She Walks at Night by Seishi Yokomizo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She Walks at Night is another mystery by Seishi Yokomizo, with his private detective character Kosuke Kindaichi. The mystery revolves around the Furugami family; the daughter Yachiyo is a sleepwalker, hence the title of the book. The son Morie is a hunchback. The Sengoku family has served the Furugamis for generations, the son Naoki is to some extent romantically interested in Yachiyo. Naoki’s friend Torata Yashiro is the book’s narrator. He’s a third rate mystery writer, according to Naoki.

There is a lot going on in this book, and I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoilers. But Yachiyo shots and wounds another writer, who is also a hunchback. And this sets up the first murder – the victim is a hunchback, but has been beheaded. So it is unclear if the victim is the writer or Morie Furugami. The police begin to investigate and this is when Kosuke Kindaichi appears.

And that’s where I’ll stop, other than to say that there is another murder and beheading. As always, I was trying to figure things out, but there were a number of details that just didn’t seem to fit in. This all changes in the last few chapters, and I will admit that the resolution of the murders took me completely by surprise.

If you like murder mysteries, I recommend this book. It’s a good read.