I spent the afternoon reading in the sunny weather in my backyard, and it was perfect for bingeing a Japanese murder mystery novella. Included in my copy of Seishi Yokomizo’s Murder at the Black Cat Cafe is another of his Kosuke Kindaichi mysteries – Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?

Interestingly enough, this one (originally published in 1949) didn’t originally contain Kindaichi at all. Rather, he was edited into the story later in 1955 when it was collected as part of the series.

For such a short read, there are so many details packed into such little space, making this a great choice for anyone looking for some fast-paced entertainment. From the creepy foreshadowing in the artwork on the divider, to the half-brothers who are almost identical save for one genetic mutation, to the question of whether the murder could be the work of a family annihilator – there really is a lot of beef packed into one little story here.

I also liked the detail of how a good chunk of the narrative (but not the whole enchilada) was told by the teenage sister of the family through letters to her brother, who is staying in a sanatorium with tuberculosis. Adding to that, having some of the story told through newspaper clippings was also intriguing and helped vary the way the mystery unfolded.

Like the other work of Yokomizo’s that I’ve read, there really is a whiplash component to the final stretch, where you’re continuously second-guessing what the real solution to the mystery is over the last 10 or so pages. That’s especially impressive considering how fast-paced these books already are.

Reading this one was a real highlight of my day, and I can’t recommend it enough!