My Grandfather, the Master Detective, Masateru Konishi
My Grandfather, the Master Detective, Masateru Konishi
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My Grandfather, the Master Detective

Author: Masateru Konishi

Narrator: Hanako Footman

Unabridged: 7 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 03/17/2026

Synopsis

A Japanese The Thursday Murder Club, taking healing fiction for a mystery-filled spin with this bestseller that has sold more than 200,000 copies in Japan.

He’s not your average Grandpa.

As a lover of classic crime stories, it’s no surprise that schoolteacher Kaede encounters everyday mysteries more often than your typical twenty-seven-year-old.

Solving them is another matter, though. For that, she turns to her beloved grandfather, who retains a keen sharpness of mind despite his dementia, and who was once a key member of The Waseda Mystery Club. From impossible locked room murders to confounding missing persons cases, the grandfather-granddaughter duo "weave stories" to get to the bottom of every mystery. But all the while, an insidious shadow from Kaede’s past slowly closes in on her . . .

Steeped in references to classic crime from Christie to Chesterton to Poe, My Grandfather, the Master Detective plays with the genre, capturing readers' imagination in this Tokyo-set escapist mystery. Its charming characters and affectionate focus on relationships echo heartwarming Japanese titles such as Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

About The Author

Masateru Konishi graduated from the Department of English and American Literature at Meiji University and now works as a writer for TV and radio. He has previously written for the stage as well as the novelization of manga, but My Grandfather, the Master Detective is his first completely original novel. Partly based on his own experience of caring for his father with dementia, the book won the twenty-first edition of the prestigious “This Mystery is Amazing!” Grand Prize.  Louise Heal Kawai has been a translator of Japanese literature since 2006, translating several different genres of contemporary fiction. Her published translations include The Cat Who Saved Books; The Honjin Murders; Daido Tamaki’s Milk, which appeared in the short story anthology Inside and Other Short Fiction; Tendo Shoko’s bestselling autobiography Yakuza Moon; and most recently Building Waves, a novel by feminist writer and poet Tomioka Taeko.

Reviews

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Quotes

A Beyond the Bookends Most Anticipated Mystery of March
An Our Novel World Best New Crime Thriller

“Before the Coffee Gets Cold meets Agatha Christie. Neither age nor a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia (LBD) can keep Grandfather from solving difficult cases. He’s as clever as Hercule Poirot and as observant as Miss Marple, a gentle, brilliant, and dynamic sleuth you won’t soon forget.” —Ellery Adams, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret, Book & Scone Society

"Heartfelt and clever, My Grandfather, the Master Detective expertly weaves together ideas of family and loss alongside homage to classic detective fiction spanning eras and countries. …An utterly delightful ode to the power of storytelling in understanding the curve balls life throws at you.” —Kristen Perrin, New York Times bestselling author of How to Solve Your Own Murder

“[A] rich emotional landscape. . . Will appeal to fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club, Hisashi Kashiwai’s The Kamogawa Food Detectives, and Susan Fletcher's The Night in Question.” —Booklist (starred)

“[A] gentle, puzzle-focused crime novel in the vein of classic detective fiction . . . The beauty lies in ordinary, complicated people figuring out how to live as much as how to solve crimes.” —Crime Fiction Lover

“Brain-teasing mysteries presented in something like a fairytale framework.” —Kirkus

“Konishi strikes a balance between the cozy mystery genre and the Japanese (and Korean) comfort novels in translation that are having a moment on the bestsellers’ lists . . . Much of the sense of calmness, control and, well, comfort, is down to the English translation by Louise Heal Kawai, who puts the reader at ease with her fluid translation.” —Asian Review of Books

“Masateru Konishi has infused the fun and page-turning intrigue of a first-rate mystery story with profound filial love, respect, and compassion. A rare and multi-faceted mystery, My Grandfather, the Master Detective transcends genre. It’s guaranteed to delight and deeply affect fans of detective stories, readers seeking to explore the human condition, and everyone whose lives have been turned upside-down by this debilitating disease.” —Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of Counting Backwards
“Even when struggling with dementia, Grandfather is one hell of an armchair detective during his better, lucid moments . . . a warm recommendation and hopefully Louise Heal Kawai gets to translate the second and last book in the series. Fingers crossed!” —Beneath the Stains of Time

“[F]ans will undoubtedly happily devour this latest enjoyable entry.” —Murder, Mayhem, and Long Dogs
“Inspired with the aid of using traditional crime fiction, Konishi’s escapist tale combines warmth, sharp plotting, and affectionate person studies, making it ideal for fanatics.” —Our Novel World

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