Reviews

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

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lee_bee_'s review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

justinkhchen's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 stars

A classic game of deduction, The Decagon House Murders feels familiar, because it echoes so much to the old school mysteries such as Agatha Christie's, playing the same tropes, but distilling them to the purest form. I also appreciate the nerdy undertone, as characters calling each other after famous mystery writers/characters, and the majority of the book is just a bunch of enthusiasts playing armchair detectives (like the readers), coming up with plausible theories and culprit. The pacing is slow for today's preference (and the English translation, while serviceable, doesn't offer much in the way of energy and stylistic flair). Lastly, a bit of a personal pet peeve, I'm not always a fan of a reveal that couldn't translate across mediums (the reveal will not work verbatim if this was adapted to a movie), while the final 'mic-drop' is indeed shocking, it feels slightly cheated in retrospect. All in all, still a decent read if you're in the mood for a good locked-room mystery.