The Case of the Sliding Pool

A rare California deluge unearths a hidden body—and a decades-old crime

Rain has spoiled Masao Masuto's vacation. For six days the storm has trapped the Zen Buddhist detective and his family inside their Los Angeles cottage. By the morning of his vacation's final day, he is so stir crazy that the call to come to work is a relief. Detective Masuto knows no better cure for boredom than a puzzling murder.

Nothing remains of the deceased man but his bones. A mudslide caused by the long, puni...