The Little Sparrow Murders

Fortunately, The Little Sparrow Murders features a lot of our favorite of all scruffy detectives, Kosuke Kindaichi. Set in 1955 but using a murder case from 1932 as a historical background and context for the current crime, this novel sees our hero crack the case of a multiple murders in a Japanese village. Like the other novels available in English, much of the novel seems to reflect the social and economic changes in Japan after World War II, albeit to a lesser extent in this case. Instead, Kindaichi must identify who is killing young women in the village, with many twists and turns and red herrings about what actually transpired in the 1930s and what is the connection between the murders and a temari song only remembered by elders. Strangely, however, the author chooses to rush the conclusion by having an elaborate trap set up to force the murderer to play their hand (although Kindaichi already knew who it was, of course). Unfortunately, this rushed ending, plus the inevitable final scene with Kindaichi explaining the case to the assembled members, is a somewhat perplexing series of events that deprives the reader of the full suspense, action, and resolution one would like. Nonetheless, it is great to read a mystery featuring Kindaichi which heavily features his presence and deductions. Isokawa was also occasionally humorous and the reader learns more about an important friend of Kindaichi. We cannot wait to read more translations of this series.