The Decagon House Murders

nerd teacher [books] reviewed The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (The House Murders, #1)

Concept is interesting, execution isn't great.

2 stars

Content warning May spoil the solution of the crime.

While I did enjoy reading this to some extent, it left me feeling really dissatisfied because of how obvious the answer turned out to be. I kept hoping that the solution would be something else, and it just... wasn't.

It's stated that this book was inspired by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, so I expected that the events would unfold in a way that was much more in line with that and that one of the victims would turn out to be the killer (much in the way that the judge was among the victims but later revealed to be the killer in Christie's work). It's also frustrating that some of the gimmicks that would've made the mystery more enticing just... weren't used that much? And when they were, it was just... boring.

The more interesting parts, too, were in places where the victims weren't. While I don't need them to be sympathetic, they should at least... be characters. And most of them were so one-dimensional that it was just dull or so bothersome that I couldn't wait for them to just die so they'd stop existing. I don't feel like that's how I want to feel about any character in books, even when I know someone has to die or probably will die.

And lastly, I think the issue is the English-language marketing of the book. The blurb on the back says that they "need to solve the crime" to stop it, but... that's not what happens. If your marketing is also playing on the fact that the book was inspired by And Then There Were None and it doesn't really deviate from the "none were left alive" (or only deviates for the killer)... Then I don't see the purpose in making it sound as if there's something that will subvert that expectation, which I don't think is the fault of the book but is the fault of the marketing setting up bad expectations.

Karen from AustCrime reviewed The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (The House Murders, #1)

Review - The Decagon House Murders

3 stars

Published in 1978, THE DECAGON HOUSE MURDERS is credited with launching the shinhonkaku movement, a return to Golden Age style plotting and clue provision for the reader to discover along the way. It's often described as a subgenre of the honkaku style - which can best be described as whodunit's rather than why or howdunits. The timeframe of the emergence of both of these styles is particularly interesting, with honkaku mostly considered to have been at its most prolific from the late 1880's to the mid 1950's and shinhonkaku styled novels prevalent from the late 1980s through to around 1997, although examples are still being published today. Perhaps as a result of those distinct timeframes, novels from the shinhonkaku period are normally seen as more interactive or lively, incorporating critical commentary of both itself and other works (or theories / methodologies) commonly deployed in Golden Age works, whereas honkaku is …

Published in 1978, THE DECAGON HOUSE MURDERS is credited with launching the shinhonkaku movement, a return to Golden Age style plotting and clue provision for the reader to discover along the way. It's often described as a subgenre of the honkaku style - which can best be described as whodunit's rather than why or howdunits. The timeframe of the emergence of both of these styles is particularly interesting, with honkaku mostly considered to have been at its most prolific from the late 1880's to the mid 1950's and shinhonkaku styled novels prevalent from the late 1980s through to around 1997, although examples are still being published today. Perhaps as a result of those distinct timeframes, novels from the shinhonkaku period are normally seen as more interactive or lively, incorporating critical commentary of both itself and other works (or theories / methodologies) commonly deployed in Golden Age works, whereas honkaku is more traditional or conventional in style and execution. Full Review at: www.austcrimefiction.org/review/decagon-house-murders-yukito-ayatsuji

Athena reviewed The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (The House Murders, #1)

The Decagon House Murders

3 stars

had to read this because of the concept of a puzzle (mystery) based on architectural form. As far as that goes, there was one clever moment, and there was enough going on to make this a page turner for me. Otherwise, a lackluster mystery with a crappy, misogynistic backstory.

Sergio reviewed The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (The House Murders, #1)

Review of 'The Decagon House Murders' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

This was a pretty straightforward mystery read with plenty of references to classic murder mystery novels, an appealing premise and a decent enough unraveling at the end, but not much else. As the cast began to exit the book by way of the titular murders, I found myself wishing I had been attached to them or at least thought something of them beyond just their names which were in many cases the extent of their characterization.

Satch

rated it

Jan. 31, 2022

LemonSky

rated it

Dec. 27, 2021