In Search of the King

Name: In Search of the King
ISBN: 9787513361019

法月纶太郎 / 冯锦源Feb 2026

3.5

Word count: 97K words
Chapters: 18
ISBN: 9787513361019

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Summary

Four men who address each other by peculiar nicknames gather in a karaoke box in a bustling downtown district. Each has someone he wants eliminated, and to make the crimes appear motiveless, they agree to swap murders—drawing playing cards at random to decide who targets whom and in what order. The seemingly meticulous plan contains one inconspicuous flaw, and Inspector Kazuki and his son Rintaro seize the moment to close in on the killer!

Editor's review

This is a quintessential honkaku mystery novel by Rintaro Kazuki, built around a four-way murder swap: targets and the order of killings are decided by random card draws, an attempt to mask the crimes behind an appearance of motive-lessness. The premise itself carries a strong sense of an intellectual game, letting readers pit their reasoning against the author's throughout. The "inconspicuous flaw" in the plan is the pivot of the whole book and the opening for Inspector Kazuki and Rintaro to step in as a father-son team; their investigation gives the case both the cold rigor of logical deduction and a touch of human warmth. The pacing is tight, well suited to concentrated reading over a weekend or during commutes; readers who enjoy following clues to work out the killer and the flaw themselves will find the book highly participatory. For honkaku fans, the appeal lies not in gore but in the design and dismantling of the criminal plan—a pure exercise for the mind.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy classic honkaku setups such as locked rooms and murder swaps
Mystery fans who relish dismantling a criminal plan clue by clue alongside the detective
Readers drawn to a father-son detective duo
Readers who want a tightly paced mystery they can finish in a short holiday

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer the deep human analysis of social-school mystery over puzzle design
Readers tired of the murder-swap premise and looking for an entirely new trick
Readers hoping for plenty of action or a thriller atmosphere

Reading tips

Jot down the four men's card draws and the order of killings as you read, to compare against later clues
Pay attention in the first half to each character's nickname and small details of speech and behavior—they may become clues
When the flaw surfaces, pause and reason it out yourself before reading on to verify
If time is short, read over two or three evenings to keep the clues fresh in memory

版权信息
第一部
1 犯罪团伙
2 梦之岛
3 卷发老人
第二部
4 力泳君
5 王后之死
6 行凶者与恐吓者
第三部
7 突发意外
8 中大奖
9 兄弟
第四部
10 寻找王者
11 寻欢兔
12 可兰基
13 大王

FAQ

Do I need to have read other Rintaro Kazuki novels to enjoy this book?

No. The case here stands largely on its own, and the father-son partnership is explained within the book, so new readers can dive straight in without prior knowledge affecting their understanding of the case.

Does the murder-swap setup make the case too complicated to follow?

The author lays out the plan clearly through the card draws and the order of killings; as long as readers keep track of which card goes with which person, they can follow along. The complexity lies mainly in the reasoning, not the narration.

Are there detailed scenes of gore or violence?

Based on the materials, the book focuses on the design of the criminal plan and the deductive investigation—an intellectual honkaku mystery rather than one sold on gore. The exact level of detail should be judged from the actual reading, but overall it leans toward puzzle-solving.

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About the author

法月纶太郎 Author

Rintaro Norizuki is a Japanese mystery writer, though publicly available information about him is limited, and details such as his dates of birth and death, education, and awards are not clearly recorded. In the Chinese book market, only one of his works has appeared so far, In Search of the King, classified as suspense and mystery fiction. Judging from this representative work, his writing tends to revolve around puzzles, emphasizing the building of suspense and logical deduction, with a tight narrative pace and the appeal of classic honkaku mystery, making it suitable for readers who enjoy solving puzzles and following the reasoning process. Because few translations and related materials are available, Chinese readers do not yet have a full picture of his overall body of work, but In Search of the King already offers a glimpse of his writing approach, which is ingeniously plotted and values the pleasure of deduction. It is hoped that more of his works will be translated in the future so that this author can be understood more fully.

冯锦源 Author

Feng Jinyuan is a book author about whom limited public information is available. Only one work by this author can currently be identified: a suspense and mystery novel titled In Search of the King. Based on the available information, Feng's writing centers on the suspense and mystery genre, which typically revolves around puzzle construction, the laying out of clues, and the revelation of truth, with an emphasis on narrative pacing and reading tension. As the author's known representative work, In Search of the King carries in its title a sense of quest and contest, echoing the theme of pursuing the truth common to suspense and mystery fiction. Because reliable records of the author's biography, writing career, and later works are still lacking, a fuller picture of the author's overall style cannot yet be described. Readers interested in the author and the work may begin with this book to appreciate its narrative orientation and choice of subject within the suspense and mystery genre.