[The first release from the Mystery Library label!] Gen Kato’s first children’s mystery novel, “My Friend is a Great Detective,” is now on sale!
Shufunotomo Co., Ltd. Press release: October 30, 2025 To Members of the Press [The first release from the Mystery Library label!] Gen Kato’s first children’s mystery novel, “My Friend is a Great Detective,” is now on sale! Released on Wednesday, October 29th
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(https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4074617870) was released on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. “My Friend is a Great Detective” is written by Gen Kato, who has written many stories with female protagonists. This is Kato’s first children’s book, as he has long wanted to write a children’s novel. [Mystery Library
HP]https://misutosho.shufunotomo.co.jp/ ■Synopsis My name is Takagi Towa. I’m in the sixth grade. I transferred to M Elementary School in the fifth grade, and I still haven’t fit in with my class… I’m an outsider in my class, but I’m best friends with Nakagawa Sae, who’s also an outsider! People say I’m weird at school, but when I’m with Nakagawa Sae, I don’t care. That’s because Nakagawa Sae has excellent grades and athletic ability, and she’s a cool girl who can argue back with reason even when classmates and teachers say unreasonable things to her. And he’s a great detective who never misses even the smallest anomaly! A cat cafe full of strangeness, the true identity of the mean teacher, the truth about Urashima Taro… When you’re with Nakagawa Sae, your ordinary daily life becomes filled with mystery. This is the story of a mysterious incident that Nakagawa Sae and I experienced before summer vacation.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2372/2718/2372-2718-abfe7ae291309ab35c1ae81f6f5eef83-1002×745.png ■Message from a Bookstore Staff We’ve received comments that even adults find Kato’s realistic portrayal of “women’s society” eliciting nostalgia. “The realism of the indescribable conversations between girls reminded me of my elementary school days while I was reading this book.” (Fujimura, Miyawaki Shoten) Is it “strange” to not be able to fit in with class or to have different opinions from everyone else? It’s also worth noting that this story realistically reflects the surprisingly harsh world sixth-grade girls live in! ■Author Gen Kato I grew up engrossed in the “Boy Detectives” series and “Pippi
Longstocking.” So I’d always wanted to write a story that would captivate children like me, and when my editor approached me, I was thrilled to write it. (From the “Mystery Library” website, Author’s Message)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2372/2718/2372-2718-f140966f4059b5024fe383acbdda1efe-669×1004.jpg Photography: Keita Haginiwa Born in Kanagawa Prefecture, raised in Tokyo. Dropped out of the Department of Literature, College of Art, Nihon University. Member of the Mystery Writers of Japan. After dropping out, she worked in over 10 different jobs, including part-time delivery, supermarket cashiering, snack bar and accounting, before making her debut in 2009 (Heisei 21) with “Yamahime Sho,” which won the 4th Shosetsu Gendai Newcomer Novel Award. Other works include “What’s Wrong with You Today?” and “They’re Dangerous.” She has written numerous novels with female protagonists. ■Bibliographic information
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2372/2718/2372-2718-890e690333aa3a252b7409cdf3c92244-376×546.png Book title: My Friend is a Great Detective Author: Gen Kato Price: ¥1,430 (tax included) Format, Page Count: 46-size, 256 pages Release Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2025 ISBN: 978-4-07-461787-6 Publisher: Shufunotomosha 【Amazon】https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4074617870 【Rakuten BOOKS】https://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/18386539/ *E-book also released at the same time ■About “Mystery Library”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/2372/2718/2372-2718-a882b1f84876601174b73665c27be3c1-211×309.png [Mystery Library HP] https://misutosho.shufunotomo.co.jp/ A mystery novel label for children launched in June 2025. We deliver mystery novels to readers in the upper grades of elementary school. From solving mysteries in everyday life to surprising stories featuring legendary thieves and supernatural phenomena, we deliver “fun, moving stories.” The first commemorative books are “My Friend is a Great Detective” (by Gen Kato) and “The Case Files of the Phantom Thief Umineko (written by Atsuga Tatsumi) will be published simultaneously! Click here for the “Kaitou Umineko no Jikenbo” press release. Click here for the “Mystery Library Launches!” press release (June 2025) ■Media Inquiries Regarding This Book [Shufunotomosha Public Relations Office] C-Publishing Services, Inc. Public Relations Department pr★c-pub.co.jp (Please convert ★ to @ before sending)
