- By Yukito Ayatsuji
- First published: Japan: Kodansha, 1988, as Suishakan no Stsujin Shinsou Kaiteiban
- In English: Pushkin Vertigo, 2023, translated by Ho-Ling Wong
In form, The Mill House Murders is more sophisticated than Ayatsuji’s first novel, The Decagon House Murders. Whereas Decagon House is ‘murder-focused’, this is a finely crafted puzzle-plot in the Ellery Queen manner: floorplans of a house with eccentric architecture; a gathering of art connoisseurs; the timed movements of the latter around the former… It is, in fact, exactly the type of detective story I want.
But this is also one of the most transparent mysteries ever written. Here, we have two missing men, a burnt corpse (features unrecognisable) identified as one of those men, and a reclusive man in a mask. Joining the dots is child’s play; the solution is so obvious from the outset it’s almost an inverted story.
The ROT13 ‘vqragvgl fjnc’ is one of the oldest devices in the genre; it’s the solution to half of R. Austin Freeman’s books. ROT13 Gur svefg dhrfgvba gung bpphef gb gur ernqre vf jul vf gur Cerfrag aneengrq va gur svefg crefba (‘V’), naq gur Cnfg va gur guveq? Vf Xvvpuv Shwvahzn – n zna va n znfx – gur fnzr va obgu gvzrf? Vf gur oheag naq qvfzrzorerq obql va gur vapvarengbe (srngherf haerpbtavfnoyr), nffhzrq gb or Znfnxv’f, ernyyl gung bs Gfharuvgb, naq vf gur ‘Shwvahzn’ ernyyl Znfnxv? END
That was my theory by 10 per cent through the story; I was right.
Blurb
A twisty and ingenious classic Japanese murder mystery from the author of The Decagon House Murders
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 gruesome murder, a baffling disappearance and the theft of a priceless painting.
The brilliant Kiyoshi Shimada arrives on the scene, but as he investigates the seemingly impossible events of that evening, death strikes again, and again…
Can Shimada get to the truth before the killer gets to him? And can you solve the mystery of the Mill House Murders before he does?
Other reviews
- Ho-Ling Wong (21 April 2012)
- Ah Sweet Mystery! (7 June 2023)
- Crossexaminingcrime (11 June 2023)
- Countdown John’s Christie Journal (16 June 2023)
- In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel (25 June 2023)
- The Invisible Event (29 June 2023)
- Beneath the Stains of Time (4 August 2023)
The Grandest Game in the World 
Yes, after the delightful contortions of Decagon this was something of a damp squib. Here’s hoping The Labyrinth House Murders, due to be published in English later this year, is a return to form.
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I didn’t know Labyrinth House was coming out. Looks intriguing. So do we now get an Ayatsuji and a Yokomizo every year?
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‘Tis sincerely to be hoped 🙂 Plus we seem to be getting “fill-in” titles like The Meiji Guillotine Murders and, in May 2025, Murder in the House of Oomari by Ashibe Taku.
The honkaku renaissance is upon us!
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But no Werewolf Castle yet!
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That one might take a bit longer to translate…
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