The Mill House Murders

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Every year, a small group of acquaintances pay a visit to the remote, castle-like Mill House, home to the reclusive Fujinuma Kiichi, son of a famous artist, who has lived his life behind a rubber mask ever since a disfiguring car accident. This year, however, the visit is disrupted by an impossible disappearance, the theft of a painting and a series of baffling murders.

The brilliant Kiyoshi Shimada arrives to investigate. But will he uncover the truth, and will you be able to solve the mystery of the Mill House Murders before he does?

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Another more-than-competent hommage à Dame Agatha. This one, though, is much, much more show more dependent on you to pay careful attention to the dramatis personae on page 11. And pay close attention to the times on chapter opening pages! Most Anglophone readers aren't going to parse the names with the ease of those culturally familiar to us, so bookmark that page and save yourself confusion.

Enjoying, or even solving, it is very dependent on you keeping track of dual timelines, and since all the same characters appear in both, this can be a challenge. It was my mistake to read this book so soon after the first one, The Decagon House Murders...it reinforced my opinion of the prose as flat to my more western reading-ear. The ending of this entry in the ongoing series is, peculisr though it sounds in light of my comments about the prose, melodramatic. Delightfully so, I hasten to add. Made me smile and even lift my hand in a fond salute. After a gap, I will certainly read more of these Pushkin Vertigo-published pleasures. show less

I loved Yukito Ayatsuji’s The Decagon House Murders, the novel that introduced readers to Kiyoshi Shimada, so I was eager to read the second in this series.

While The Decagon House is an artful variation on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, The Mill House Murders pretty much is like nothing else. The disheveled Shimada foists himself on a recluse, Fujinuma Kiichi, who opens his huge, phantasmagorical home only once a year, Sept. 28. Last time Kiichi did so, two people were murdered and a third went missing. Shimada is certain that his childhood friend, who disappeared, is not the murderer, as is assumed. And he proceeds to reveal what really happened, with a very shocking ending.

In the interest of full disclosure, I show more received this book from NetGalley, Pushkin Press and Pushkin Vertigo in exchange for an honest review. show less

This will test some readers of the locked room genre as the reader is constantly taken back to events that occurred one year prior - as they begin to occur in the current setting - shades of deja vu! This narrative style may be off-putting for some as it does take some getting used to - but by the end, the reader is going with the flow.

A side note: I have found Japanese "mystery fiction" to be highly descriptive, with various themes and ideas discussed - in depth, and the characters treated individually (ie: some have their own monologues). I would say to read The Decagon House Murders first to get an idea of the style for this particular author.

As mentioned, events in the past have a way of intruding into the present, repeating show more themselves like the proverbial "Groundhog Day", until the past and the present converge, and our interloper amateur detective, Kiyoshi Shimada, manages to fit the puzzle pieces together to reveal all.

Take a dip and try someone out of your comfort zone! show less

A fun, spooky mystery novel with a small supernatural twist at the end. The plot would make for a good movie, because it is so visual, dark and creepy. But is perhaps a bit too far-fetched for the attentive reader. The book definitely keeps you hooked.

Brilliantly Fantastic.......................

The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji is a brilliant and twisted locked room mystery thriller. The plot plays between past and present with a limited number of characters. It gives you chills and thrills right from the start. I was just hooked up throughout the climax. This will be my first book because of which I was up late in the night. The book is perfect for the lovers of Agatha Christie. The story is fast and the characters are just awesome. And when you reach the climax it felt like it will haunt me forever. I have never read anything like this.

The author created an atmosphere with her storytelling. I could just literally feel the spine tingling thriller while reading it. I couldn't show more believe when the main culprits finally came into light. It is not just any regular locked room mystery, and far from guessing. Definitely, the book deserves 5 stars. show less

This is a really fun premise, it felt more English than many other Japanese mysteries, so a little more familiar. The mystery unfurls neatly, and the ending is thunderclap worthy.

Clever and heavy on a gothic ambience to me - love masks and estates. Narration is well done but I would not mind "re-reading" in the future to catch some stuff I missed. No, I didn't get guess the ending - what a twist that was.