Edogawa Rampo (or Ranpo) was one of the most prolific Japanese mystery and crime writers of a century or so ago, and his work has remained in the public eye, whether in Japanese film, manga, video games, or translations. Born Taro Hirai, in 1923 he made his literary debut under a pen name chosen in homage to his literary hero, Edgar Allan Poe. He went on to write dozens of novels, novellas and short stories.
In the 1930s, he introduced a detective character named Akechi Kogoro, who appeared in several mystery novels, one of which was the 1934 The Black Lizard, later made into a film in 1968. In 2006, Ian Hughes translated into English Rampo’s novels, The Black Lizard and Beast in the Shadows, appearing together in one volume and published in Japan. Hughes’s translation of The Black Lizard is now newly-published separately; the story doesn’t seem to have lost any of the mystery, intrigue, or playfulness that made Rampo popular a hundred years ago.

The story opens at a Christmas Eve party in Ginza, identified—in the only indication that this story takes place long ago—as “the largest and most prosperous part of the Imperial City”. Rampo goes on to describe the rainbow of neon lights and tens of thousands of passersby. It’s at this party that the villain of the story is introduced.
A single woman stepped lightly into the centre of the crowd as they parted to let her pass. She wore a black evening dress with a black hat, black gloves, black stockings, and black shoes. Totally framed in black, her vivacious and beautiful face was thrilled, flowering like a red rose.
She goes by the name of Dark Angel, but soon the title of the book will become apparent. As the Dark Angel seems to magically transform from her all-black ensemble into a glittery spectacle of pearls and diamonds, the black lizard tattoo on her left arm shines in the spotlight. It’s especially pronounced because she’s not wearing any clothes and there’s nothing else on her besides the bright jewels.
The Dark Angel is an exhibitionist, and she’s also a thief and the queen of the underworld. When she learns that an acquaintance named Jun’ichi has killed a rival and the rival’s girlfriend, she puts a plan into place in which she will hide him while he helps her carry out one of her biggest heists to date: the robbery of Japan’s largest diamond and the kidnapping of the diamond merchant’s daughter.
This heist is the backbone of the story. The Dark Angel assumes the name of Madame Midorikawa and always makes a striking appearance, no matter her name or which disguise she hides behind.
Wrapped in furs, Mme Midorikawa stood for a moment, and then a man stepped out and joined her. An older man, maybe about forty, with a stiff, pointed moustache, dark goatee, and large horn-rimmed spectacles. His thick, heavy coat with collar did not completely hide the striped formal pants he was wearing, making him look like, perhaps, a politician.
The man Midorikawa arrives with is Jun’ichi. The pair checks into a hotel to carry out the diamond theft and the kidnapping of the diamond merchant’s daughter, Sanae, also staying at the hotel. Standing in the way of this scheme is Rampo’s ace private detective, Akechi Kogoro.
Midorikawa and Akechi meet at the hotel and make a wager. If Akechi cannot save Sanae and the diamond, he will give up his career as a private detective. And if he can save the day, Midorikawa will give up her extensive jewelry collection. The two play a game of cat and mouse; just when it seems as if Midorikawa has gotten away with her crime, Akechi shows that he’s been on her trail all along. The plot twists through numerous adopted personas and disguises, all while Midorikawa’s real plan begins to surface.
Rampo is a master storyteller and Hughes’s translation makes it easy to keep track of the characters, their alter-egos and the many twists and turns the story takes from Tokyo to just outside Osaka. The book is a treat for fans of mysteries and crime novels. A classic is just that: a classic.
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