Tarō Hirai (平井 太郎, Hirai Tarō, October 21, 1894 – July 28, 1965), better known by the pen name Edogawa Ranpo (江戸川 乱歩) was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the leader of a group of boy detectives known as the "Boy Detectives Club" (少年探偵団, Shōnen tantei dan).
