Tokuya Higashigawa (1968–) debuted in 2002 with a novel that won him the Kappa-ONE Newcomers Prize in a contest open to the general public. Since then, he has concentrated solely on writing humorous mysteries, a genre that is not well established in Japan. With Nazotoki wa dina no ato de (The Riddle-Solving Can Wait till After Dinner), he became a best-selling author. Jokes and witty dialogue between unconventional characters are his forte, but his works are held solidly together by tricks of logic and well-conceived puzzles. Higashigawa has received praise from older mystery writers for his skillful reinventions of such devices as the locked-room murder and the dying message, and for his versatility in being able to craft novels that involve kidnappings, contract killings, and other daring crimes.