In the first Taiwanese mystery novel to be translated for the Japanese market, metafiction is a tool for exploring problems of human nature that medical knowledge has yet to solve.

A pioneer of Taiwanese detective fiction, Lan Siao’s novel Mislocation was the first Taiwanese mystery novel to be translated for the Japanese market after Japanese writer Shimada Soji and publishing house Kodansha selected it for the Asian Honkaku League series in 2009. Twenty years after the first edition, the novel’s timeless plot and exploration of human nature have made it a contemporary classic of Taiwanese mystery novels.

Although the book’s first-person narrator “Lan Siao” is also a mystery novelist, he is not the author. In the book, Lan Siao is a psychiatrist who receives a strange email. The sender, Wang Ming-yi, claims something odd has happened to him – he describes a get-together at a café during which his friends completely forgot who he was, and it didn’t seem like a prank. He hopes Lan Siao can help solve the puzzle of his identity, although the clues he provides in his message are bizarre: he admits he was the murderer in a rape and murder case seven years ago, and says Lan Siao was also involved in the crime.

A few days later, the police investigate a new murder case and find a letter to Lan Siao among the victim’s belongings. The victim signed the letter “Wang Ming-yi”, but Lan Siao still has no answers: Who is Wang Ming-yi? What connects them?

Like most “orthodox” detective stories written in the style of detective fiction’s golden age, this book’s complex plot follows strict rules, ensuring readers can follow the clues to solve the mystery. Lan Siao’s interactions with his doctor friends offer lighter touches that not only provide important information but also bring the character to life. The book’s combination of realism and human themes ultimately amazes many readers. Its standout characteristic: every one of its elements is integral to the whole.