The 46th Locked Room

***The 46th Locked Room*** (46番目の密室, *Yonju Roku-banme no Misshitsu*) is a Japanese detective mystery novel and the first work of Alice Arisugawa in his Himura Hideo series.

## Plot Overview

On a snowy Christmas in 1991, Alice Arisugawa and Hideo Himura attend a gathering organized by Makabe, a detective artist also called "Master of Locked Rooms", held at a villa in Kita-Karuizawa.

He has published 45 locked-room tricks so far, and Makabe, also known as "Dickson Carr of Japan," is at dinner and currently writes the last locked-room. It was a *de facto* declaration of his retirement.

However, the next morning, a walled corpse was found in a locked room with his head stuck in the fireplace. Did Makabe die in the 46th locked room he devised?

## Characters

* Hideo Himura (火村 (ひむら)  英生 (ひでお) ): A 32-year-old clinical criminologist and associate professor at his alma mater, Eito University Department of Sociology. With a course on criminal sociology, his desire to kill someone made him interested in the field. Born in Hokkaido, he eventually moved from place to place due to his father's transfer. He has lived alone in a boarding house in Kita-Shirakawa, Kyoto, where he has lived since he was a student. His parents passed away and has a good relationship with his elderly landlady, a relationship similar to a parent and child.
* Alice Arisugawa (有栖川 (ありすがわ)  有栖 (ありす) ): A 32-year-old mystery writer and Himura's friend since they were students at Eito University. Born and raised in Osaka, he currently lives in a 2LDK apartment in Yuhigaokacho, Osaka. He worked as a salesman for a printing company until he was 27 years old and made his debut after winning the Golden Arrow Award. He has been writing mystery novels since he was a student.
* Seiichi Makabe (真壁 (まかべ)  聖一 (せいいち) ): A 50-year-old mystery writer, all of the feature films he has released since his debut have been locked-room, with 22 of the 32 short films being locked-rooms. Because of this, he was nicknamed "Dickson Carr of Japan" as a master of locked-rooms. He is writing his 46th feature film, but declares that it will be his last locked-room work.
* Sachiko Makabe (真壁 (まかべ)  佐智子 (さちこ) ): Seiichi's younger sister who is one year younger than him and a *batsuichi* (バツイチ, *lit.* "strike one" or "×1")
* Maho Makabe (真壁 (まかべ)  真帆 (まほ) ): Sachiko's daughter and a high school sophomore.
* Kōji Higaki (檜垣 (ひがき)  光司 (こうじ) ): Seiichi's housemate and a high school sophomore. He and his mother were taken in after his father, a firefighter, died in a hotel fire near Mt. Asama 10 years ago. His mother, Naomi, served as a housekeeper and died two years ago in a car accident.
* Fumiko Takahashi (高橋 (たかはし)  風子 (かぜこ) ): A mystery writer whose pseudonym is Fūko (フーコ).
* Keita Ishimachi (石町 (いしまち)  慶太 (けいた) ): A 33-year-old mystery writer who, like Seiichi, specialises at tricky authentic things.
* Yōji Sugii (杉井 (すぎい)  陽二 (ようじ) ): Editor in charge of Seiichi and the editor of a major publishing company, Seiyosha. Over 40 years old, he is a fashionable man who always settles down in Burberry.
* Tatsuhiko Funasawa (船沢 (ふなさわ)  辰彦 (たつひこ) ): Editor in charge of Seiichi and the editor of a publishing company, Yuyusha. Five years older than Yōji, he grew up in Osaka and has a rather thick body with a double chin.
* Ayako Yasunaga (安永 (やすなが)  彩子 (さいこ) ): The 29-year-old editor of Black Shoin.
* Ukai (鵜飼 (うかい) ): Gunma Prefectural Police Superintendent and a career.
* Ōsaki (大崎 (おおさき) ): Inspector at Naganohara Police Department and 10 years older than Ukai.

## Notes

1. ↑ A 2LDK apartment consists of two rooms in addition to a living, dining, and kitchen area. "L" stands for *living*, "D" stands for *dining*, and "K" stands for *kitchen*. The number "2" indicates that there is one room in addition to the main living area.
2. ↑ *Batsuichi* refers to a person divorced once.

## References

1. ↑ 臨床犯罪学者・火村英生の推理　Ｉ ４６番目の密室 — Kadokawa Store
2. ↑ 46番目の密室 — Wikipedia (Japanese)