The Decagon House Murders: Yukito Ayatsuji (Pushkin Vertigo)

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They find a strange collection of name-plates “first victim, second victim, third victim fourth victim, last victim, detective, murderer” that shakes them up. I recommend it for the complex puzzle and detail in the story and its answer to And Then There Were None, which I recommend reading or rereading before this book. Initially, the story felt somewhat dry, formulaic, but once the characters were set and the layout established, the pace and intensity picked up. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy ( Your California Privacy Rights) and Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Also, I needed more character development just so I could attach more of an identity to each of the people on the island.

First published in 1987, The Decagon House Murders had a huge part to play in revitalizing the honkaku, or orthodox sub-genre of murder mystery novels in Japan. But I did really enjoy the book (PS: The narration style was not a problem for me and if you enjoy cozy mysteries, Agatha Christie mysteries, it would not affect your enjoyment of the book either) and if you love And then there were none, definitely give this a try. Thank you to the author, Yukito Ayatsuji, the translater, Hong-Li Wong, and the publisher, Pushkin Press, for this opportunity. The writing style lacked to convey true emotions at some points which can be problem of translation. With the exception of Ellery, who is obviously set up as our official detective in the group, everyone else is pretty much void of a personality other than one or two emotions that they express when stressed.

All nine mystery club members received letters saying “My daughter Chiori was murdered by all of you. What’s more, mid-way through, a character makes explicit reference to the events unfolding being similar to Christie’s novel; a clever postmodern move by Ayatsuji to remind the reader to approach the book as a mystery to be solved and not merely a story to be read. The Decagon House Murders ( Japanese: 十角館の殺人, Hepburn: Jukkakukan no Satsujin) is a Japanese manga series, based on Yukito Ayatsuji's novel of the same name, illustrated by Hiro Kiyohara. The Decagon House Murders ( 十角館の殺人, Jūkakukan no satsujin) is a 1987 Japanese mystery novel, the debut work of author Yukito Ayatsuji.

He will know the extra layers and extra walls and extra rooms; just as he will know your secrets, casting a cold eye upon them. While they are away on the island, a former member of the mystery group, Kawaminami receives a mysterious letter that points out his connection to a former student Chiori, who died. A group of students arrive on a deserted island, which was the scene of a grisly murder one-year prior. It tells the story of a group of seven university students who travel to a deserted island where a strange decagonal mansion stands.As I usually do with Japanese fiction in translation, I'll note that if you're new to it you may find the prose stilted at first, give yourself some time to get comfortable. They both have students going to a remote island where they’re killed off 1 by 1 and both openly pay homage to Agatha Christie’s original. They are intrigued to spend a week on this island because an unsolved murder/suicide happened there six months previously. A couple of university students who are members of a mystery club and crime fiction aficionados travel to the decagon house, which is on a remote island that was the site of a brutal and still unsolved multiple murder the year before. Yes fine all of our characters are in a Detective Fiction club and have taken on the names of their favorite authors as their nicknames, but they seemed to run together too much.

What begins as a week of fun and writing time for seven members of their university's Crime Club at an uninhabited island quickly turns into a nightmare.But during their first night there, one of the group is killed, and the body left with a grisly reminder of what happened to the island’s ill-fated inhabitants. The puzzle it poses and solves is of great quality, and the parts of the novel dedicated to the island inhabitants and their growing anxieties and paranoia are particularly compelling. Meaning all clues are given, so despite the improbability of the crime, you, the reader, could in theory solve it as well.

Still, none of the murders actually requires an elaborate setup; any of the seven could’ve done them.With them secluded on an island completely cut off from the main land, they need to use their amateur sleuthing skills to figure out who the killer is before it's too late. The members of the mystery club are excited to stay at the decagon house, uncover clues and discuss theories to determine what really happened. The plot kicks off with a reference to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, and continues with loving nods (including all the characters having nicknames based on American and European mystery authors) throughout. These conversations serve Ayatsuji’s purpose, which is chiefly to frame the events of the book not as a novel but as a puzzle.