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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji is a delightfully tricky take on Christie's classic And Then There Were None. A group of students in a Mystery Club are picked off one by one while staying in a decagon shaped house on an island where a brutal crime occurred six months before.
I love the way this book plays with the genre, both by referencing Christie's book directly and through the chosen nicknames of the characters, which are all crime novelists or detectives. Names become very important to the story.
I also liked the back and forth of the events on the island vs the events on the mainland, where an ex-club member is investigating after receiving a mysterious threatening letter. This split gave the plotline more dynamics while introducing nuance, red herrings, and plahing with timeline.
This is one of those mysteries where I had suspicions and my instincts said something was off, but the narrative manages to wiggle out of my grasp. I wouldn't really say this is a fair play mystery due to certain elements of the solution, but a lot of the clues are there.
I love the way this book plays with the genre, both by referencing Christie's book directly and through the chosen nicknames of the characters, which are all crime novelists or detectives. Names become very important to the story.
I also liked the back and forth of the events on the island vs the events on the mainland, where an ex-club member is investigating after receiving a mysterious threatening letter. This split gave the plotline more dynamics while introducing nuance, red herrings, and plahing with timeline.
This is one of those mysteries where I had suspicions and my instincts said something was off, but the narrative manages to wiggle out of my grasp. I wouldn't really say this is a fair play mystery due to certain elements of the solution, but a lot of the clues are there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It lost a star for enjoyment. Quality-wise I’d give it 5. I can’t explain why I gave it four without spoilers, aside from sadness.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed how the perspective switched between what was happening on the mainland vs. the island. The beginning before these shifts occurred felt a little slow, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the ending.
As someone who is a fan of Christie's And Then There Were None, this was a really well-written and intruiging mystery. Inspired by the island setting and the one-by-one killings, this book recreated the same tense atmosphere while also having so many plausible explanations. I myself had a couple of theories but was completely shocked by the reveal. The mystery was subtle, with many interweaving stories that kept me intrigued. The characters could have been a little bit more fleshed out, but I really enjoyed the twist of them all being friends within the mystery club. Being experienced with mystery novels and having deep relationships with each other added another layer that Christie's novel did not have. Even though I loved And Then There Were None, I think I liked this book more. It was a refreshing take, with many believable red herrings set in a remarkable setting (the Decagon House itself was a perfect vehicle for the story). This book is much more psychological rather than action-packed, which I enjoyed about it. I would definitely recommend as a really fast-paced and thought-provoking read.
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i think its a translation thing but this was unfortunately flat and not as gripping as i would like from this style of mystery novel