Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

| Original Title | 心理試験 |
|---|---|
| Author | 江戸川 乱歩 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a quiet Tokyo neighborhood, a brilliant yet impoverished university student devises an audacious plan to secure his future. Obsessed with outwitting conventional morality, he targets an elderly widow rumored to hide vast wealth beneath a flowerpot in her secluded home. Over six meticulous months, he cultivates a friendship with her tenant—a nervous classmate—to gather intelligence, all while refining a "perfect crime" that prioritizes evasion over empathy. When opportunity strikes, he executes his scheme with chilling precision: strangling the widow, stealing half her fortune, and framing his unwitting accomplice through planted evidence. \nAs authorities close in on the wrong suspect, an unconventional judge employs psychological tests to probe hidden truths. The student, confident in his rehearsed innocence, engages in a cerebral duel with investigators—until an overlooked detail in a seemingly innocuous conversation unravels his artful deception. This cerebral thriller explores the limits of human cunning, where even flawless plans may crumble beneath the weight of a single subconscious slip, leaving readers questioning whether true invincibility lies in intellect or humility. |