Review: The Decagon House Murders

Title: The Decagon House Murders
Author: Yukito Ayatsuji
Publication Date: June 20, 2015 (English translation)
Genre: Mystery/Psychological/Suspense
Recommended If You Like: And Then There Were None, twisty mysteries

The Book: 

When a group of students from a Japanese university, all part of a mystery fiction club, move into the Decagon House for a week, they think it is simply to visit and understand the site where a notorious multiple murder occurred the year previously. But as they start dying one by one, they begin to realize somewhere on the island there is once again a murderer.

What I Liked:

This is such a clever, gripping read! It reads as a Japanese homage of sorts to one of my all-time favorite books, And Then There Were None (a muse the book readily has the characters themselves acknowledge). This is a book that is scary, suspenseful, and surprising. I could not put this book down, and read it in less than a day. And I never saw the ending coming, it absolutely blew my mind.

Anything I Didn't Like?

I just wish that more of Yukito Ayatsuji's books were translated into English! I would read more in a heartbeat.

So...?

I studied Japanese literature in college (including a Japanese Horror class), and it was a wonderful treat to return to something I had read a lot of and loved. And to have such a great take on my second favorite book of all time just made it even better. I definitely recommend this book.