The Decagon House Murders was a hard book to put down! I love being able to read mysteries in one sitting, and this was no exception. This will definitely be a classic mystery for years to come

Honestly, the formatting for the eARC of this book is so bad it's impossible to read. I tried starting it multiple times and just couldn't get through it because of the formatting, and have now given up.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed this one the plot kept me interested until the end which is not easy, and the characters were engaging and believable. I highly recommend this book.

I think fans of murder mysteries like Clue or Knives Out will definitely like this one - also lovers of literature! The group that goes to an island is a group of college friends who are in a mystery writers club. It was super fun that all characters are named after a famous mystery writer (like, is Edgar Allen Poe going to die or not!?). It was not super predictable and the clues were a fun puzzle to work with. I think it was a little bit overly didactic in teaching you what to notice/how to think at times, but it was still very enjoyable.

This was my first Japanese closed/locked room/isolated mystery and now I think I'll read more of them.

The ending was one of those that I love - makes me go back and reread to double check that I read what I think I did.

However, the first few chapters kind of dragged out and made me lose interest. In the end, it took me over a month to finish this. It took me getting on a plane to finally sit down and finish it.

I know a lot of people (myself included) use NetGalley for ARCs of books they already know they want to read. But the best part sometimes is stumbling upon hidden gems like this one. I never would have heard of this book if I hadn’t seen the delightfully weird cover while browsing NetGalley.

A closed circle whodunnit with a fascinating ten-sided setting, The Decagon House Murders kept me guessing the whole time. I did suspect the ending but to be fair I had 3 or 4 working theories and no idea which was most likely. The twisty plot was fun and the atmosphere creepy. I was hooked. I read this book late into the night because I couldn’t put it down. 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you, NetGalley, publisher, and author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read. It was suspenseful with enough red herrings that kept me guessing throughout. I am a fan of Agatha Christie and this book gave all the right vibes. I did expect more cultural nuances.

The Decagon House Murders

Originally published in 1987, this is the English translation of the book which is said to have been credited with launching the Shinhonkaku movement to Japanese mystery writing which played heavily on the Golden Age of crime style of plotting.
Five University students- members of the University’s Mystery Club - decide to visit an island which was the scene of a gruesome multiple murder the previous year. And it quickly appears that history may be about to repeat itself…
Something was very possibly lost in Translation but I found the characters incredibly wooden and without any real meat to the bones of their personality. At best, they reminded me of a group of contestants on University Challenge!
There was one bit in the book (but only one bit) where I audibly had a sharp intake of breath at the reveal, but the rest of the book had me reading at a slightly disinterested level. I just couldn’t fully engage (but as I said, I’m pretty sure that the reason was something was lost in translation).
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Thanks to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

A wonderful book, in the style of the Golden Age mysteries. I was gripped, I loved the cliches and tropes of the books that it was referencing directly. I love a meta book. A nice simple mystery with lots of twists and turns, and a satisfying ending. Beautifully translated as well. Loved it.

I thought this book was really cute. I knew going in it was a riff on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None so no major surprises but who doesn't love a closed house/remote island mystery? I thought they did a good job making each character distinct which some novels with a high victim count don't bother to do.

An intriguing variant on a locked door mystery. Deliberately referencing all the great murder mystery writers, this might have left itself open to pastiche, but it holds together very well and classically we are none the wiser until the denouement. The juxtapostion with activity on the mainland shows a view of Japanese life and social structure as a nice counterpoint.

The Decagon House Murders is an excellent locked island mystery similar, yet very different, from And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Similar in the way that a group of people are together on an island that they cannot escape from. Otherwise the setting, story, and characters are quite unique and distinctive. This time it’s a group of university mystery club students visiting the site of a gruesome murder-suicide while on spring break and murder and mayhem ensue.

I have to admit I guessed the killer right from the start but the reveal for why and how they did it was very intriguing and I did not guess that part. .

If you enjoy classic Agatha Christie novels or a good whodunnit then you will enjoy this one I think.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc I received**

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....

Meanwhile, we are introduced to some peripherally related characters ashore who are involved in the situation. The author was interested in Golden Age Mysteries and even the characters in this book note similarities to Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.”

Initially, the story felt somewhat dry, formulaic, but once the characters were set and the layout established, the pace and intensity picked up. The second half moved at a good pace. I’m of two minds about the Epilogue, as I imagine other readers may be.

Rating 3.5* rounded to 4. The summing up was well done.

A copy of this book was provided by Pushkin Vertigo through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for sending me an ARC!

This is a 2.5/5 that I'm rounding down just because the epilogue kinda ruined it for me, as I'm not at all sure what the final lines mean. The big reveal was shocking, and I totally didn't see it coming, but the Epilogue made it bleh.

I loved the atmosphere and how everything was planned out. You can tell so much effort was put into making a unique mystery. Its crazy to think there are people out there that have this level of creativity in their brains. I do understand the plot significance of it, but I also wasn't the biggest fan of the Mainland sections in the story. They do have their own purpose but it always slowed down the story for me.

Still, a very interesting mystery.

Do you remember that Agatha Christie book that used to have a racist title but is now called And Then There Were None? When I read it as a child, I actually found it scary, but then, when I reread it as an adult, I appreciated how well-written it was. I read so many Christie books as a child they kind of blurred into one because of the similarities between them, but And Then There Were None always stood out.

The Decagon House Murders starts in a similar way—a group of young people visits a mysterious island, except this time, they are not strangers, but members of a mystery fiction club at uni. Unlike Christie’s characters, they are well aware why they are here—to work on their short stories and be influenced by a real-life murder that happened on the island.

I've read some reviews of this book saying that it's confusing because of the number of characters and that's true. After that initial scene on the island, the book cuts to a bunch of other people, including an ex-member of the same club as the people on the island, discussing the murder of the Decagon House's residents, including the man who designed the building, as well as the (accidental or not) death of another club member. Sure, it's confusing with all the characters, but if you focus more on the information given and less on the people giving it, it's going to be easier. It's all about the murders, not the characters.

However confusing at first, the book is a great homage to classic detective stories and a nod to those who read them. It has an interesting twist at the end, so even if you’ve read many crime stories, it still offers something new. If you like Christie's books and are ready to push through the initial intricacy, you'll enjoy this one too, if only to be able to read it as a follow-up to And Then There Were None.

I'm not always the biggest fan of mysteries, but this book's synopsis caught my eye, and it did not disappoint! I loved how intricately woven the story was and how captivating the characters were. I was on the edge of my seat almost the entire time!

Book was previously released, so unfortunately it's not eligible for this year's Best Books at NYPL.

A group of students part of a mystery writing club go on vacation on the site of a gruesome murder, what they don't know is that they have been led into a trap by someone seeking revenge, and that they're all in danger. This novel is an obvious tribute to Agatha Christie's 'And then there were none', and lovingly references other mystery writers, something that i couldn't quite appreciate as I have no knowledge of the genre. The writing was quite dry and the dialogues felt stilted, even when taking into account the fact that those are pretentios students from the 80's (secret history who?). The characters are obvious flat archetypes which work well with the story being told but left me wanting more. The most exciting part was when all the exposition was done and the murders started happening, I could feel that the writer/translator was more in their comfort zone, and I had definitely gotten into a groove with the writing style too. There's a BIG twist near the end which completely blindsided me, but once again, i'm not a seasoned msytery reader so take that with the grain of salt. I felt like the ending was overexplained and gave away too much, it kind of whimpered instead of ending strong.
While not really my cup of tea, it was an overall good (and quick!) reading experience, would recommend it for someone who would like a twist on a classic "no exit" trope, in a japanese context.

I am always on the lookout for excellent mystery books and this was such a wonderful find. I can't wait for more of Ayatsuji's books to be translated!

One for the Agatha Christie fans, I'd wager.

This was a fairly good book that was fairly well translated, and it represents a fair approximation, albeit slightly novel angle, to the style of the "Golden Age" of detective fiction. But no more than that, I think.

While this works well as a throwback to the good old days of mystery novels, I'm not entirely sure that this has stood the test of time to such an extent that a reprint was vital. Nonetheless, I'm happy to have had the opportunity to read it, and I did get a lot of enjoyment out of the experience.