1947 and the Tsubaki family is mourning the old Viscount Tsubaki who has been found dead. But what caused him to disappear for days before being found dead? Is it possible that he was the man responsible for a robbery, killing multiple witnesses in the process? And if not, what was the secret he was trying to protect?

When Kosuke Kindaichi is summoned to the estate, a séance is to be held to conjure Tsubaki’s spirit – for he has threatened to walk again, causing death whenever the Devil plays his flute. And soon the music plays – and despite its source being readily identified, death does follow, inside a locked room. As the deaths continue, can Kindaichi find the truth and bring a murderer to justice?

The first of a pair of reviews, one honkaku and one shin honkaku, the traditional and the revival of the tradition (with bells on). I’ve traditionally not had a great deal of success with these genres – the ones I enjoyed most from this author where The Honjin Murders and The Inugami Curse but I think I enjoyed The Noh Mask Murder by Akimitsu Takagi more, despite the ludicrous complications of the locked room.

I quite liked the simplicity of the locked room here, but there were plenty of other bits and pieces that I didn’t get on with. For example, the middle section where Kindaichi clears off to sort out a whole bundle of background motivations dragged, I felt, and it was only when we got back to the estate that things picked up again. The creepiness of the flute never comes across – the idea is great, but it’s never remotely realised. And there’s just something unsatisfying about the killer and their motivation.

There is some interesting stuff about Japanese life post-war, with everything in short supply and the abolition of the noble titles, and I wonder how much I am missing by, well, not being fluent in the culture of the setting. But at the end of the day, while there are interesting bits and pieces here and there, but it doesn’t necessarily encourage me to dive into The Little Sparrow Murders or She Walks At Night. Although I probably will at some point… but be back here tomorrow, when I try a more modern shin honkaku title from 1988. Will that have better fortune with me?