The Suspicious Shop

***The Suspicious Shop*** (怪しい店, *Ayashī Mise*) is a collection of Japanese short stories by Alice Arisugawa in his Himura Hideo series.

## Plot Overviews

"**The Devil's Artifact**" (古物の魔, *Kobutsu no Ma*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu-ya Sari-Sari*, May 2014 issue)

The story unfolds with the murder of the owner of a shop named Awashima. The discoverer is the victim's nephew, who is a part-time employee. From the testimonies of fellow traders, it has become clear that the victim was in need of money to pay a woman, and the way they did business was rough, which reduced their reputation. Moreover, there was a customer who had negotiated to buy back a keepsake desk. As Himura examines the drawer of the desk, he finds a double bottom.

"**The Lighthouse's Wonder**" (燈火堂の奇禍, *Tōka-dō no Kika*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu Yasei Jidai*, January 2014 issue)

A shopkeeper with a stubborn and unique commitment seems to be beaten by someone and falls out of the shop as he follows the culprit. Alice, who has come to Kyoto with a birthday present for Grandma Tokie (the landlady of Himura's boarding house), becomes interested in the incident that occurred in the neighbourhood.

"**Smashing a Show Window**" (ショーウィンドウを砕く, *Shō Windou o Kudaku*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu Yasei Jidai*, September 2014 issue)

Masahiko Yukari, who has a seemingly psychopath temperament, conjures a complete plan of crime against his lover and executes it. The Osaka Entertainment Production, which Yukari worked, continued to deteriorate after they pulled out their best-selling talents to their Tokyo offices. Furthermore, Yukari, the president of the company, has always loved a young and unbridled talent who spent money, but he decides to bury her when the company was running out of money.

"**Shiosai Barber Shop**" (潮騒理髪店, *Shiosai Rihatsu-ten*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu Yasei Jidai*, September 2013 issue)

Alice's interest is piqued when a mystery is intertwined with a barber shop where Himura went to kill some time while traveling and a mysterious scene where "a beauty was waving a handkerchief towards the train" in the barber shop's town. Everything goes on while Himura and Alice are on the phone. Can Alice solve the mystery based on the scene that Himura has seen and the information that he learned from the conversation with the barber shop owner?

"**The Suspicious Shop**" (怪しい店, *Ayashī Mise*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu-ya Sari-Sari*, September 2014 issue)

Alice happens to find a shop named Mimiya, where the female shopkeeper became a victim. The business is "listening" to customers single-mindedly without giving advice to their troubles. The customer who caused the trouble with the victim is later uncovered, and the fact that the victim was extorting from the customers' troubles is also revealed.

## Trivia

* "The Lighthouse's Wonder" contains no murder scenes, though there were many instances of fainting.
* All stories, including the collection itself, give reference or is related to a shop:
	+ "The Devil's Artifact" is set in an antique shop, with the case focused on the murder of its owner.
	+ "The Lighthouse's Wonder" takes place in a thrift shop.
	+ "Smashing a Show Window" contains the allusion in its title; a show window is the front façade of a shop.
	+ "Shiosai Barber Shop", besides the title having a reference to a shop, is set into motion through Alice's conversation with a barber shop owner.
	+ "The Suspicious Shop" focuses on the death of a shopkeeper, and a shop is also given allusion in its title.

## See Also

* "Smashing a Show Window": The episode adaptation from the drama based on the eponymous short story from this collection.

## References

1. ↑ 作家アリスシリーズ — Wikipedia (Japanese)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 有栖川有栖「火村英生（作家アリス）シリーズ」『怪しい店』あらすじとほんのりネタバレ感想 — I Want to Solve All Mysteries (Japanese)