Thank you Netgalley for the advanced readers copy of this book! This was my first book by this author, Senshi Yokomizo, and it will not be my last!

A murder takes place at the Black Cat Cafe and detective Kosuke Kindaichi investigates it. However, the victim’s face is completely disfigured which makes the investigation much harder.

I really enjoyed the short chapter & the story of the book. I definitely recommend this if you want a quick and easy but very enjoyable story. It was a really fun thriller to read and kept me interested the whole time

Thank you NetGalley for sending it

While I did enjoy this book, I just felt it was a tiny bit hard to follow at times.
I enjoyed the mystery and the pace was quick and gripping, I just wish that things were a little easier to follow regarding the characters and plot.
Definitely enjoyed though and would recommend for those that enjoy a good mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Vertigo for the arc in exchange for a free honest review!

I liked this book! It was interesting and I liked plot and the mystery, there was a lot of intrigue!! the writing was also interesting but I didn’t mind it, it was really enjoyable to read. It gave off heavy 1940s/1950s mystery vibes which I loved!!

The second story was a bit more twisty in terms of the plot, I thought it was more intricate. In general both stories being as short as they were, were good and I liked both! Going into this I haven’t read any of his other books/stories but I might have to look into his others.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Another great mystery by Seishi Yokomizo!

As a long-time fan of Seishi Yokomizo’s work, I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Murder at the Black Cat Café, and it absolutely delivered on what I’ve come to love from this master of classic Japanese whodunits.

This mystery is packed with atmosphere — moody, intriguing, and laced with sharp observations of human nature. Yokomizo once again crafts a puzzle-box murder that had me hooked from the beginning pages. The twists were clever and unpredictable, and just when I thought I had the motive or culprit figured out, another layer unfolded. Just what I needed to pull me out of a reading slump.

The characters were clever, entertaining and over all a standout for me, I enjoyed their interactions and hidden secrets which I felt added emotional weight and tension that elevated the mystery even more.

Murder at the Black Café is a strong addition to Seishi Yokomizo's translated collection. I think fans of classic detective fiction and those newer to Yokomizo alike will find plenty to enjoy here.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for kindly giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC. 

I love Japanese fiction, I love cats and I love cozy cafe mysteries so based on the cover and the description this seemed like it would be right up my alley. 

The books didn't actually end up anything like I expected, but luckily I still enjoyed it. The mystery was good and that was enough to keep me hooked, but I do think some people who pick this up based on the cover and description will be disappointed. 

The cat cafe was more of a brothel and there was a dead cat in chapter one so it was just a very different vibe. 

I did enjoy the mystery and I loved the writing style, especially with the way the prologue framed the whole thing.

I really enjoyed Murder at the Black Cat Cafe by Seishi Yokomizo! I haven’t read any of Yokomizo’s work before but was pleasantly surprised. It melts thriller with cute cosy Japanese story vibes and I found it difficult to put the book down! The one thing that was a bit disappointing was the number of typos, I put this down to a technical issue or translation as my copy seemed to be missing the letters ‘ff’ a lot, but it was easy to read through and didn’t distract from the story.

I will definitely be picking up more of Yokomizo’s books!

Thanks NetGalley for the eArc of this book!

I appreciated these pair stories by Yokomizo. Both mysteries had interesting plot hooks and some entertaining twists and turns, but I think the translation may have made some small issues to the dialogue and descriptions. Overall I do think I'd check out more Kindaichi mysteries.

Loved this I really want to dive into the other novels the author has written. I loved the addition of the cat into the plotline and everything just kind of fell into place in the best way possible if that makes sense.

This on started with a good setting and an interesting plot but I struggled to stay hooked due to the strange rhythm.
I DNF it around 60% so I will not recommend it based on my own reading but I will include the book in one of my list of recommendation because I think a little few of my audience might enjoy it.

The book is two novella length murder mysteries. The first involves a faceless corpse buried at the
Black Cat Café, making it difficult for the police to identify the victim. As the police investigate the
owners and others involved with the café, personal relationships are revealed. As more about the
individuals is disclosed, the police rethink who the actual murderer is. A murder novella with many
twists. The second novella involves family drama, secrets and betrayal.
#MurderattheBlackCatCafe #Steerforth&Pushkin #PushkinVertigo #NetGalley

This is two novellas in one book, both murder mysteries.

The black cat cafe mystery starts off OK after the longwinded prologue. However, our detective doesn't appear until the end to do the reveal, and by renarrating the whole thing again, I lost interest and started skimming.

The second novella, well wheel, again suffers with far too much build up but the letters narration does work better. The end is suitably Japanese and relies on extreme loyalty.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Just finished Murder at the Black Cat Café by Seishi Yokomizo, and wow—what a ride. This book is eerie, clever, and full of suspense in the best way. Set in post-war Tokyo, the story kicks off with a body found buried outside a café, and the mystery just spirals from there. A dead woman, a black cat, hidden secrets, and that classic old-school detective vibe—it hooked me.

Detective Kosuke Kindaichi is such a fun character. He’s scruffy, awkward, but so sharp. I loved following his messy-yet-brilliant brain as he untangled all the twisted relationships and secrets at the café. Madam Oshima especially kept me guessing the whole time.

It has that vintage murder mystery feel, almost like an Agatha Christie book but with Japanese culture and post-war vibes layered in. Also, the bonus story The Well Wheel Creaks? Super creepy in the best way.

If you like classic whodunits, dark café aesthetics, and slow-burn mysteries full of secrets, definitely add this to your list!

This mystery from the legendary Seishi Yokomizo had all the ingredients of a classic whodunit—an intriguing murder, a cast of quirky suspects, and a noir-style setting. The premise was promising and the atmosphere drew me in, but unfortunately, the translation let it down.

Some of the translated lines were awkward or confusing, pulling me out of the story. The charm and cleverness Yokomizo is known for didn't quite shine through as it should have. It felt like the narrative got lost at times in translation, which affected the overall experience.

This book contains two separate stories, though they aren’t connected in any way. For the first time, I was actually able to predict parts of the plot, which took away some of the suspense. I found the first story quite engaging, but the second one felt implausible and didn’t come together logically.
I understand this is the book’s first publication in English, and the version I read was not the final edit. There were some spelling errors and incomplete place names, which I assume will be corrected before the final release.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

'Murder at the Black Cat Cafe' is a wonderfully plotted murder mystery with the eccentric and enjoyable Kosuke Kindaichi. The book contains not just one but two mysteries. The namesake, 'Murder at the Black Cat Cafe', as well as 'Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?'. The additional story does not directly feature private detective Kosuke Kindaichi but is suspensefully enjoyable none the less.
Seishi Yokomizo writes 'Murder at the Black Cat Cafe' through the lens of a writer and his relationship to Kosuke Kindaichi. The writer details the different types of murder mysteries and how they are related to previous cases with Kindaichi. The 'Murder at the Black Cat Cafe' is specifically a 'faceless corpse' case. The story details the events surrounding the discovery of a body at the Black Cat Cafe. The owners of the Black Cat cafe, a monk, a black cat, and underworld leader take part in the investigation leading up to the appearance of Kosuke Kindaichi. The solution of the case and Kindaichi's dialogue to the police force provides a twist that the audience will not be ready for.
Yokomizo writes in a similar style to Georges Simenon with parallels between Simenon's Maigret and Yokomizo's Kindaichi. Both have an intuitive sense toward human nature and are colorful characters with unique attributes. Both are also morally ambiguous when it comes to following the letter of the law. This is more justifiable in Kindaichi since he is a private detective.
'Murder at the Black Cat Cafe' was an entertaining read. Translating Yokomizo's works into English provides a new audience for Kindaichi's cases. He will become a new favorite to English reading audiences and his unique investigation style provides a fresh take on the detective murder mystery genre.
The second story, 'Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?', briefly mentions Kindaichi but does not involve him directly. The story begins with the writer describing a tragic case of familial loss throughout generations of three families during the Meiji Restoration period of Japan. The beginning narrative of the writer draws the audience in and then the story is related through the letters of a young girl from one of the families. Though primarily from the young girl's point of view, the description of the case by the writer creates a good backdrop for the reader to understand the story and all its moving characters. It is another tragic story with plot twist ending.
My first reading of Seishi Yokomizo was absolutely enjoyable and provided multiple twists in both stories. Though I believe there might be something of the charm and meaning lost in the translation from Japanese to English. Bringing Yokomizo to an English reading audience is essential to the murder mystery genre and places him in the category of a classic.

This was an interesting read! This book is the embodiment of a classic mystery, filled with eerie and unsettling elements. For me, the pacing and writing of this mystery were different from what I typically read. However, it was enjoyable nonetheless. I especially enjoyed the little graphical elements that added charm to the book amidst the discussions of murder, such as the black cat sitting on top of the chapter titles, and multiple maps/layouts. The first story mentioned many names, some significant and some not, which I felt confused me at moments trying to keep up with what was going on and who was involved. A second story was included. I particularly enjoyed the telling of pieces of the story in “newspaper clippings”. These two novellas were short reads and, while they are not particularly up my alley, they’re perfect for someone looking for a classic murder mystery!

This book actually consists of two stories. In the first, the longer one, a faceless corpse is discovered in the garden of a “Café” (read: Brothel) and with it the dead body of a black cat. Theories as to who it is and why and who killed the poor woman abound before Kindaichi shows up with the answers.
In the second a man returns from war blind and his family think he’s actually the illegitimate son of the deceased patriarch. It is tense, two people end up dead and Kindaichi only shows up in the very end and leaves without doing anything but taking some papers.

These stories were interesting enough and I only guessed for the second one what could be going on. But: They did not feel like proper Kindaichi stories. He plays only very small roles in both, even less so in the second. Making it 2.5 in the series feels appropriate. If you are into classic murder mysteries, these work fine.
I personally was intrigued by Kindaichi in post war Tokyo, as in the first two books he is somewhere out in the country and after ‘45 it was a VERY different city than before.
I liked the depiction of sex and sex work that was nicely non-judgemental and still free from US-puritanism that ruined a good part of that aspect of Japanese culture. (Look up “Yobai” if you are interested) The book also was pretty free of extra misogyny, especially for a book written in 1947, very refreshing.
Another thing I enjoyed here was the narrator, who was a character himself in the story, but detached so not an unreliable one and in the end he even broke the fourth wall, that was cute and very in line with the tradition these murder mysteries are part of globally.

Overall a very enjoyable read (apart from the poor dead cat, not a fan of animals getting harmed) but I miss Kindaichi proper, he just needs to be there when murders happen and corpses pile up, it’s more fun.

I have really enjoyed following this series of books and this installment is no different. The mysteries are gripping and the characters are so intriguing and enjoyable that I just cant ever seem to put it down. Its a race to the end to find out what happened every time.

What a fun, twisty little mystery! Murder at the Black Cat Café is classic Yokomizo: clever, atmospheric, and just the right amount of eerie. If you’re a fan of Golden Age detective fiction, this one delivers!

The café setting added a cozy yet sinister charm (yes, both can coexist!), and the cast of suspects is surprisingly good. Yokomizo has a way of making even the smallest details feel important—and by the end, you’re left marveling at how it all came together.

Highly recommend if you’re into locked-room-style mysteries, eccentric detectives, or just want to try a quick, classic Japanese whodunit that keeps you guessing.