Reviews with content warning for Death - The Decagon House Murders

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

43 reviews

antoniac's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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loreydoor's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

A great mystery, the translation feels a bit stiff but I fell in to the groove of it after the first chapter. I do wish the characters had a bit more depth to them.

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siobhanward's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I picked this up from the library while trying to find some ebooks to have on my phone for travel. It was a cool read - I went in thinking it might be a retelling of And Then There Were None , but despite the similarities, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not a straight retelling. It was interesting and definitely kept me guessing throughout. It was a bit hard to follow at times, especially with the characters' nicknames vs real names, but it was still a fun read. It was really cool to look it up later and learn more about the impact that it had on Japanese fiction.

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snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.

The Decagon House Murders is a perhaps best described, first, as the author’s testament of his love of mystery fiction. We have characters who are members of the fictional counterpart of a mystery club the author was in in real life, direct nods to actual American and European mystery authors, plot moments inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None , and more. We’re also given a (practically meta) explanation of Honkaku mysteries through a discussion between the characters where they likened the subgenre to a game between the author and the reader.

(PS: According to the Guardian, ‘Honkaku translates as “orthodox”, and refers to the crafting of fiendishly clever and complex puzzle scenarios–such as a murder in a locked bedroom–that can only be solved through logical deduction’.)

Sadly, all of the above elements didn’t translate to an impactful, shocking or deep piece of mystery fiction for me. The first thing that lessened my enthusiasm for The Decagon House Murders is the almost mind-numbing (made worse by the bland prose) length of time the author took to set the stage. Considering the book’s blurb, I’d expected murder to happen within less than 100 pages of the book but instead, it took an exact 118 pages. Immediately after that, everything went downhill so quickly that if this book were an IRL ride, I would’ve gotten whiplash.

It’s also painfully obvious that The Decagon House Murders is nothing more than a mystery with clever puzzle scenarios. Sure, the deaths were shocking, but that’s it. The characters are so flat, they’re clearly just here as puppets to move the game forward. I guessed who the murderer was very early on as well, though it was interesting to know how the murders were carried out and how much space played a huge role in everything.

Everything considered, I don’t recommend this book to anyone looking for depth or complex/strong characters in their mystery novels. However, if you enjoy playing a deduction game, this could pique your interest. Otherwise, if you’re looking for some classic Japanese mysteries that have several layers to them or more human characters, you might like the Detective Kosuke Kindaichi series by Seishi Yokomizo.

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