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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
mysterious
medium-paced
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
The Decagon House Murders has a pretty typical murder mystery beginning, starring amateur mystery enthusiasts, a deserted island, and a score to settle. This is an intentional choice, and it lends our characters (unearned) confidence to deal with a horrifying situation even as they're picked off one by one.
It's a bit of a slow, philosophical start while the main cast gets settled at the strange but meticulously designed decagonal house, but things get more interesting (in my view) when we zoom out from the island and the squabbling of the university students therein. Two members of the mystery club who quit and didn't come on the vacation receive letters from a man who was murdered with his family on the very same island now hosting their friends. It was his daughter who died at the club's New Year's party last year of alcohol poisoning. He accuses the club members who were at the party of murdering her, seemingly from beyond the grave. As these two team up with a quirky friend of a friend to get to the bottom of the island's secrets, things heat up for those who have been so carefully situated far away from anyone who could help them.
Signs on their doors label one in the group a murderer and another the detective. Everyone else is destined to be a victim. But who in the group of amateur sleuths makes the cut as a detective? Who's the murderer? Is it truly one of them? Or is there anyone else on the island? And, of course, the most pressing question for our terrified students is, who will die? What some initially write off as a game or prank becomes so much more with the first death... And the next... And the next.
This is a book that was slow to grow on me, but when we reached the end I experienced that elusive "oh, shit" moment you get from a mystery that successfully kept you distracted until the time was ripe. The way it all came together was fascinating, and seeing the events replayed from the murderer's point of view helped me put it all together. I see why this is considered a classic locked room mystery, and I want to see what other puzzles the author has up his sleeve.
It's a bit of a slow, philosophical start while the main cast gets settled at the strange but meticulously designed decagonal house, but things get more interesting (in my view) when we zoom out from the island and the squabbling of the university students therein. Two members of the mystery club who quit and didn't come on the vacation receive letters from a man who was murdered with his family on the very same island now hosting their friends. It was his daughter who died at the club's New Year's party last year of alcohol poisoning. He accuses the club members who were at the party of murdering her, seemingly from beyond the grave. As these two team up with a quirky friend of a friend to get to the bottom of the island's secrets, things heat up for those who have been so carefully situated far away from anyone who could help them.
Signs on their doors label one in the group a murderer and another the detective. Everyone else is destined to be a victim. But who in the group of amateur sleuths makes the cut as a detective? Who's the murderer? Is it truly one of them? Or is there anyone else on the island? And, of course, the most pressing question for our terrified students is, who will die? What some initially write off as a game or prank becomes so much more with the first death... And the next... And the next.
This is a book that was slow to grow on me, but when we reached the end I experienced that elusive "oh, shit" moment you get from a mystery that successfully kept you distracted until the time was ripe. The way it all came together was fascinating, and seeing the events replayed from the murderer's point of view helped me put it all together. I see why this is considered a classic locked room mystery, and I want to see what other puzzles the author has up his sleeve.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infidelity, Violence, Vomit