Ayo Onatade is an avid reader of crime and mystery fiction. She has been writing reviews, interviews and articles on the subject for the last 12 years; with an eclectic taste from historical to hardboiled, short stories and noir films
A Game of Cat and Killer introduces readers to a rather unusual detecting duo by Japanese author Jiro Akagawa.
With a killer on the loose at a prestigious women’s university, the local police are struggling to find out who the killer is as several students and teachers are murdered. Things are not improved by the fact that Detective Katayama, the officer who is in charge of the investigation, cannot stand the sight of blood. Already investigating another case, our Detective finds that the cases are soon intertwined. Help comes in the form of an unusual cat – a calico cat called Holmes - Mikeneko Holmes.
It is worth remembering that the original novel was written in 1978, so one might get frustrated by the sexism and the stereotypes on display; however in my opinion it remains a rather enjoyable and entertaining read. It certainly has all the feel of a classic crime novel [of its era]. Readers that like their mystery novels to be quirky and don’t mind the fact that a cat is being used as a foil will no doubt enjoy this. This is certainly not a new phenomenon and reminds me of the Cat Who Series by Lilian Jackson Braun.
Ingenuity in the locked-room, coupled to feline investigations – there is much to enjoy in this unusual mystery.
Editorial Note: an earlier review can be found here
Translated by Hayden Trowel
