Kosuke spent the war in the Japanese Army barely surviving in New Guinea. He is now in his mid-30’s.
Kosuke has come to the isolated island of about 1,000 people to honour the dying request of his comrade, Chimata Kito. As Chimata was dying on the repatriaion ship back to Japan he asked Kosuke to go to his island home in his place because his “three sisters will be murdered”.
Chimata was the heir of the main Kito family. The hierarchy of the island is well established. The leaders of the main and branch Kito families are at the top. The priest, the mayor and the doctor form the second layer of leadership.
The main Kito family is the leading family on this island of fishermen descended from pirates and exiled criminals. They are wealthy. Their leader is the primary fishing chief.
When Kosuke advises of Chimata’s death there is almost panic upon the island.
Chimata’s grandfather, Kaemon, has just died and his father, Yousamatsu, went “mad” a decade earlier and is kept in a cage in the family home.
The beautiful Sanae, a cousin of Chimata, at 22 is acting as the fishing chief. She is a member of the branch Kito family.
Chimata’s sisters are Tsukiyo (18), Yukie (17) and Hanako (16).
When Hanako is found hanging upside down from a plum tree at the island temple Kosuke realizes Chimata’s request that Kosuke protect his sisters reflected real danger.
Who would want to kill the teenage girls? They have no power. The issue of succession in the Kito family looms over everyone.
Can Kosuke protect the surviving sisters?
Kosuke, in the manner of the times when transportation was both slower and more limited, spends several weeks upon the island.
He is viewed with suspicion. Is he a hired assassin? Fortunately, Inspector Isokawa, who participated in the Honjin murder investigation, arrives to assist the local police and confirm Kosuke can be trusted.
Where the Honjin murders were a classic locked room mystery, murder on Gokumon Island, while elaborately done, is mystifying in its ritual staging. I was reminded of Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong where unraveling the macabre posing of the bodies in red Mandarin dresses solved the murders.
There is another reminder of the Inspector Chen series in that poetry, here versions of haikus, play a role.
The island’s history stretches far into the past. The island’s Bhuddist priest is the 81st generation of priests for the temple.
Yokomizo is skilled at creating complex murder scenes. While the method of killing is simple there is a theatrical flair to the arrangment of body, clothing and setting. I thought of The Silence of the White City by Eva Garcia Sáenz where a killer was equally dramatic with the victims. I will never forget bees put into the mouths of those killed with their stings causing death.
In Yokomizo’s books there is a subtlety and vivid imagery to murder that, were the consequences not deadly, would be beautiful.
****
Yokomizo, Seishi - (2022) - The Honjin Murders
I'm really intrigued by the setting for this one, Bill. It sounds as though the story shares as much about that as it does the actual crime plot. And it's funny you'd mention Inspector Chen; I thought of him, too, as I read your post. I do like mysteries with a sense of the past, and it sounds as though this is one of them.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. The island setting, Japanese culture and history are all important to the story.
Delete