The Beast in the Shadows

Edogawa Rampo is considered a pioneer of the Japanese detective genre. His works paved the way for such modern authors as Soji Shimada, known for "Tokyo Zodiac" and "The House of Crooked Walls." Rampo, whose real name was Hiraï Taro, was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s writing—stories he read as a young man—and chose a pen name that echoes the name of that writer.

In his collection of stories, dark entities are hidden. Monsters lurk in the attic, watching a girl from the shadows. They kill a twin brother in order to take his place beside his wife. They are waiting inside a large armchair, savoring the closeness of strangers. They push people toward suicide under the cold light of the moon. Detective Kogoro Akechi and his colleagues must expose these monsters. Who among them will emerge victorious from this confrontation?

Rampo’s works blend Western detective traditions with Japanese culture, creating a unique style of Japanese detective fiction.

"In a dream full of nightmares, you always do what you absolutely don’t want to do."