The head of the Inugami family has died, leaving a complex will that leads to murder. Inugami had three daughters, each to a different mistress, and showed neither them nor their mothers any interest or affection. His daughters married and each produced a son, one of whom stands to inherit the bulk of the Inugami fortune should he be chosen as a husband by the beautiful granddaughter of Inugami's mentor, a priest who saved him from starvation and death. This is a ludicrously artificial mystery, but very entertaining. It was first published in 1946, when soldiers were returning from the war. A disfigured returned soldier in a rubber mask plays an important role, as does another returned serviceman who hides his identity with a muffler. There are lots of interesting cultural bits and pieces. ( )

Needed a palate cleanser between heavy Asian stories. Hope this hits the spot! ( )

En el Japón de mediados de los años cuarenta, Sahei Inugami, poderoso jefe del grupo Inugami, muere en su mansión a la venerable edad de 81 años. En su juventud, Sahei fue rescatado de la pobreza y de una muerte segura por un sacerdote shinto. Sin embargo, tras la muerte de Sahei, su deuda de gratitud con el sacerdote desata una maldición que provoca una serie de espantosos y extraños asesinatos, mientras los miembros de la familia Inugami se enzarzan en una desesperada lucha por su fortuna.
Al descubrir los terribles secretos, las relaciones prohibidas, la monstruosa crueldad y las identidades secretas del clan Inugami, Kindaichi desentraña la compleja red de relaciones y pasiones humanas que se esconden tras los asesinatos.

Well well, the murderer turned out to be a surprise (no further spoilers here). That in itself makes the book a worthy read. However, the translation can be better. Some of the descriptions used were a bit weird (not sure if it is the original writing or the translation). ( )

The head of the Inugami family has died, leaving a complex will that leads to murder. Inugami had three daughters, each to a different mistress, and showed neither them nor their mothers any interest or affection. His daughters married and each produced a son, one of whom stands to inherit the bulk of the Inugami fortune should he be chosen as a husband by the beautiful granddaughter of Inugami's mentor, a priest who saved him from starvation and death. This is a ludicrously artificial mystery, but very entertaining. It was first published in 1946, when soldiers were returning from the war. A disfigured returned soldier in a rubber mask plays an important role, as does another returned serviceman who hides his identity with a scarf. There are lots of interesting cultural bits and pieces. ( )