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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:
Complicated
I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pushkin Press in exchange for an honest review.
There are genuinely few things in the world which can compare with a truly well-written murder mystery to me. Every since I discovered Agatha Christie, I have constantly been looking for other authors which can match her tone and ingenuity. I do not say it lightly when I say that Ayatsuji is up there with the best.
This book starts so strong that it instantly got my attention. A group of college students are part of a club dedicated to mystery stories. Each one has taken the name of a mystery author (including my dear Agatha) and they have embarked on a trip to stay in the infamous Decagon house. This house was previously the site of an unsolved grisly murder, and the students are staying there as a chance to experience something from a real-life murder mystery. As can be predicted when a bunch of people go to stay in an unusual house on a remote island, it soon becomes clear that there might be an all-new murder mystery starring them.
This book does reference Agatha Christie and And Then There Were None a lot, but apart from the basic premise of a murder island there isn't much in common with the book. I really appreciated that as a lot of people lift from Christie without adding anything new, whereas this felt much more like a standalone work with some neat references. Tonewise though this very much felt like the classic mysteries I love, and it was so refreshing to find that from a different author. This book also created some serious tension. I was genuinely scared reading it at times and I never felt like I had worked it out, so it was this delicious combination of not wanting to stop reading to reach the solution whilst also being incredibly tense as I waited to see what would happen next.
Overall, there's not much else I can say about this book without giving stuff away, but if you're a fan of classic murder mysteries then this is one you have to check out. I was gutted to discover that this is the only one of Ayatsuji's mysteries translated so far, and I really hope the rest of them receive the same treatment. For a spooky, intriguing, murderous time, you can't go wrong here.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars
There are genuinely few things in the world which can compare with a truly well-written murder mystery to me. Every since I discovered Agatha Christie, I have constantly been looking for other authors which can match her tone and ingenuity. I do not say it lightly when I say that Ayatsuji is up there with the best.
This book starts so strong that it instantly got my attention. A group of college students are part of a club dedicated to mystery stories. Each one has taken the name of a mystery author (including my dear Agatha) and they have embarked on a trip to stay in the infamous Decagon house. This house was previously the site of an unsolved grisly murder, and the students are staying there as a chance to experience something from a real-life murder mystery. As can be predicted when a bunch of people go to stay in an unusual house on a remote island, it soon becomes clear that there might be an all-new murder mystery starring them.
This book does reference Agatha Christie and And Then There Were None a lot, but apart from the basic premise of a murder island there isn't much in common with the book. I really appreciated that as a lot of people lift from Christie without adding anything new, whereas this felt much more like a standalone work with some neat references. Tonewise though this very much felt like the classic mysteries I love, and it was so refreshing to find that from a different author. This book also created some serious tension. I was genuinely scared reading it at times and I never felt like I had worked it out, so it was this delicious combination of not wanting to stop reading to reach the solution whilst also being incredibly tense as I waited to see what would happen next.
Overall, there's not much else I can say about this book without giving stuff away, but if you're a fan of classic murder mysteries then this is one you have to check out. I was gutted to discover that this is the only one of Ayatsuji's mysteries translated so far, and I really hope the rest of them receive the same treatment. For a spooky, intriguing, murderous time, you can't go wrong here.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Somewhat disappointed by this book. I can see that the author was trying to capture the essence of the classic crime of the golden era and in some senses they did. However I found the characters wholly undeveloped and although that is true of many of the old classics, somehow it didn’t work here. Maybe because it has all been done before and a lot better that it didn’t live up to its promise.
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:
No
I feel the length of this book is its biggest downfall. I loved the idea of this story and enjoyed it all the way through but I felt I needed more in every aspect. I found myself struggling to differenciate between the characters as I didn't truly know who they were, I could read at least another hundred pages of this just to feel a bit more connected. This also meant that the reveal of the killer at the end took me too long to realise because I just didn't get who it was supposed to be.
It didn't ruin this book as a whole for me but I find it difficult to feel emotionally attached to the story.
It didn't ruin this book as a whole for me but I find it difficult to feel emotionally attached to the story.
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes