Tokyo Mystery Writers

Chapter 92: Record-Breaking Sales

Jiang Liu Meili heard Mai Cheng Jingjie mention the name "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates".

A puzzled expression appeared on his face.

Because according to the conventional naming pattern of detective novels, most stories called "The Mystery of XXXX" revolve around this location, character, or object.

But the mystery of death row inmates? The stories revolving around them? Something just feels off.

Thinking about all this, Jiang Liumei took a sip of milk and voiced the question that had been lingering in her mind:

"The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate? Ms. Mai, I missed the last issue of 'Summer of the Ubume' because I'm not in the publishing department. But as the editor-in-chief of the magazine department, could you tell me roughly what kind of story 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate' is about?"

Maijo Kyosuke looked up and saw a layer of milk stains on Jiang Liu Meili's upper lip. He smiled, pointed to Jiang Liu Meili's mouth, and handed her a tissue.

Jiang Liu Meili saw Mai Cheng Jingjie pointing to his mouth and handing her a tissue, and naturally understood what Mai Cheng Jingjie was laughing at.

Jiang Liu Meili could only smile and wipe the milk stains from her mouth with a tissue while listening to Mai Cheng Jingjie tell the story of "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate":

"The story of the death row inmate is very simple and pure. Unlike 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders,' which has a grand trick, unlike 'A Bellflower,' which has a tragic and twisted love, unlike 'The Convergence,' which uses ingenious ideas to create a strong impact, and unlike 'Summer of the Ubume,' which uses psychology and neuroscience to create a strange atmosphere for readers."

"The story of the mystery surrounding death row inmates can even be summarized in two simple sentences."

"In short, it's about a man named Ariake Shoji who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes, including robbery, murder, and assault. However, before he could be hanged, Ariake Shoji died of poisoning!"

"There were eighteen suspects at the scene. Detective Rintaro Hozuki and his father, a police inspector, used rigorous logical reasoning based on physical evidence and confessions from the execution site to ultimately identify the real culprit!"

Upon hearing Maijo Kyosuke's brief description of "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmates," Jiang Liu Meili immediately became extremely curious.

While this mystery isn't as elaborate as "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" or as mind-bending as "Convergence," it possesses a magical allure, compelling the reader to discover what truly happened.

The fact that a death row inmate who was supposed to be hanged was poisoned before his execution is a very interesting mystery no matter how you look at it.

What was the killer's motive? Why would they poison a death row inmate who was destined to die?

When Maijo Kyosuke saw that Jiang Liu Meili looked very curious, in order to avoid Jiang Liu Meili asking for more details about the story, he stood up, walked to the bedside table, took out a thick stack of manuscripts from the wall panel, and placed the manuscripts in front of Jiang Liu Meili.

Jiang Liumei looked at the stack of manuscripts, which was twice the thickness of a normal mystery novel, and naturally knew that it was "The Summer of the Ubume," which she had been thinking about for the past two days.

"Miss Jiang Liu? You've probably always wanted to see this, haven't you?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Yushan already saw it the day before yesterday. Logically speaking, he should have taken the original manuscript away."

"It's a pity that Mr. Yushan and I drank quite a bit that day, and he was probably drunk too, because he forgot to take the manuscript back with him. I know you've been wanting to see it, so I'm showing it to you... I'd like to hear your overall evaluation of this book."

Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Jiang Liu Meili's almond-shaped eyes, as clear as lake water, revealed a look of great anticipation:

"How did Mr. Yushan evaluate 'The Summer of the Ubume'?"

"Does Mr. Yushan believe that *The Summer of the Ubume* is a novel that no one has ever seen or heard of before, and that no one else could possibly write?"

When Maishiro Kyosuke heard Jiang Liu Meili's question, he was about to speak when he saw Jiang Liu Meili shake her head vigorously.

"Ms. Mai, I'm sorry, but it's best not to tell me Mr. Uyama's opinion."

"After all, any external evaluation can subtly change my thinking."

"Anyway, I've already handed over the manuscript of 'Convergence' to my staff for proofreading and typesetting."

"I'll treat myself to today's work, which has been so busy in the magazine department. I'm going to read the entire 'Summer of the Ubume' in one go!"

After Jiang Liumei finished speaking, she reached out and grabbed the manuscript of "Summer of the Ubume", excitedly wanting to turn to the first page.

But at this moment, Jiang Liumei's hand stopped:

"I'm sorry, Ms. Maishiro. I was just a little too excited. Please forgive my rudeness."

"Excuse me, will my reading here affect Mr. Mai's creative process?"

"If it will influence Mr. Wucheng's creative work, can I take 'Summer of the Ubume' home to watch?"

When Maishiro Kyosuke saw that Jiang Liu Meili had an unusually pitiful expression, even though he was really affected, he found it difficult to ask her to leave in the face of Jiang Liu Meili's expression.

Moreover, my own creation is simply taking the stories in my mind and will not be affected in any way.

"Miss Jiang, please feel free to do as you please. If you like, you can stay and watch here. If you don't like, you can take it home to watch."

"Your presence has absolutely no impact on my creative process."

Upon hearing Maijo Kyosuke's words, Jiang Liu Meili breathed a heavy sigh of relief and opened the manuscript of "Summer of the Ubume" with anticipation on her face, quickly immersing herself in the story.

Seeing Jiang Liu Meili's happy expression, Mai Shiro Kyosuke also smiled.

He took a blanket from the wardrobe beside him, covered himself with one end and Jiang Liumei with the other, picked up his pen again, and began to write the story of "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate"...

-

January 17, 1980 (Showa 55).

This is a significant day that will be recorded in the history of detective fiction.

Kyosuke Maijo's "The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Mystery" sold 200,000 copies in just three days!

This is not only the first new mystery writer in Japanese mystery history to sell 200,000 copies of his work in three days, but also the first person in world mystery history to have such a record!

It's important to know that in this era, there are only six mystery writers who can consistently sell 200,000 copies of their works every four days.

They are Jiro Akagawa, the king of sales who pioneered the "Japanese youth-style humorous mystery" genre.

Hisashi Nishimura is hailed as the "King of Hard-Hard Mystery".

Seicho Matsumoto, the grandmaster known as the "father of social mystery."

"Two giants of social mystery fiction: Tsutomu Mizukami and Seiichi Morimura."

And Tsumabuchi Awasaka, who is hailed as the "magician of classic mystery."

Kodansha president Genjiro Noma is a ruthless character who can turn anything into a weapon to attack his enemies!

Seeing that the sales of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" were several times better than he had expected, he naturally couldn't let go of this rare opportunity.

After all, Maijo Kyosuke was a guest writer who had signed a three-year contract with him!

By making Kyosuke Maijo a star, Kodansha is paving the way to becoming "Japan's strongest publishing house"!

So, Noma Genjiro called over his brother-in-law, Sales Manager Mikoshiba Yasunori.

The two of them used all of Kodansha's resources and connections, spending a large sum of money to buy news for Kyosuke Maijo!

We are determined to make this new writer, who has only been in the industry for six days, leave a lasting impression on the public as a bestselling author!

And this impression must not be lost this week!

Because starting tomorrow, Friday, and the day after tomorrow, Saturday, Kodansha will be releasing 200,000 copies of the "paperback" edition of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Mystery"!

These paperback editions of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" are not intended for mystery readers who like Kyosuke Maijo.

Instead, it aims to sell to those who want to learn about mystery novels or want to read books at the lowest possible price.

Simply put, the core selling point of the "paperback" edition is that it's cheap and satisfying, allowing readers who only have a vague understanding of Kyosuke Maijo and haven't yet decided to buy "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" to become fans of Kyosuke Maijo through the low price of the "paperback" edition.

This paves the way for the upcoming "Collector's Edition"!

The best way to attract readers who are not originally mystery fans is to have super popularity and overwhelming publicity!

Imagine you're walking through a bookstore overflowing with books, unsure of what to buy.

Suddenly I saw a sign on a book that read, "Breaking world records, the fastest-selling and best-selling mystery novel in the world!"

Anyone would want to buy a copy to see what's inside, right?

Not to mention, The Tokyo Zodiac Murders is a high-quality, true masterpiece of mystery!