The Decagon House Murders: Yukito Ayatsuji (Pushkin Vertigo)

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Sure, one thing is reading about whodunnits, and another thing is being in a whodunnit, but their delayed responses and realizations really made me question how well they were acquainted with the mystery/crime genre.

They’re staying in “Decagon House,” which is exactly that: a ten-sided structure that survived the earlier tragedy. I’m giving this 5 stars because I was completely pulled into it and lived it in my head when I wasn’t reading. And then, the solution to the novel’s puzzle unfolds in a way so ingenious and logical it can stand shoulder to shoulder with the very best mystery novels.

Meanwhile, back on the mainland a former member of the club named Kawaminami receives a letter saying that the death of a girl who died at a club party one year earlier was murder. Six months earlier the owner of the island was brutally murdered alongside his wife and housekeepers, and the case remains unsolved. After all, I didn’t want to get so used to Christie’s style that I could pick out her storytelling tricks and solve her mysteries with my eyes closed. The cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. With not 1 but 2 murder investigations going on, you must keep your wits around and you’re not certain if the murders then and those now are related.

Seven friends go to a deserted island where a bloody triple murder-suicide was committed just six months before in this Japanese classic locked room mystery that gives a nod to And Then There Were None. Also, there seems to be a lot lost in translation as the dialogue is very stilted and not all that realistic, which can leave the reader rolling their eyes and being pulled out of the story.Now the Decagon house has had a 'everyone-murdered' scenario before and coincidentally Chiori is related to the house (she is daughter of the owner). I'm not saying I don't like this book, I think the murder mystery is outstanding for a newbie author, my only complaints being: (1) part of the story telling seems a bit forced, (2) instead of coming up with his own style, the author borrowed a bit too heavily from the classical murder mysteries and used a bit too much of the same-old, same-old elements within those mysteries. An example of this was when the captain manning the vessel that transported the friends to the island commented on their rather bizarre names. The Decagon House Murders pays homage to Agatha Christie's And then there were none, which is one of my fav books.