The Decagon House Murders: Yukito Ayatsuji (Pushkin Vertigo)

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Clodhopping prose and clunky exposition don't succeed in spoiling the pleasure of trying to guess the identity of the culprit, or the highly ingenious solution." - Laura Wilson, The Guardian The island-stay is meant to be a vacation of sorts, though the new editor of the club's mystery-magazine, Dead Island -- named after Agatha Christie's And Then There were None, whose original Japanese title conveniently was ... Dead Island (死人島) -- wants them to write for it during the week they'll be spending there. This was a twisted plot. We both follow the characters stranded on the island and those on the mainland trying to find out the meaning of some mysterious letters they’ve all received. As you might have already guessed out those on the island start dying one by one, and little clues are thrown for the reader to try to solve the murder (I didn’t). First, I want to say thank you for Sanny who introduced me with this novel, and more importantly introduced me with Honkaku mystery genre. Honkaku means orthodox in Japan, and this genre keeps the whodunit mystery stories alive in Japan. I admit I didn't know the existence of Honkaku mystery before I read this novel.

Seven students, members of their university's mystery club, decide to spend a week-long vacation on Tsunojima Island off the coast of Japan. Six months earlier the owner of the island was brutally murdered alongside his wife and housekeepers, and the case remains unsolved. Soon after their arrival they begin to suspect that one of their members is intending to kill them one at a time, but who? Much is made of this cult classic being a homage to, "And Then There Were None," and, indeed, it has a lot of similarities - and nods - to, not only Agatha Christie, but other Golden Age authors. The novel involves a group of students, who belong to a university mystery club, visiting an uninhabited island. Six months before, there was a fire on the island and the couple who lived there were found murdered, along with the two servants. The gardener was missing and was suspected of possible involvement of the crimes. Of course, our group of students are looking forward to their week away - happily telling the fisherman who drop them off to collect them the following week. What, after all, could go wrong? But about a year ago, the Blue Mansion burned down, killing all the family members. However, the dead people were found to have sedatives, so they are believed to be murdered. His celebration of traditional whodunits plays with the mystery genre in a wonderfully self-referential way… With each new murder, the remaining members of the group must use their knowledge of the genre to find the killer and try to stay alive.” — Esquire , The 50 Best Mysteries of All Time The book also tells the story of what was happening on the mainland at the same time, with people who were starting to put together the idea that something very wrong was happening.Ayatsuji's brilliant and richly atmospheric puzzle will appeal to fans of golden age whodunits... Every word counts, leading up to a jaw-dropping but logical reveal" — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Oct 31 The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross Launches Special Collaboration Game Update With Overlord AnimeBut if the whodunnit part is reasonably well done, the how-he-done-it -- painstakingly then spelled out -- is kind of a mess. Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for April Week 1: April 5 - 11 Anime Releases Grenadier: Hohoemi no Senshi (Grenadier: The Beautif... read more Blend two scoops of Roald Dahl with one cup of The Twilight Zone, add a pinch of Jeffrey Archer, pour it into a PIE CRUST, bake 45 minutes, and dig in? Behold, the perfect escapist drug! If I could crush this book into a powder and snort it, I would." — Vulture The Witch Hunt Game: a breathtaking thriller sets in a scary private school for girls which looks like it's taken straight out of Dario Argento's surreal horror movie classic Suspiria.

I enjoy reading mysteries from all corners of the world. Here in Japan of 1986, several college students are on a boat to an island to spend a week indulging in their common enjoyment. They all belong to a mystery club and plan to consider the multiple murders incident that occurred on the island six months before as well as the future work of the club. They will be on this island with no communication out or way off. What could possibly go wrong....

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He had been suffering for months. He had been brooding for weeks. He had been thinking about just one thing for days. And now his mind was focusing on one single, clearly defined goal. years ago, Nakamuro Seji built a Blue Mansion and a decagonal Annex on an uninhabited Japanese island. 6 months prior to this book, the mansion burned down and took the livers of the owner, his wife, and their 2 servants. Strange detail was that all the dead had been administered a sedative and were murdered prior to the blaze. This one's like a 3.7 popped up to a 4 by the ending. Speaking of which, crikey! While not the best Japanese crime novel I've ever read, had I been eating something when the big reveal of this story came along, I probably would have choked because of the huge gasp that involuntarily came out of me. As soon as that cleared, the first words out of my mouth were "holy sh*t." I don't have that reaction very often; even though there have been many times I've been truly surprised at the unmasking of the who, this one absolutely takes the cake. They would arrive there suspecting nothing. Without any hesitation or fear they would walk into the decagonal trap, where they would be sentenced.