The Decagon House Murders

Starred review from May 4, 2015
First published in 1987, Ayatsuji’s brilliant and richly atmospheric puzzle will appeal to fans of golden age whodunits. Six months after the bodies of architect Nakamura Seiji, his wife, and two servants were found in the burnt remains of a house on isolated Tsunojima, a small island off the coast of Japan, seven members of the Kyoto University Mystery Club decide to visit Tsunojima. They are to reside for a week in the bizarrely constructed Decagon House, where everything seems to have 10 sides and where they soon learn that a killer is targeting them. The tension in this sophisticated homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is expertly heightened by a parallel plot set on the mainland, where two other members of the Kyoto society have received threatening letters, ostensibly from the dead Seiji. As in the best fair-play mysteries, every word counts, leading up to a jaw-dropping but logical reveal.

Starred review from December 1, 2022

Japanese author Ayatsuji's 1987 debut, a brilliant homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, was first translated into English in 2015 (another translation in his "Mansion" mystery series is coming in 2023). This complex puzzle mystery, known as shin-honkuko or "new orthodox," features two sets of murders to untangle. Seven Kyoto University Mystery Club members visit an isolated island, now owned by a member's uncle, to enjoy a week relaxing and, perhaps, solving the murders that occurred there just months before. Upon arrival, the students are cut off from the mainland, with no electricity or telephone service in a bizarre, 10-sided mansion that was designed by an eccentric architect who was killed along with almost everyone else on the island. In traditional locked-room style, the students, whose detective skills are useless in real life, die one by one. Narrator P.J. Ochlan's lively performance accentuates the brisk pace and creepy, somewhat campy atmosphere. He nicely differentiates the large cast of characters, allowing listeners to concentrate on Ayatsuji's wonderfully elaborate plot. VERDICT A sure bet for classic-mystery lovers, this well-narrated thriller (hopefully just the first of many Ayatsuji audiobooks to come) should also appeal to adult and YA horror fans.--Beth Farrell

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.