At the Mill House, a grisly murder had occurred, and a body found in the boiler. Now, a year later, the owner, hidden behind a mask due to a car crash years earlier, has opened his home once again. Shimada Kiyoshi is there to investigate, and another murder happens, as well as the theft of a painting.
This is a tightly woven closed-room mystery with a few surprises. Interesting. #2 in the series. ( )

Brilliantly Fantastic.......................

The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji is a brilliant and twisted locked room mystery thriller. The plot plays between past and present with a limited number of characters. It gives you chills and thrills right from the start. I was just hooked up throughout the climax. This will be my first book because of which I was up late in the night. The book is perfect for the lovers of Agatha Christie. The story is fast and the characters are just awesome. And when you reach the climax it felt like it will haunt me forever. I have never read anything like this.

The author created an atmosphere with her storytelling. I could just literally feel the spine tingling thriller while reading it. I couldn't believe when the main culprits finally came into light. It is not just any regular locked room mystery, and far from guessing. Definitely, the book deserves 5 stars. ( )

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: 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 an impossible disappearance, the theft of a painting and a series of baffling murders.

The brilliant Kiyoshi Shimada arrives to investigate. But will he uncover the truth, and will you be able to solve the mystery of the Mill House Murders before he does?

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Another more-than-competent hommage à Dame Agatha. This one, though, is much, much more dependent on you to pay careful attention to the dramatis personae on page 11. And pay close attention to the times on chapter opening pages! Most Anglophone readers aren't going to parse the names with the ease of those culturally familiar to us, so bookmark that page and save yourself confusion.

Enjoying, or even solving, it is very dependent on you keeping track of dual timelines, and since all the same characters appear in both, this can be a challenge. It was my mistake to read this book so soon after the first one, The Decagon House Murders...it reinforced my opinion of the prose as flat to my more western reading-ear. The ending of this entry in the ongoing series is, peculisr though it sounds in light of my comments about the prose, melodramatic. Delightfully so, I hasten to add. Made me smile and even lift my hand in a fond salute. After a gap, I will certainly read more of these Pushkin Vertigo-published pleasures. ( )

A fun, spooky mystery novel with a small supernatural twist at the end. The plot would make for a good movie, because it is so visual, dark and creepy. But is perhaps a bit too far-fetched for the attentive reader. The book definitely keeps you hooked. ( )

multicultural, Japan, locked-room-mystery, 1980s, betrayal, creepy, detective, disability, murder, murder-investigation, rural, secrets, storms, surgical-history, suspense, thriller, unexpected-deaths, wheelchair-bound, mask*****

The man in near isolation, a wheelchair, and a face mask to protect him from others.
The artist, the pseudo friends, the odd living arrangements, and the murders.
The incredible plot twists!
The story plods along fairly slowly so that the somewhat dim (me!) can try and try again to figure out the right questions and unearth the right answers. A real challenging puzzle!
Translated by Ho-Ling Wong.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Pushkin Press/Pushkin Vertigo via NetGalley. ( )