The Queen Bee Mystery

Detective Kindaichi must accompany a targeted young woman on a deadly journey in this latest classic standalone mystery from Japan’s greatest crime writer.

“[Yokomizo’s] novels are the literary equivalent of a Rubik’s cube.” —The Times

The blood of countless men will run before her…

Born and raised on a tiny, uncharted islet named Gekkin Island—the Island of the Moon-Lute—18-year-old Tomoko is preparing to travel to Tokyo to honor her late mother’s will when a terrifying letter arrives at her door. The message invokes a mysterious prophecy of blood and hints at horrifying secrets surrounding the deaths of Tomoko’s parents.

Famed detective Kosuke Kindaichi is called in to accompany Tomoko on her journey. He’s no bodyguard, but he’s agreed to take the case and unravel these fearful warnings. But what kind of anonymous client engages a detective, while refusing to answer all his questions?

Then, tragedy strikes. As Tomoko travels from Gekkin Island to Tokyo, bodies start appearing. First, one of Tomoko’s lovelorn suitors is murdered in the hotel clock tower. Then, a gardener is found strangled to death. As Kindaichi pieces together these bizarre murders, shocking truths about Tomoko’s parents’ deaths are revealed, and it becomes clear that solving this mystery will unearth secrets that have been kept hidden for decades…

From master of Japanese crime Seishi Yokomizo, this thrillingly knotted puzzle mystery is the latest in the beloved Kosuke Kindaichi Mysteries series, which includes classic favorites like The Honjin Murders and Murder at the Black Cat Café.