Set in San Francisco, Brocken Spectre examines the way the past presses up against the present. The speaker, raised in the wake of the AIDS crisis, engages with ideas of belatedness, of looking back to a past that cannot be inhabited, of the ethics of memory, and of the dangers in memorializing and romanticizing tragedy.

A BATTLE OF WITS Even the mysterious Kotoko Iwanaga was a high school student once, but could a girl like her ever fit in with regular teenagers? There is one student who thinks she would be a great addition to his club, but can he possibly convince the lone wolf to become a member of an organization? Learn how Manabu Amachi manipulated Kotoko into joining the mystery appreciation club!

Kotoko's nemesis Rikka is back, and it's a battle between artificial intelligence and the Goddess of Wisdom. Rikka develops Mecha Kotoko: an advanced technological machine programmed to mimic yokai supernatural powers. The doppelganger outrages Kotoko, but fools the real yokai. Up against a seemingly all-knowing artificial version of herself, can Kotoko still emerge as the superior sleuth? A plethora of mysteries awaits in this collection of suspenseful short stories!

When the police find Eiki Tauchi dead along with his last words, the death is easily ruled as a suicide. In a separate case, the widow Ryuko Tobishima continues to don a black veil, fifty years after her husband was killed in a car accident. However, looks are deceiving as further investigations reveal that the victims were actually murdered-by vengeful family members. Kotoko and the yokai unlock the guilt and shame behind the locked-room mysteries. And Mecha Kotoko makes an encore.

THE KIRIN’S CURSE A deadly incident in the mountains claims the lives of three victims and leaves one fighting for his life. As Kotoko and Kurô prepare to investigate the involvement of a vengeful giraffe spirit, who should they find at the scene but the elusive Rikka Sakuragawa! Though the trio agree to cooperate on the case, Kotoko can’t help but wonder what Rikka may have in store...

A TROUBLESOME ENEMY Kotoko’s recollection of a case she solved with Rikka demonstrates how capable they both are, and how difficult of a match it would be should they find themselves on opposing sides. In the present day, Kurô begrudgingly assists Kotoko in her duties of mediating and investigating spectre-related incidents. One such case involves the resentful ghost of a giraffe, and a very familiar face…