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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
For full disclosure, I picked up The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji for one proximal reason - I saw an e-ARC for The Mill House Murders by the same author become available, and thought I’d read the two together (look out for that review tomorrow). But further than that, our family is a great fan of Golden Age mysteries, particularly of the locked room variety - my childhood copy of And Then There Were None has been read at least 10 times - and I was curious how the locked room mystery would translate across cultures and time.
At its surface level, The Decagon House Murders is an homage to that same spirit of Golden Age mystery, and self-consciously references it. The premise: members of the K- University Mystery Club, each named after some of the great mystery writers (Agatha, Carr, Ellery, etc) venture for a retreat on an island on which four unsolved murders occurred, only to start themselves turning up dead, and they must work together to solve the mystery before it’s too late. The plot includes the common tropes - an isolated island, locked rooms - and even does this in duplicate - with the readers and the Mystery Club solving both the four unsolved murders of the past, and the ongoing murders of the present in parallel.
Ultimately, though, the author’s vision for this book appears to exceed his ability to execute it. The homages to the Golden Age writers feels like the author is winking knowingly at the reader. While this could have worked with a playful tone, the author is serious - perhaps too serious throughout, for a book marked to adults about young adult detectives. More damningly, the identity of the murderer (the whodunit) is predictable and yet the final solution (the howdunit) strains credulity, and I found the ending to be unsatisfying.
In the end, I can recommend The Decagon House Murders only to a true completionist fan of locked room mysteries or Japanese locked room mysteries. There are better examples of the genre out there - including Ayatsuji’s next installment, The Mill House Murders.
At its surface level, The Decagon House Murders is an homage to that same spirit of Golden Age mystery, and self-consciously references it. The premise: members of the K- University Mystery Club, each named after some of the great mystery writers (Agatha, Carr, Ellery, etc) venture for a retreat on an island on which four unsolved murders occurred, only to start themselves turning up dead, and they must work together to solve the mystery before it’s too late. The plot includes the common tropes - an isolated island, locked rooms - and even does this in duplicate - with the readers and the Mystery Club solving both the four unsolved murders of the past, and the ongoing murders of the present in parallel.
Ultimately, though, the author’s vision for this book appears to exceed his ability to execute it. The homages to the Golden Age writers feels like the author is winking knowingly at the reader. While this could have worked with a playful tone, the author is serious - perhaps too serious throughout, for a book marked to adults about young adult detectives. More damningly, the identity of the murderer (the whodunit) is predictable and yet the final solution (the howdunit) strains credulity, and I found the ending to be unsatisfying.
In the end, I can recommend The Decagon House Murders only to a true completionist fan of locked room mysteries or Japanese locked room mysteries. There are better examples of the genre out there - including Ayatsuji’s next installment, The Mill House Murders.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
See, this is why I should wait before doing my top 10 of the year because then of course I read one at the last second that makes me have to edit the list. I loved so much about this! This is a book for classic detective fiction fans. I don’t think it’s widely appealing and I wouldn’t recommend this as an entry level book, just because so much of what works about it has to do with how it’s in conversation with what came before. However, if this isn’t your first rodeo, then I highly, highly recommend this! I thought the characters were all suitably charming in their own ways, the commentary unique, and the mystery very tightly plotted! I think the end motivation reveal wasn’t it’s strongest point, but then again, that could be commentary on the history of the genre as well, who’s to say?
An easy read mystery that played out well. The plot was straightforward and there were no unbelievable leaps for the twist to work but that meant there was little that was surprising about it. Some of the dialogue was clunky which could be a symptom of the translation, and there was a lack of complex character development for some characters.
THIS BOOK WAS SO MUCH FUN! Reading The Decagon House Murders felt like playing a game in your brain. Typically, I’m not a cozy mystery girlie— but this book had me page turning for real. So damn enjoyable.
I’m not gonna lie, I’ve yet to read an Agatha Christie book— don’t kill me though, friend. But because she is mothaaa of the murder mystery genre, I’m very familiar with And Then There Were None— the very book this book pays homage to. And Yukito Ayatsuji does an amazing job at giving us a seriously good, fun, and twisted mystery to solve.
I’m really into Japanese lit., so I’m familiar with the particular movement referred to as honkaku— which plays off of Golden Age detective fiction. It’s a genre surrounding “fair play”, where the clues are all laid out in the text so that the reader can solve it, even if it may be difficult. Since I’ve never actually read honkaku, I decided to pick up The Decagon House Murders, and what a fire first introduction to the genre.
Yukito Ayatsuji writes a locked room mystery about seven mystery-loving university students who decide to take a week long trip to the mysterious and uninhabited island of Tsunojima to stay at the infamous Decagon House. This oddly structured space was built by an architect and inhabitant nearly twenty years ago as an annex to his home— the Blue Mansion. But just six months before this current student trip, the home was burnt down— and the architect, his wife, and two house servants living on the island were all brutally murdered. But this doesn’t deter the seven young mystery lovers from visiting the island— because it’s actually why they want to visit. So when everyone finds out that one of their own Mystery Club member’s uncles has access to the island, they jump on the opportunity to go.
And I mean they really shouldn’t have went because of course, and no spoilers here,— everyone starts to die.
Really, I could get all intricate on the details in this book but there are so many layers. So many tools, clues, hints, ideas, concepts, red herrings, and accusations are laid out for the reader. This book is an ‘intellectual puzzle’ with so many minute pieces and details. Mind you, we’re solving this puzzle from two perspectives and from two different groups— the mainland crew and the island crew (you’ll see what that means). So, there are a lot of overlapping opinions and theories between characters.
But for real, everything about this book is a vibe. From the character names— Ellery, Leroux, Agatha, Poe, Van Dine, Orczy, and Carr (all ode to famous Western mystery writers) to the complete academic vibe within the story itself was amazing. A murder mystery about a group of students obsessed with murder mysteries? Couldn’t do it better.
I was guessing andguessing with this book. And while I had ideas or felt close to solving something— there was always more. I was continuously frustrated and always questioning myself— which is a compliment to the author. And just when I knew I cracked the case— Ayatsuji said, “No, you did not guess correctly— no winner here, love..” That big reveal? I see why this is one of the most famous Japanese honkaku novels to date.
The Decagon House Murders was just so good. Go read it. I’m a fan. Entertaining, wild, tricky, redeeming— just yes. The only thing I kinda didn’t like was the lack of character development. I felt like Ellery (I think we can all agree) is the only one who stuck out as our star detective. But it wasn’t enough for me to dock a star. Otherwise? *chefs kiss*
I’m not gonna lie, I’ve yet to read an Agatha Christie book— don’t kill me though, friend. But because she is mothaaa of the murder mystery genre, I’m very familiar with And Then There Were None— the very book this book pays homage to. And Yukito Ayatsuji does an amazing job at giving us a seriously good, fun, and twisted mystery to solve.
I’m really into Japanese lit., so I’m familiar with the particular movement referred to as honkaku— which plays off of Golden Age detective fiction. It’s a genre surrounding “fair play”, where the clues are all laid out in the text so that the reader can solve it, even if it may be difficult. Since I’ve never actually read honkaku, I decided to pick up The Decagon House Murders, and what a fire first introduction to the genre.
Yukito Ayatsuji writes a locked room mystery about seven mystery-loving university students who decide to take a week long trip to the mysterious and uninhabited island of Tsunojima to stay at the infamous Decagon House. This oddly structured space was built by an architect and inhabitant nearly twenty years ago as an annex to his home— the Blue Mansion. But just six months before this current student trip, the home was burnt down— and the architect, his wife, and two house servants living on the island were all brutally murdered. But this doesn’t deter the seven young mystery lovers from visiting the island— because it’s actually why they want to visit. So when everyone finds out that one of their own Mystery Club member’s uncles has access to the island, they jump on the opportunity to go.
And I mean they really shouldn’t have went because of course, and no spoilers here,— everyone starts to die.
Really, I could get all intricate on the details in this book but there are so many layers. So many tools, clues, hints, ideas, concepts, red herrings, and accusations are laid out for the reader. This book is an ‘intellectual puzzle’ with so many minute pieces and details. Mind you, we’re solving this puzzle from two perspectives and from two different groups— the mainland crew and the island crew (you’ll see what that means). So, there are a lot of overlapping opinions and theories between characters.
But for real, everything about this book is a vibe. From the character names— Ellery, Leroux, Agatha, Poe, Van Dine, Orczy, and Carr (all ode to famous Western mystery writers) to the complete academic vibe within the story itself was amazing. A murder mystery about a group of students obsessed with murder mysteries? Couldn’t do it better.
I was guessing andguessing with this book. And while I had ideas or felt close to solving something— there was always more. I was continuously frustrated and always questioning myself— which is a compliment to the author. And just when I knew I cracked the case— Ayatsuji said, “No, you did not guess correctly— no winner here, love..” That big reveal? I see why this is one of the most famous Japanese honkaku novels to date.
The Decagon House Murders was just so good. Go read it. I’m a fan. Entertaining, wild, tricky, redeeming— just yes. The only thing I kinda didn’t like was the lack of character development. I felt like Ellery (I think we can all agree) is the only one who stuck out as our star detective. But it wasn’t enough for me to dock a star. Otherwise? *chefs kiss*
not really a genre i’m interested in reading more of but it’s good to try new things! and I want to read more translated works this year so ☑️
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
fast-paced
stefano lo cigno get better at translating books challenge
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No