Inugami Curse: A book review

Inugami Curse is a dark tale set in the 1940s Japan, is about greed, love and family tension over the inheritance. It is the tenth book of Kosuke Kindaichi series and second book translated in English.

The head of Inugami family, Sahei Inugami, is on the deathbed and none of his family members is grieving. They are, on the contrary, eager to know what’s there in the will. Sahei had three daughters, and they were married and had kids of their own. Once he passed away, the lawyer informed the family only when the eldest grandson, Kiyo, comes back from Burma.

Kiyo arrives ten months after the death of Sahei. The family lawyer eventually reads the will. But soon weird things happen, along with brutal murders in the family home of Inugami.

Now, Kosuke Kindaichi comes int to solve the complicated case of the Inugami clan.

Seishi Yokomizo’s books are from the bygone era of golden age detective novels, where everyone has a motive and, the case becomes a labyrinth. The narration is descriptive and portrays the 1900s Japan and its cultural implications.

Kindaichi teams up with the local police who are more than happy that he is helping them to solve the case. The reader will try to figure out the mystery along with the Kindaichi. He is unusual in his ways of deduction and, it’s a joy to see him putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

I recommend the book for all Agatha Christie fans.

Buy this on Amazon UK

---

About the Author

Seishi Yokomizo (横溝 正史) was a novelist in Shōwa period Japan.
Yokomizo was born in the city of Kobe, Hyōgo (兵庫県 神戸市). He read detective stories as a boy and in 1921, while employed by the Daiichi Bank, published his first story in the popular magazine “Shin Seinen” (新青年[New Youth]). He graduated from Osaka Pharmaceutical College (currently part of Osaka University) with a degree in pharmacy, and initially intended to take over his family’s drug store even though sceptical of the contemporary ahistorical attitude towards drugs. However, drawn by his interest in literature, and the encouragement of Edogawa Rampo (江戸川 乱歩), he went to Tokyo instead, where he was hired by the Hakubunkan publishing company in 1926. After serving as editor in chief of several magazines, he resigned in 1932 to devote himself full-time to writing.

soon after the end of World War II, his works received wide recognition and he developed an enormous fan following. He published many works via Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine in serialized form, concentrating only on popular mystery novels, based on the orthodox western detective story format, starting with “Honjin Satsujin Jiken” (『本陣殺人事件』) and “Chōchō Satsujin Jinken” (『蝶々殺人事件』) (both in 1946). His works became the model for postwar Japanese mystery writing. He was also often called the “Japanese John Dickson Carr” after the writer whom he admired.
Yokomizo is most well known for creating the private detective character Kosuke Kindaichi (金田一 耕助). Many of his works have been made into movies.

Click here to know more about the author

---

There is an affiliate link in the page and I may receive a small commission for the purchases made through this link as a part of Amazon Affiliate Program.