chynes057 's review for:

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

4.0

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I picked this up on a whim because i want to get more into mystery but the reviews almost deterred me. i decided to ignore them and i’m glad i did. while it is basically the plot of and then there were none with a twist, it was easy to get in to and keeps your attention. i was genuinely scared and nervous at parts and it was that dread that made me keep reading. the reveal was lost on me at first though because i was trying to power through the last 50 pages. i had to flip back once i realized Van was not amongst the names i thought he was still on the island and then i realized he had revealed himself like 5 pages ago. that line did stop me in my tracks after i went back to it though and it had me going back trying to figure out how that was even possible because with the two locations pov, he was truly in two places at once. i appreciated that they wrapped it up so succinctly with the explanation of why van did it and how he did it but i think he motive was a little weak and i think the end left a little to be desired. so no one ever finds out? he just gets away with it? everyone got what the deserved? the bottle is back and it’s full circle? i think there were other paths the author could have explored that would have made for a stronger ending because after all that build up and finding the corpse in the hidden room, the story was rich with detail and imagery and places to go and then it just kinda gets shoved into a box. that being said!! i really enjoyed this and am not mad i read it at all. it did frighten me and i’m glad it’s over so i don’t have to keep reading with goose bumps. i would give it a 3.5!