Two Envelopes And A Phone’s Reviews > Ellery Queen's Japanese Golden Dozen: The Detective Story World in Japan > Status Update

I just finished the story ‘Devil of a Boy’ by Seiichi Morimura, and it is easily my favourite entry thus far. The twist was fabulous, and I was more emotionally involved with what was going on; all the other tales were written in more of a dispassionate vein, as if I was seeing something from more of a distance. But Morimura definitely brought me right in with the characters, including the ‘devil of a boy’.

Normally, I read the stories in a collection in order - but it being Halloween, I picked out two later tales to get me started, because the titles are the creepiest. I just read 'The Vampire' by Masako Tagawa; it was not at all what I was expecting, but overall I liked it, and it was certainly creepy. Next will be 'A Letter From The Dead' by Tohru Miyoshi. Then I'll switch to Lockwood & Co., tonight.

Still wanting more short stories in my life than was the case up until recently - and since the Japanese Mystery novels I have tried over the last few years have been mostly terrific, I’m ready for the shorter form, hopefully giving same satisfaction.