The Clock House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
After reading a ton of cozy mysteries over the past few years, I've stumbled across honkatu fiction, Japanese mystery novels that stick to the traditional rules of "fair play" from the Golden Age of detective fiction. Every clue that the reader would need to solve the mystery is included. I lack the patience or attention to detail that would let me figure out the solutions, but I enjoy the journey, especially when I'm on the right track and come close to the answers.
In this traditional locked room mystery, a magazine writer, a popular spirit medium, and a group of university students travel to the Kamakura Clock Mansion to hold a seance and investigate the reported hauntings. The odd layout of the structure means that they'll be locked in for several days, surrounded by a hundred and eight ticking clocks. When the killing starts, there's no escape.
It took me a few chapters to adapt to the author's writing style and the slow pace as the story unfolds, but once I got caught up in the unfamiliar rhythm of it all, I couldn't put it down. In addition to the murder mystery, there's a supernatural mystery element with the seance and fascinating information about the history of timekeeping. The author includes multiple diagrams of the house's odd layout (something I definitely needed to make sense of things) and of the timelines that the characters develop as they're trying to identify the killer. As soon as I get my TBR list under control, I want to find the author's other books.
Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy.
No comments:
Post a Comment