January 28, 2023

This is Edogawa Ranpo's first work, and highlights the kind of intricate tricks he's often known for, in this case a very interesting cipher. The story is broken into 3 sections. I found the second section a bit less interesting, but there are some good details in there that made more sense after the reveal.

I read the story along with this 朗読, which made it a lot easier to follow along. I enjoyed the story, and the dynamic between the characters is fun. (they're probably not friends anymore after this, lol.) There are slightly older kanji and grammar used throughout, but it was published in 1923 so it's nothing too old. It also references some things that would have been familiar to people at the time, but are uncommon now, so be ready to google a few terms that won't be in jmdict.

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Athakaspen graded
on March 26, 2025
harder thanア、秋L37
Athakaspen graded
on January 9, 2025
easier than正岡子規L38
Athakaspen graded
on January 5, 2025
harder thanモノグラムL34
Athakaspen graded
on February 5, 2023
easier than押絵と旅する男L37
Athakaspen graded
on February 2, 2023
Athakaspen graded
on January 29, 2023
similar in difficulty to百姓貴族 1L34
Athakaspen graded
on January 29, 2023
Athakaspen graded
on January 29, 2023
similar in difficulty to狼と香辛料 1L36
Athakaspen graded
on January 29, 2023
harder than神様の御用人L35
Athakaspen graded
on January 29, 2023
easier thanこころL39
Athakaspen graded
on January 29, 2023
easier than人間失格L39
Athakaspen graded
on January 29, 2023
similar in difficulty to人間椅子L36