step ahead of each twist.

The second bonus story, The Well Wheel Creaks, is told through letters and newspaper clippings, and revolves around a murder rooted in family tensions in a quiet rural village. I couldn't get into the second story as much as the first, and didn’t end up finishing it. Both stories feature Kosuke Kindaichi—an eccentric, scruffy detective with sharp instincts and a knack for cracking complicated cases.

Fans of the genre will probably get even more out of it than I did, but as a casual reader, I still found it engaging and surprisingly enjoyable.

Thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review 🖤

enjoyed both the stories in the book. I am a huge fan of kosuke kindaichi and again he impresses me with the solutions. I felt I figured out the culprit in first case only to realize I was wrong 😂😂. As usual seishi yokomizo writes it cleverly. I would recommend it for all the thriller fans who love classic mysteries .

There are two stories within this, which I didn't initially realise. Although neither are long, I personally found them a bit slow going. I think this is because I was not massively invested in either, though I found the 1st more interesting than the 2nd. Overall, it was an easy read, with some twists/reveals but nothing revolutionary.

Thank you Netgalley and Pushkin Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder at the Black Cat Café was a solid thriller and my first read from this author.
The book actually includes two stories—the main murder mystery at the black cat café and a bonus tale called The Well Wheel Creaks, packed with family drama, betrayal, and jealousy.

The first story is intense and full of unexpected twists. Some parts got a little complex—especially during the big reveal—so I found myself re-reading a few parts to really follow what was going on. But the suspense kept me hooked.

The bonus story was a bit of a slow burn. There’s a long prologue and a deep dive into a family tree that felt slightly overwhelming (not gonna lie, I almost bailed).
But once the actual case kicked in—with all the letters and secrets—it completely drew me in. The ending? Super shocking and worth the wait!

<i>I received a review copy through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thank you to the author and publisher!</i>

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: murder, animal death, PTSD

Murder at the Black Cat Café by Seishi Yokomizo, is a rediscovered classic, out in the UK in 28 August 25. Based in post-WW2 Japan, we’re treated to two stories (the first featuring detective Kosuke Kindaichi) - the titular Black Cat Café, and Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?

Yokomizo was a master of the Golden Age crime novel. Here, both mysteries hang on cases of mistaken identity with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. Previous stories of his I’ve read relied on inheritance as motive, here we see jealousy and revenge rear their ugly heads. Crisp plotting leads us to satisfying conclusions.

Originally published in 1947, 'Murder at the Black Cat Café' is a collection of two novellas starring Yokomizo's Detective Kasuke Kindaiche. Despite the shortness of the stories Yokomizo does well with keeping the stories fast paced and eager to discover the identity of the murderer.

Yokomizo brings us a classic 'faceless corpse mystery' with the victim being found buried with a dead black cat in the back yard of the Black Cat Café and is suspected to be the owner. Once Kindaiche gets accepted into the investigation you can't help, but try and discover double meanings behind his questions and musings.

The story that really brought the star rating up overall for me was the second instalment ‘Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?'. Structured in the style of letters received by Shinkichi from his sister Tsuruyo we begin to put together the narrative of the story. However with only having one half of the story we can only guess what Shinkichi is replying to his sister. Paired with the theme of World War Il in the background of the story the mystery surrounds the return of Daisuke brother whom has returned home after being injured in the war.

Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying read with all the twists and turns of a mystery you could want. I can't wait to delve back into this series and discover further mysteries alongside Detective Kasuke Kindaiche.

Thank you to Pushkin Press and Net Galley for the advanced DRC

I really like Japanese detective stories, but this one did not really catch me. I think it's a good beginning for people who want to get into detective novels, to see what they can expect, but for people who read a lot of those, this book will feel very superficial.
The plot itself is well done, but I got the feeling that the depth of the mystery is missing...

Murder at the Black Cat Café by Seishi Yokomizo
Translated by Bryan Karetnyk

This is a classic Japanese mystery about a strange murder at a café called the Black Cat. When a man is found dead, detective Kosuke Kindaichi steps in to solve the case. There are secrets, clues, and twists that keep you guessing until the end.

It’s a fun and clever mystery with an old-school feel. If you enjoy detective stories, this one is a good pick!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the e-arc!!

Reading Murder at the Black Cat Café felt like stepping into a classic locked-room-style puzzle wrapped in postwar unease. The Tokyo setting—worn down by the aftermath of war but full of secret life—creates the perfect backdrop for a strange and unsettling case: a faceless corpse, a dead cat, and a brothel café that feels caught between reality and performance.

The story is compact and fast-moving, with plenty of misdirection. I sometimes wished for a little more depth in the characters—some felt more like roles than real people—but that theatrical tone is part of what gives Yokomizo’s work its charm. The whole book plays out like a carefully staged performance where every line has a double meaning.

This isn’t the most emotionally deep crime novel I’ve read, but it’s clever, atmospheric, and satisfying. A great introduction to Kindaichi’s world if you like Golden Age-style mysteries with a slightly off-kilter twist.

Just a decent read, a whodunit. A classic detective story/novella.
Was expecting more from the author, but I think it's just me. This one disappointed a little.
It's an okay read, i needed more depth in the detection work, the flow was not bad either.

This book is set between 'Death on Gokumon Island' and 'The Village of Eight Graves'.

I decided to come back to Seishi Yokomizo after sitting out on 'Little Sparrow Murders' since I am not a fan of Seishi Yokomizo repeating the same structures nearly in all his books and also his foreshadowing is not for me, as I enjoy to read my mysteries with the possibilities of guessing the plot. Both of those were not as noticable in this collection of two novellas but in the end I'm not a fan of his depiction of women which is of course related to the time those works were originally published in Japan. But the writing style is easy to read and if you are looking for a fast book to read in a day or two I recommend this one.

On a side note: My friend and I discussed how we love this cover on it's own but since it does not fit with the rest of the Kindaichi series we're still very irked about it. If it was a standalone this would be a whole different story.

I've been a fan of the Kosuke Kindaichi books, but the last couple I've read really jumped the shark. Murder at the Black Cafe is a collection of two novella-length stories, both of them stripped back to the absolute basics of the detective genre: who murders who and when. The stories still explore the themes Yokomizo novels normally engage with: the industrial and urban development of Japan and the continuity of lifestyles in small remote villages dominated by local landlord families. Yokomizo's stories also often engage with a very limited repertoire of classic detective tropes, from locked room to faceless body. Both of these stories self-consciously engage with particular trope - in the first one, we have a variation of the faceless body trope, whereas the second explores the 'twin' trope, paired with a Yokomizo classic of 'did the right man come back from the War'.

As the stories are very short, there is little time for character development or multiple red herrings. The first one in particular reads like a newspaper puzzle, not a work of narrative fiction. The second one pleasantly surprised me, pushing the overall rating up quite a bit. It has a bit more of an inventive structure and is a bit more closely rooted in its rural context. As always with Yokomizo, WWII is always present, but never critically interrogated. The first story laconically mentions that the 'China incident' created an economic boom in the suburb of Tokyo it is set in.

If you like Kindaichi books, read this one, too. The second story is very much Yokomizo's home turf, and it is quite well executed.