The Devil's Disciple
Shiro HamaoThe first English language translation of a chilling murder mystery by a prolific Japanese detective novelist
‘Prosecutor Tsuchida, I am being held here as a murderer. But the truth is that I am probably not that murderer. That’s right. Probably.’
While Shimaura Eizo sits in jail awaiting trial for the murder of a beautiful young woman, his erstwhile lover and initiator into a sinister, restless existence has risen in the ranks of the legal profession and is now the prosecutor on the case. Spinning a complex web of events and influences in this chilling murder mystery, Hamao probes the notion of guilt—both psychological and legal.
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About the AuthorViscount Shiro Hamao (1895–1935) was the scion of one of modern Japan's most prestigious families, a public prosecutor, and an early advocate of gay rights. In the few years before his early death, Hamao gave up his career as a prosecutor and became a prolific writer of detective fiction. His works give us a vivid picture of inter-war Japan, just as the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the 1920s was giving way to the rising tide of fascism in the 1930s. Keith Vincent has translated a number of books, including A Riot of Goldfish.