Drumbeat

Name: Drumbeat
ISBN: 9787559686558

叶真中显 / 李盈春Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. · ChinaJul 2026

3.9

Word count: 134K words
Chapters: 39
ISBN: 9787559686558

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Summary

On June 19, a charred body was found in a park, and the police arrested the suspect, Shuro Kusaka, at the scene. Investigation revealed that Kusaka had quit his job at thirty and quietly withdrawn to the margins of society, shutting himself in his room for eighteen years. After killing the old woman, he burned her body—yet instead of fleeing, he stayed at the scene. More horrifying still, police found another disfigured corpse in his home, believed to be Kusaka's father, dead for six days. Two killings in six days—revenge, madness, or something else? What was inciting his murderous intent?

As Detective Okunuki's investigation deepens, the homeless old woman who died in the park proves to have, behind her solitary life, a buried history of abandonment by society...

Editor's review

The Drumbeat opens with a body burning in a park, yet it refuses the simple pleasures of a puzzle mystery. Ye Zhenzhongxian turns his lens on the hikikomori who have long lingered at society's margins, setting Shiro Kusaka's eighteen years of seclusion against two murders within six days. The novel's real engine is not whodunit but what drums up the will to kill: broken family ties, absent social connections, the loneliness of the abandoned, layered into the soil where crime takes root. Detective Okanuki's investigation draws out the forgotten past of an old homeless woman, widening the case from individual tragedy into a question about structural indifference. The pacing is steady, the details restrained; it suits a quiet stretch of continuous reading, and afterward one may pause to look back at the overlooked people in its pages.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy social-school mystery and care about the social causes behind crime
Readers interested in hikikomori, marginalized groups, and family breakdown
Readers who look for human depth in fiction rather than pure puzzle-solving
Writers hoping to understand the hidden wounds and realist themes of contemporary Japanese society

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting fast-paced honkaku mystery with dense twists
Readers with low tolerance for heavy depictions of immolation and domestic violence
Readers seeking light entertainment and unwilling to confront society's dark side

Reading tips

Read the case sections first, then return to the details of Shiro Kusaka's eighteen years in seclusion and note the social clues the author plants.
Read Detective Okanuki's investigation alongside the old homeless woman's past, and feel how two abandoned lives echo each other.
After finishing, write down your own understanding of what drums up the will to kill, and sort out the relationship between family, society, and individual responsibility.

About the publisher

Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 1993

Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. is a publisher known for its literature and history titles, with 2,065 books in the collection. Its publishing covers foreign literature, contemporary Chinese prose and essays, history, folk literature, and cultural books. Its list ranges from Sima Qian's complete edition of the Records of the Grand Historian to foreign classics such as The Book of Disquiet, All Quiet on the Western Front, Snow Country, The Stranger, and Jean-Christophe, as well as modern Chinese works including Teahouse and Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk. Its authors and translators include Yasunari Kawabata, Fernando Pessoa, Erich Maria Remarque, Jin Xinyi, Zhou Miao, and Chen Chao. Public information is limited, but its catalogue reflects a balance between Chinese and foreign literary classics and historical and cultural works.

版权信息
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尾声

FAQ

Is this a pure mystery novel?

It is closer to social-school mystery. Detection is the narrative skeleton, but the author focuses on how hikikomori, family rupture, and social indifference gradually breed crime; puzzle-solving is not the only pleasure of reading.

I haven't read the author's other works. Can I start with this one?

Yes. This is a standalone story that does not depend on earlier books. Just be prepared for the social-school style and follow Detective Okanuki's investigation.

Are there many violent scenes?

The book involves immolation and a body hidden at home, but the depictions are restrained, focusing on characters' circumstances and psychology rather than gore. Readers sensitive to heavy material should judge for themselves.

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About the author

叶真中显 Author

Ye Zhenzhongxian is a Japanese mystery and crime writer. Public information about him is currently limited, and a complete account of his life, education, and awards is not yet available. Four of his works are included in the collection: Zekkyo (The Cry), Blue, Gudo (The Beat), and The Confession of a Wicked Woman, all categorized as mystery and crime fiction. These works show that he excels at using crime, family, and social relationships as entry points, advancing suspense through multiple narrative threads and delicate psychological description. His characters often face a sense of real-world pressure, and his plot twists are calm and restrained. His works have attracted some attention among Chinese-language readers, especially The Cry, which has been discussed for its portrayal of marginalized social circumstances. Overall, Ye Zhenzhongxian's writing emphasizes the intertwining of the dark side of human nature and social issues. His style is somber and his attention to structure is notable, making him an author worth watching in contemporary Japanese mystery writing.

李盈春 Author

Li Yingchun is an author about whom limited public information is available. Three works are currently known: The Fabricated Criminal, Instigation, and The Blossoms Are About to Fade. Judging from the tone of these titles and the categories they belong to, her writing mainly falls into two areas: suspense and mystery fiction, and foreign literature. Mystery fiction generally emphasizes plot development and the gradual building of suspense, while foreign literature tends to focus more on characters' circumstances and emotional expression. Li Yingchun's work appears to move between these two kinds of reading interest, combining narrative suspense with a literary touch. The title The Fabricated Criminal suggests a story built around crime and fictional setups, Instigation leans toward psychological and social atmosphere, and The Blossoms Are About to Fade hints at the passage of time and the changes in people and affairs. Because no clear records of birth and death dates, nationality, education, or awards have been found, her personal background cannot be described in detail, and readers' understanding of her rests mainly on the three works mentioned above.