Cover of The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji, featuring the text The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji.

The Decagon House Murders By Yukito Ayatsuji Book Review

The Decagon House Murders is a 1987 Japanese mystery novel. It is the debut work of the author Yukito Ayatsuji. It belongs to the Honkaku subgenre of mystery fiction. 

 

Here’s my review of the book.

 

Plot

They are the seven main members of the university’s mystery club. Ellery, Van, Poe, Agatha, Orsay, Leroux, and Carr. Just by hearing their names, one understands that they come from the names of famous writers in mystery literature. This is the rule of the mystery club: each member will be nicknamed after a famous mystery writer.

 

The seven members come to Tsunojima Island for a vacation. They will stay in Decagon House. Decagon House has a terrible past. Nakamura Seiji, the old owner of the house, killed his entire family and committed suicide in this house. People say that Nakamura Seiji was driven mad by the death of his only daughter. However, Van’s uncle purchased the island. Van then offers the rest of the club members a holiday on the island. 

 

Everyone comes to the island according to plan. They will stay for a week. After a week, the boat will come and take them. But before leaving, the boatman warns Agatha that the insatiable ghost of Nakamura Seiji can be seen on the island. Agatha bursts out laughing after hearing that.

 

The first day or two was good. Since then, one by one, members have died. Some think that some criminals came to the island from outside and must have been hiding and doing the murders; some think that the murderer is among the members. Some believe Nakamura’s ghost is doing the murder.

 

But who is the real killer? A search of the entire island found no one, and none of the members could be suspected. But is it really a case of ghosts? Does the sudden death of Chiori, a former member of the club, have any connection with these murders?

 

My Review

Authors of the “Golden Age” side of the Honkaku genre include Edogawa Rampo, Seishi Yokomizo, and Keikichi Osaka. After that, the Honkaku genres relaxed a bit because recently, another new genre, “Psychology Focused Crime,” has come into context. The Honkaku genre somehow managed to survive due to the popularity of the new genre. However, Yukito Ayatsuji brought the Honkaku genre back into the limelight in 1987.

 

The story started differently. The actual names of the characters are only given in the character script at the beginning of the book; all of them continue under pseudonyms throughout the rest of the story. Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None will have an unlikely match with the plot of the book. I thought at first, what’s the matter? Is this the Japanese adaptation of “And Then There Were None”? 

 

Author Yukito, an Agatha Christie fan, gives a Tribute to Agatha Christie. The book has composed an entirely separate story of its own based on the background of Christie’s famous novel. Christie’s antagonist and Yukito’s antagonist have different philosophies.

 

You will not find any poetic touch in the book. You will get very little background story. There is not enough background story to develop feelings for either the victim or the killer. So, those who like background stories too much may be disappointed. Yukito doesn’t even try to engage the reader emotionally. The reader will observe the whole story in the third person. Readers will try to find tricks and clues, how the murders were done, and who the murderer is; this is what the author wants. This is the Honkaku genre.

 

No emotional touch, does that mean the book is not enjoyable? Definitely enjoyable! Events will move so fast that you’ll be scratching your head, wondering, “Who the hell is the killer? Days will go by, thinking about clues without something else coming to mind.

 

Price

Kindle – $9.99

 

Paperback – $12.99

 

Personal Rating

8.5/10. In short, The Decagon House Murders deserves all the praise it received! If you like the Honkaku genre, this book will definitely appeal to you.

 

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