AKIMITSU TAKAGI was born in Japan in 1920 and went on to work as an aeronautical engineer until the end of the Second World War. He later decided to become a mystery writer on the recommendation of a fortune teller. He went on to become one of the country’s most popular crime authors. The Noh Mask Murder won the prestigious Mystery Writers Club Award and is considered one of the great classic Japanese whodunits. Takagi’s debut, The Tattoo Murder, is also available from Pushkin Vertigo.