The creature’s face was unforgettable. Vacant eyes, a hollowed-out nose, and a red snarling maw. For the young heiress, who catches her first glimpse of this lipless monster through a steamy bathhouse window, its appearance signals the start of her own voyage into the depths of hell.

First published in 1930 (Japanese title “吸血鬼”, or “The Vampire”) this is the fifth full-length Akechi Kogoro novel and the first to feature the boy detective Kobayashi.

Born as Hirai Tarō, Edogawa Ranpo (1894-1965) was an influential author and critic known for his tales of the mysterious and macabre. His pseudonym is a rendering of Edgar Allen Poe using Japanese characters. Ranpo often dealt with themes of sexual perversion and the grotesque, as well as writing more conventional crime fiction.

Alexis J Brown is a translator living in London.