Today, we will be reviewing the Japanese murder mystery The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji and translated by Ho-Ling Wong. A woman falls off the balcony, a painting is stolen, and a guest has disappeared. Keep reading to find out if you should read this novel next!
The Mill House Murders Summary
The novel starts off in the year 1986 in an isolated house in the mountains called the Mill House. Fujinuma Kiitchi, a wheelchair bound man, is holding his yearly gathering of friends to visit his home and see the famous paintings of his father Fujinuma Issei. Kiitchi lives in the house with his beautiful and young wife, along with two helpers.
The year prior, in 1985, when Kiitchi’s friends were visiting, his housekeeper fell off the tower, another man was killed, and Furukawa Tsunehito, a priest disappeared along with a painting. It is 1986 and Shimada Kyoshi, an uninvited guest and friend of Furukawa, wants to solve the mysterious crime that took place last year.
Shimada decides to revisit the events that took place last year and try to solve the murders. But as he soon realizes, the mystery of the house is peculiar and contain the clues as to who the murderer is and why.
A Spectacular Japanese Mystery Novel
The narration switches between 1985 and 1986 throughout the novel until you are caught up with what took place last year. Part of the reason is that so you can slowly digest the information as well as not spoiling the twist.
Just like the previous novel by Ayatsuji, this one is also inspired by an Agatha Christie novel. If you read Why Didn’t They Ask Evans, then you will see the similarities. And a clue as to who the murderer is and why.
I enjoyed the fun mystery presented by Ayatsuji and I love his plot twists even though he makes It easy to figure out who the murderer is. Nobody does it quite like Christie which is why her novels are still very popular today.
Originally published in 1988, it was published in 2023 by Pushkin. I am happy that readers outside of Japan can also enjoy these fun murder mysteries. There have been a lot of Japanese books being translated in recent years and I hope this trend continues.
Conclusion
While this novel doesn’t compare to Christie’s original books, they are still fun and enjoyable. I do appreciate that Ayatsuji doesn’t try to trick the reader like Christie but just presents you with the facts and the suspects. If you love a good mystery, then you will definitely enjoy this novel!
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
Discover more from Books of Brilliance
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.