Japan Murder Mysteries

[Mulboyne]

Anyone ever come across James Melville's Inspector Otani books? They all appear to be out of print now. The titles are nicely cheesy, such as "Sayonara, Sweet Amaryllis", "Go Gently, Gaijin", "Kimono for a Corpse" etc. The blurb from "Wages of Zen":

Superintendent Tetsua Otani of the Hyogo Prefectural Police and his wife Hanae enjoy a comfortable life. Murder is a rare crime in Japan. But an Irish Catholic priest has been found dead in the snow at a sacred Buddhist temple and it looks like murder. So which one of the five foreigners who has gathered to learn and practice ancient teachings of the Zen masters an the the Chisho-ji Zen Study Center could have done and why?

They seem like a racier version of Timothy Henion's Inspector Morimoto series.

[Mulboyne]

But an Irish Catholic priest has been found dead in the snow at a sacred Buddhist temple and it looks like murder.

I just picked up the Japan Times after posting that and here's the first story I saw:

Priest dies of strangulation in hospital room

A 79-year-old patient at a hospital in Gotsu, Shimane Prefecture, was apparently strangled to death the previous day, police said Sunday. A nurse at the hospital found Michiaki Kono, a Shinto priest, lying in his bed lifeless at around 11:25 p.m. Saturday, they said. He was confirmed dead soon after. The police are investigating the incident as a potential homicide because his neck showed evidence of strangulation. They believe that string or something similar may have been used. There were no other visible signs of injury, disheveled clothes or ransacking in the one-patient room. Kono was admitted to Saiseikai Gotsu General Hospital on Feb. 15 for lower-back trouble and was almost unable to walk, hospital officials said. He was last seen alive at around 8:30 p.m., when he was speaking with a nurse in his room at the time, the officials said. Both the room and the hospital area were unlocked.

[dimwit]

I just picked up the Japan Times after posting that and here's the first story I saw:

Priest dies of strangulation in hospital room

My wife thinks it is probably a demented patient from another ward. This sort of thing happens from time to time in Japanese hospitals where there is little security or supervision. Hope that doesn't make you feel nervous Taro.

[Taro Toporific]

....probably a demented patient from another ward. This sort of thing happens from time to time in Japanese hospitals where there is little security or supervision. Hope that doesn't make you feel nervous Taro.

I've had weirdo patients from other wards wander into my 4-man room from time to time. Oddly, the violent patients are not doped up but kept in leather and canvas restraints which they can wiggle out from after hours of thrashing and screaming. I tease the student nurses about the fact they need to practice using the leather restraints more while I "supervise".