"Kamen Hotei" (仮面法廷), translated as The Masked Courtroom, written by Shunzō Waku (和久峻三).

About the Book

• Genre: Legal Thriller / Courtroom Mystery.

• Award: It won the prestigious Edogawa Rampo Prize in 1972, which is awarded annually to the best unpublished mystery novel in Japan.

• Plot: The story centers on a complex legal battle involving high-value real estate (valued at 1 billion yen) overlooking Lake Biwa. When a lawyer and a real estate agent are murdered during the dispute, a young lawyer must navigate the world of "Jimenshi" (land-scammers) and legal loopholes to uncover the truth and clear his ex-wife of suspicion.

Author's Background: Shunzō Waku was a real-life lawyer, which lends a high degree of technical accuracy and realism to his legal scenes and the manipulation of civil law described in the book.