Murder in the Crooked House sets the scene in the snowy northern tip of Japan, in a maze-like house with slanted floors and strange staircases, full of unnerving masks and dolls. The eccentric and wealthy owner Kozaburo gathers a small group of friends and acquaintances to celebrate the holidays. When a guest is found murdered in a locked room, it is only the beginning of a bizarre string of occurrences. The police are called, but they are soon stumped.
The investigation and the subsequent events are all very entertaining and kept me guessing. Having read a lot of mysteries, more often than not, I'll start to get an inkling of what's going on, but not with this book. At no point did I figure out anything, which was great fun. It all builds up to a solution that is so unusual and unique, that even though all the clues are there, there's no way I could've foreseen it.
This is a translation from Japanese, and so there's a lot of Japanese cultures and norms in here. For sure their culture is more hierarchical and formal, so I'd sometimes find myself startled by the reasons people would take offense or the things they'd say. It was definitely enlightening and interesting, but also a little odd at times.
This looks to be an older series that is slowly being translated into English, and I'm definitely going to keep reading. I started with the second book, and it didn't feel like I've missed anything by not reading the books in order. I thoroughly enjoyed how different this story is from all the other murder mysteries I've read, and I look forward to checking out more books in the series.
Readaroo Rating: 4 stars
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