Hanzai Ressha

[Machine Translation] This is the first and final long detective novel following "Mysteries of the East Sea". A "phantom work" that has never appeared in the annals of his works and has remained buried. This travel mystery begins with "Bride Train" bound for Atami. The work also casually incorporates various famous landmarks such as the existing Ginza Shiseido Parlor and the Yamato Hotel in Shanghai, as well as the latest transportation systems of the time, including trains, automobiles, boats, and airplanes, and an attention to the urban culture of Tokyo in the early Showa period. The story is filled with clever tricks using timetables and telephones, anesthetics, disguises for the criminals, letters of challenge to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and the exploits of the boys. Unusually for a long work by Kunieda, this is an enjoyable masterpiece of an orthodox urban detective story that never breaks down and keeps you guessing until the very end.

『東海の謎』に続く長篇探偵小説第一弾にして最終作。一度として作品年譜にも載らず、埋もれていた“幻の作品”。熱海行きの「花嫁列車」から始まるトラベル・ミステリー。現存する銀座資生堂パーラー、上海ヤマトホテルなど様々な名所もさりげなく織り込まれ、鉄道、自動車、船、飛行機など当時最新の交通機関や、昭和初期東京の都市文化へのこだわりも...。時刻表や電話を使った秀逸なトリック、麻酔剤、犯人の変装、警視庁に叩きつけられる挑戦状、少年たちの活躍―。国枝の長篇作品には珍しく、破綻のない、最後まで先の読めない正統派都市型探偵小説の充分楽しめる傑作。