nerd teacher [books] reviewed The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (The House Murders, #2)
Absurdly engaging.
4 stars
While I won't say that I hated The Decagon House Murders (because it was enjoyable), this book is so much better than that one. I think this is where he really got a feeling for the 'detective' character Shimada Kiyoshi (who isn't really a detective) and using his other characters to actually feel more part of the crime and the story itself.
He also does a better job at using the house gimmick in this book, since that's a key component of the stories in the Bizarre House Murders series. Every house in the books is built by the same architect: Nakamura Seiji. This architect is really well-known for including gimmicks in houses, like secret passages or hidden rooms. Sometimes the owners of the house know about them, other times they don't; it's said that he does it in a way that's kind of like a prank.
Anyway, …
While I won't say that I hated The Decagon House Murders (because it was enjoyable), this book is so much better than that one. I think this is where he really got a feeling for the 'detective' character Shimada Kiyoshi (who isn't really a detective) and using his other characters to actually feel more part of the crime and the story itself.
He also does a better job at using the house gimmick in this book, since that's a key component of the stories in the Bizarre House Murders series. Every house in the books is built by the same architect: Nakamura Seiji. This architect is really well-known for including gimmicks in houses, like secret passages or hidden rooms. Sometimes the owners of the house know about them, other times they don't; it's said that he does it in a way that's kind of like a prank.
Anyway, I really like the inclusion of characters just going having one of two reactions. One is to be like, "Wait, this is a Nakamura Seiji house? Shit." The other is for them to be like "What makes Nakamura Seiji so special to you weirdos?"