Japanese author Taro Hirai wrote classic thrillers under the name Egogawa Ranpo (a phonetical rendering of the name 'Edgar Allan Poe') beginning in 1923. Many featured the ingenious detective Kogoro Akechi, as does The Black Lizard from 1934. Within this mystery there is reference to his popular short story The Human Chair (1923), about a furniture maker who builds a couch he can hide inside, to revel in the feeling of people sitting on him.
Remembering this is 1934, it begins on Christmas Eve at a lavish party where champagne and debauchery run rampant. At the height of the floor show, the self proclaimed 'Queen of the Underworld' makes her entrance. "It's the Dark Angel! The Dark Angel has come!"
Stripping down to only a few strings of precious jewels, she delights them in her erotic dance, the small tattoo of a black lizard on her forearm writhing in the light. The beautiful woman is, in fact, the deadly master criminal known as the Black Lizard, who later that morning helps a young man in trouble. He came to her after killing his rivals, and needs help disappearing. She arranges for him to vanish, becoming her literal slave in exchange.
Her next desire is to own the Star of Egypt, the largest diamond in Japan. Her unique plan is to kidnap the beautiful daughter of the owner, a leading Osaka jewel merchant, and ask for the diamond in exchange. So bold as to send warning letters for weeks, they have hired private detective Akechi Kogoro as bodyguard. At the ritzy Tokyo hotel where they are staying, Akechi is shocked that despite his keen surveillance, the girl is indeed kidnapped in front of his very eyes! The Black Lizard is triumphant! Yet, this is only the start of the clever cat-and-mouse games between her and cunning Akechi - for he has forseen it all and foiled her plans!
The next attempt is within the family home, fortified and guarded, as young Sanae is sequestered in the locked lounge. When they open the door, she has disappeared! Who is this terrifying opponent who possesses magical powers?
The exchange for the jewel is made high atop a Tokyo observation tower, the Black Lizard being the only visitor, surrounded below by police with binoculars. There is no chance this female devil can away...and yet she does!
Akechi once again proves he is one step ahead of her, following her to an underground lair, where it will takes everything he knows - perhaps his very life - and a final slight of hand to beat the infamous master criminal known as the Black Lizard!
This thriller rips along at a speedy pace. Each time you think her evil plan has gone off without a hitch, Akechi is there to explain how he forsaw it all and countered with an even more ingenious plan. At times it betrays its earlier form of serialization, with lines like "Readers will doubtless recall a chapter earlier in our tale", and "Now perhaps readers will think that the author has committed a major bungle here..." which catch readers up with a previous installment.
Very enjoyable to see the evil machinations of the Black Lizard, and even better to see her succeed! only to be thwarted by the great detective.
Highly recommended, endlessly imaginative, and easily available now in a reprinted edition from Penguin Books, eBooks, and Audible.
This was adapted into a 1961 play by Yukio Mishima, a Japanese film in 1962, and the Mishima adaptation was filmed in 1968.
1934 / Tradeback / 163 pages
Oh wow! Must get this. - Neeru