The Decagon House Murders

A knowing tribute to classic crime, it features all manner of puzzles, including locked rooms, jigsaws and magic tricks -- Mark Sanderson * The Times *
Highly ingenious * Guardian, Best Crime and Thrillers *
Very clever indeed -- Anthony Horowitz
Fiendish foul play... taking its cues from Agatha Christie's locked-room classic And Then There Were None... Ayatsuji's skillful, furious pacing propels the narrative... This is a homage to Golden Age detective fiction, but it's also unabashed entertainment -- Sarah Weinman * New York Times *
The Decagon House Murders is one of the most enjoyable classic crime novels I've ever read. An evocative island setting, a perfectly constructed puzzle, and an entirely satisfying solution. It'll keep you guessing until the very end. -- Alex Pavesi, author of Eight Detectives
[A] landmark 1987 puzzle mystery * New York Times *
Behold, the perfect escapist drug! If I could crush this book into a powder and snort it, I would * Vulture *
Ayatsuji's brilliant and richly atmospheric puzzle will appeal to fans of golden age whodunits... Every word counts, leading up to a jaw-dropping but logical reveal. * Publishers Weekly, starred review *
A stunner of a plot, with an ending which I simply could not believe when it was first revealed... Rivals Soji Shimada's The Tokyo Zodiac Murders for sheer audacity and ingenuity * At the Scene of the Crime *
Exceptional... The denouement is clever, entirely plausible and not far short of poetic... The Decagon House Murders is sharp and witty and very much in the spirit of the golden age mystery; superbly plotted and wickedly entertaining * NB Magazine *
A terrific mystery, a classic... very much in the manner of Agatha Christie or John Dickson Carr -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post *
A real page-turner... Highly recommended * Classic Mystery *
A captivating read, culminating in an ending as satisfying as it is shocking... The solution to the novel's puzzle unfolds in a way so ingenious and logical it can stand shoulder to shoulder with the very best mystery novels * The Japan Society Review *
Taking a new page out of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, seven college friends in a mystery club decide to camp out in the infamous 10-sided house on Tsunojima Island, the site of nasty murders. But when one by one the friends start showing up dead, they now have to turn their efforts into figuring out who is killing them and why * Book Riot, 10 Best Mysteries With a Twist *
A wonderfully original take on the Christie classic And Then There Were None [and a] watershed moment in the annals of crime fiction writing in Japan * Scroll *
This celebration of traditional whodunits plays with the mystery genre in a wonderfully self-referential way... With each new murder, the remaining members of the group must use their knowledge of the genre to find the killer and try to stay alive * Esquire, The 50 Best Mysteries of All Time *
A watershed moment for a new, emerging style of mystery fiction in literature, the success of which then led to its widespread popularity in popular culture (manga, anime and films) within a decade of its publication... It is a work of monumental importance for scholars and aficionados of the genre - and it rightfully deserves every bit of the reputation it has earned and continues to, to this day * Scroll *