給偵探社的挑戰書

鯉ヶ窪学園探偵部シリーズ #4

by Tokuya Higashigawa, 東川篤哉, 鄭舜瓏 (Translator)

自今年春天霧之峰涼擔任副社長以來，事件發生的數量突然急速增加，這是不容忽視的事實。

看來霧之峰涼就像歷史那些名偵探一樣，具備特殊的體質，彷彿身邊有一道莫名的磁場，呃，或者說看不見的力量，呃，或說厄運之類的東西，不斷地吸引一些奇妙的事件靠近霧之峰涼。身為副社長，這是值得慶賀的現象。再怎麼說，不會遭遇事件的偵探，就像放在通暢馬桶旁的馬桶吸把一樣─毫無用武之地。

蛤，你說你聽不懂什麼偵探、副社長之類的？噢，也對，還是得從頭說起才行。

她是霧之峰涼，鯉之窪學園偵探社的副社長──霧之峰涼。

這個名字，她常被人誤認為是男生或是空調，但她的真面目是個不折不扣的女子高中生。是個再普通不過的十六歲女孩。必殺技包括，讓犯罪者舉手投降的敏銳推理能力、打動男生內心的開朗笑容、還有平易近人的個性……吧？

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2013

About the author

Tokuya Higashigawa (1968–) debuted in 2002 with a novel that won him the Kappa-ONE Newcomers Prize in a contest open to the general public. Since then, he has concentrated solely on writing humorous mysteries, a genre that is not well established in Japan. With Nazotoki wa dina no ato de (The Riddle-Solving Can Wait till After Dinner), he became a best-selling author. Jokes and witty dialogue between unconventional characters are his forte, but his works are held solidly together by tricks of logic and well-conceived puzzles. Higashigawa has received praise from older mystery writers for his skillful reinventions of such devices as the locked-room murder and the dying message, and for his versatility in being able to craft novels that involve kidnappings, contract killings, and other daring crimes.

Reviews

[Yuhuai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not usually like schoolyard stories because they tend to rely too much on anime-esque plot and character cliches, but the character interactions in this volume are excellent precisely because they are able to avoid that pitfall. While the characters are humorous in their own ways, they avoid becoming one-note flanderization stereotypes, which makes them all the more endearing.

Unlike other stories with a heavy focus on humor, this one paces the humor nicely such that it does not feel excessive, nor does it feel shoehorned in to deliberately tone down the mood. The endearing characters and humourous interactions actually fit the light-hearted setting of the mysteries really well.

And, unlike what the light-hearted, humorous tone may suggest, the mysteries are actually well-constructed, with satisfying and mostly well-foreshadowed solutions. Also, for fans of both the main Koigakubo series and this spin-off series, the volume contains a lot of excellent fanservice, since Kirigamine finally meets up with the other members of the detective club, Akasaka, Yatsuhashi, and Tamagawa, i.e. the main characters from the main series.

"At any rate, I'm really happy today, manning this stall at the cultural festival with you, President, and Yatsuhashi. Because it strangely feels like today's the first time I'm meeting you two ... Don't you get that feeling?"

"Don't be silly, didn't we see each other during that case with the baseball club and the stolen baseball bases?"

"Not really. Or maybe we encountered each other when that girl fell from the dormitory roof?"

"No, we weren't there. This is weird, we're from the same club, and yet ... A mystery, perhaps?"

Sure seems like it. We nodded our heads at the same time and thought hard, but we could not arrive at a rational answer.

"Eh - it's probably just a coincidence that we keep missing each other."

I ended the topic on this vague, half-baked conclusion, got my spirits back up, and placed the Okonomiyaki into the pack.

I stared at Akasaka and let out a heavy sigh.

"Hey, Akasaka, I feel like we haven't seen each other in a long while. It feels like we're meeting each other for the first time."

"How can that be, weren't you there when that man died at the infirmary?"

"Nope, I wasn't there. Or maybe, we met during that UFO incident on X Mountain?"

"Not really, no. Strange, to think we're both in the same grade and the same detective club ... Seems like a mystery."

It really is a mystery. We nodded our heads at the same time, pondered long and hard, but we could not arrive at a rational answer.

"Forget it, it's probably just a coincidence that we keep missing each other."

I ended the topic on this vague, half-baked conclusion ...