Abstract

In April 1991. The unexpected encounter with a girl taking shelter from the rain brought us days full of mysteries. Her name was Maja, and she travelled all the way from a faraway country to our town. Since then, the days spent with her were full of mysteries. After she left for her country, however, was when our greatest mystery began, and the key to solving it rests within our memories...This is the story of an unforgettable encounter and a prayer which leaves readers with a memorable afterglow. A refreshing masterpiece which represents the author’s works in his early days.

This is one of the early masterpieces of the author, Honobu Yonezawa, who won the 166th Naoki Award for his Kokurojo (Black Prison Castle) in 2022 and becomes one of the best-selling authors representing modern times in terms of both popularity and talent. When Yonezawa wrote this book, he was in his 20s, and because he wrote it at a young age, the book radiates brilliance and becomes such a vivid mystery book for teens. Also, Machi Tachiarai, a high school student who plays a supporting role in this book, later became a reporter and reappeared as a great detective in O to sakasu (King and Circus) and Shinjitsu no 10 Metoru Temae (10 Meters before the Truth). Therefore, this book can be enjoyed as episode 0 of the “Tachiarai Machi series.”

Author’s Information

Born in Gifu prefecture in 1978. In 2001, he made his debut by winning the 5th Kadokawa Gakuen Novel Award (Young Mystery & Horror Category) Encouragement Award for Hyouka (Ice Pop). Combining the appeal of teen novels and the fun of solving secrets, his style attracted attention and he established himself as a popular writer with works such as Shunki Gentei Ichigo Taruto Jiken (Spring Limited Strawberry Tart Incident). He won the 64th Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Oreta Ryukotsu (The Broken Dragonbone) in 2011, the 27th Yamamoto Shugoro Award for Mangan (Completion of the Vow) in 2014 followed by the 166th Naoki Award and 12th Yamada Futaro Award for Kokurojo (Black Prison Castle) in 2022. Mangan (Completion of the Vow) and O to sakasu (King and Circus) ranked first in the three major annual mystery rankings, and in addition, Kokurojo (Black Prison Castle) won first place in all four major annual mystery rankings and achieved the first four crowns in history. The other works include Inu ha Dokoda (Where is the Dog), Shinjitsu no 10 Metoru Temae (10 Meters before the Truth), Tsuiso Godansho (Recollection: Five Riddle Stories), Rikashiburu (Recursible), Hon to Kagi no Kisetsu (A Season of Books and Keys) and Ai no Higeki (The Tragedy of I).