Rampo, Edogawa: The Black Lizard

Considered the grand master of mystery, Hirai Taro flourished in the years leading up to the Japanese wars of the 1930s and
later wrote adventure stories before, finally, writing for children until his death in 1965. This novel is the story of the conflict between a master female criminal who is first seen at a New Year's Eve party dancing erotically in the nude and her nemesis, a master detective. Both seem to be excellent at disguising themselves to avoid capture or exposure though this does, at times, seem rather hard to accept as the detective, especially, seems to be able to appear in close contact with others for extended periods. Rather a pot-boiler as the overall tale is somewhat far-fetched but an interesting read.