The Fiend with Twenty Faces
About
A master thief who can disguise himself as anyone terrorizes 1930s Tokyo, stealing treasures in broad daylight and leaving the police baffled. The only person who can stop him is Akechi Kogoro, Japan's greatest detective — and his young assistant, a boy whose enthusiasm for crime-solving is matched only by his recklessness. Rampo's classic detective adventure is pure fun: a cat-and-mouse game between a gentleman thief and a brilliant detective, written with the pulp energy of its era and the invention of a writer who understood that mystery fiction is, at its heart, a magic show. The Fiend's disguises are outlandish, the escapes are impossible, and the solution is satisfying. The book that launched Japan's most beloved detective — and proved that the best mysteries are the ones that make you grin.
