A beautiful female thief with a black lizard tattoo on her left arm. The toast of high society and queen of the criminal underworld — the mysterious woman in black, ever-changing and impossible to pin down, sets her sights on the priceless treasure of the wealthy Iwase family of Osaka and their beloved daughter, boldly issuing a challenge to the great detective Akechi Kogoro! A breathless life-and-death struggle unfolds over Japan's finest diamond, "The Star of Egypt." Adapted for film and stage...
What a delight to read! A lady thief, murder, disguises, some wink wink nudge nudge sexy themes - what's not to love.
If you like old, somewhat campy detective novels you really can't go wrong here. I personally got a kick out of allusions that were made in the book to a short story the author had also published, and was laughing at bit at a rather specific manner of death he'd brought up in another book of his I'd read. I know for some people this would feel repetitive but for me it's like a Bond movie - I'm not mad to get sharks or lasers!
Difficulty wise I have no idea. This felt easier than 34 to me, but then I think about modern novels that are 33 and I guess it's fair? I'm too used to this era of writing to really be fazed by it, which means that if you've never read something from ~大正 you may feel it's harder than 34 and if you've read a lot it's going to feel easier.