Edogawa Ranpo Award えどがわらんぽしょう
Edition 3 (1957)
Literary awardMystery novel
Winners
1 peopleAfter moving into a hospital boarding house, Yutaro Niki and his sister Etsuko become caught up in a strange series of murders. With an ominous phone call, a secret passage, a knife coated in snake venom, and a black cat appearing at the scenes as clues, the mystery-loving siblings pursue the truth.
Each appearance of the black cat brings the hidden pattern of murders at the hospital boarding house into sharper focus.
299 pages
Amateur sleuthing siblingsSerial murderBlack catsLocked rooms and secret passagesPostwar Japanese detective fiction