The Decagon House murders is a fantastic mystery with misdirection. Inspired by Agatha Christie’s And then there were none, met with a more complicated plot than its characters. Readers meant to engage intellectually versus with emotion. Keeping readers on edge about what will happen next.
As my very first full length Japanese Mystery, I had to do my research. Shimada Soji (The Tokyo Zodiac Murders) explains the 20th century western masters of fairy play whodunit type stories. As Christie’s work inspires this, I am not shocked by the western influence. The decagon house murders considered a “honkaku” which means “orthodox” or, as Soji put in terms of, “a form of a detective story that is not only literature but also to a greater or lesser extent of a game.”
As the genre developed in Japan, new twists with the use of traditional murder tropes consider stories like The Decagon Murder House, a masterpiece. As the book starts with an unknown character, knowing they all have to die. Later in the book, it’s revealed.
The Kyoto University brings seven students. Mystery western writers inspire their names, Ellery, Agatha, Carr, Orczy, Leroux, Van and Poe. A part of a mystery club, they go on this remote island to solve a murder. While the seven students were on the island, the eighth member, along with a former member, received letters saying ““My daughter Chiori was murdered by all of you.” It turns out that Chiori was another member of the Club but died, suddenly, the previous year after drinking a lot of whiskey at a party. The letters came from Nakamura Seiji, the architect who designed the two buildings on the island and who himself died recently under mysterious circumstances. His body and that of his wife and two servants were found in the charred remains of the Blue House. The wife’s left hand had been cut off. The murders were never solved. When seven students were on the island to solve the murder, they realized the murderer was someone who knew them.
One thing I will say when reading it, look at the details of the characters. Like watching a film, there are some details that can conclude on who is the murderer. Will I tell? No, but the book is great. It has a slow start and the characters may seem flat for typical western story readers. Once you focus on detail, then that is when it becomes more intriguing.
I give this a 5 out 5 stars. Very great book to read, if you haven’t I will have the links below. if you like manga more i will put the link for manga.
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