Murder at the Black Cat Cafe

A dizzyingly clever rediscovered gem of Japanese Golden Age crime, Murder at the Black Cat Cafe finds the brilliant Kosuke Kindaichi investigating a case that involves a Buddhist monk and the corpses of a woman and a cat in a shallow grave behind the titular brothel.

Waterstones Thriller of the Month for September 2025

Tokyo, 1947.

The Pink Labyrinth is one of the bomb-scarred city's most shady neighbourhoods. There, in the dead of night a patrolling policeman catches a young Buddhist monk digging in the back yard of The Black Cat Cafe, a notorious brothel. In the shallow grave at his feet lie the dead body of a woman, her face disfigured beyond recognition, and the corpse of a black cat.

Who is the murdered woman, and how was she connected to the infamous establishment? And where did the dead cat come from, given that the cafe's feline mascot seems to be alive and well? The brilliant sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi investigates, but as he draws closer to the truth, he finds himself in grave danger...

Language: English (Language of text), Japanese (Original language of a translated text)

MEDIA REVIEWS

His novels are the literary equivalent of a Rubik's cube: all the bits of the puzzle are there, but it's up to you to get them in the right place - The Times

Seishi Yokomizo has been likened to Agatha Christie, and Murder at the Black Cat Cafe [is] impeccably plotted - Financial Times

A dizzyingly clever rediscovered gem of Japanese Golden Age crime - Waterstones

Murder at the Black Cat Cafe serves up two sinisterly cerebral cases cracked by Kosuke Kindaichi, Seishi Yokomizo's sublime series detective... showcasing Yokomizo's talent for atmospheric mysteries, multilayered puzzles and brilliant deductive leaps - Crime Fiction Lover

Excellent stories with much puzzlement - The Critic

The story is as spare and streamlined as any of Inspector Maigret's investigations, and as fiendishly complicated as a Sherlock Holmes puzzler - Irish Times

Almost a half century after his death, Yokomizo remains an evergreen favorite for his skillfully constructed multilayered puzzles, expertly keeping readers' suspicions twisting and turning... Two adroitly multilayered murder mysteries - Shelf Awareness

Fans of Golden Age mysteries will enjoy trying to solve Kindaichi's whodunit alongside the rumpled detective, as well as exploring the details of the novel's postwar Japan setting - Library Journal

- -Praise for Seishi Yokomizo - -

The diabolically twisted plotting is top-notch - New York Times

Readers will delight in the blind turns, red herrings and dubious alibis... Ingenious and compelling - Economist

With a reputation in Japan to rival Agatha Christie's, the master of ingenious plotting is finally on the case for anglophone readers - Guardian

This is Golden Age crime at its best, complete with red herrings, blind alleys and twists and turns galore... A testament to the power of the simple murder mystery and its enduring appeal - Spectator

Plenty of golden age ingredients... with a truly ingenious solution - Guardian, Best New Crime Novels

For fans of Japanese detectives, historical fiction, puzzle mysteries, and novellas! - Book Riot

First, there was Sherlock Holmes. Now, there is Kosuke Kindaichi - Barnes & Noble