Abstract

Winner of the 19th Honyaku Mystery Award.

1867 Kyoto. While the country struggles between the new and old governments of the Emperor and the Shogun, Moromitsu Kano, a young Samurai from the Owari Clan meets Shimpei Eto, who is to become the first Justice Chief and creator of the law system of modern Japan. The two face a series of cases sprouting from the tumultuous era - a mysterious death of an ambitious samurai, a body stabbed to death in a locked room, a prison inmate poisoned just before execution – truths unraveled from these puzzling deaths uncover startling and sometimes sorrowful stories of the people living in the time. Highly praised for its solid mystery element and vivid description.

Author’s Information

Winner of the 12nd Mysteries! Magazine Award for New Writers with the short story “Murder in the Jailhouse”. The historical mystery based in the Meiji Era won high praise and was included in a prestigious mystery anthology before Ibuki's debut. The piece also appears in his debut collection “The Sword and the Umbrella” which won the 19th Honkaku Mystery Award in 2019. Born 1991 in Aichi Prefecture. A graduate of Doshisha University and an alumnus of the Doshisha Mystery Club.