The Midnight Telephone Call and Other Writings

A telephone rings in the middle of the night. The caller announces the murder of someone known throughout Tokyo, then challenges a young detective to guess the victim’s name. What follows involves a vanished body, an actress who seems to be in two places at once, an invisible message, and a cipher built from chemical symbols.

In this collection, Kosakai Fuboku moves between detective adventure, disturbing short fiction, and lively essays. “The Terror of the Staircase” turns an ordinary marriage meeting into an unsettling recollection. “Poison and Superstition” ranges from arrow poisons and mandrake legends to precious stones, mythological serpents, and Cleopatra’s death. “Mr. Edogawa and I” recalls the beginnings of a friendship with Edogawa Ranpo and their encouragement of one another as writers.

A physician as well as a pioneer of Japanese detective fiction, Kosakai brought medicine and scientific puzzles into popular literature. These four complete works preserve that varied voice, with brief notes explaining historical references and the period assumptions behind the science. AI-assisted translation, prepared and edited by Valentin Sarić.