These conversations serve Ayatsuji’s purpose, which is chiefly to frame the events of the book not as a novel but as a puzzle. Soon after their arrival they begin to suspect that one of their members is intending to kill them one at a time, but who?

I had a hunch who the killer was but the book made me keep wondering if I was right and keep weighing other possible options. Also, they are whodunnit experts, surely they would know that they are squandering valuable time on the kind of idiotic disagreements that solve nothing and if anything may result in them not paying attention to their surroundings etc. With them secluded on an island completely cut off from the main land, they need to use their amateur sleuthing skills to figure out who the killer is before it's too late. The characters are pretty much cardboard cutouts, but the plot was fascinating, with the two main threads twisting together, and several side threads winding in and out. Around 20 years ago, Nakamura Seishi built a Blue mansion and Decagon House, which, as the name suggests, is shaped like a decagon.He starts looking into the murders on Tsunojima Island and also thinks that Seji might be still among the living. In 2015, Ayatsuji’s debut novel was translated to English by Ho-Ling Wong, and in 2021 it was also adapted into a manga by illustrator Hiro Kiyohara. months prior to this book, the mansion burned down and took the livers of the owner, his wife, and their 2 servants. I did love the occasional mention of historical and cultural details but those are made for people that are actually acquainted with it already and not especially infused for ‘tourists’. Six months before, there was a fire on the island and the couple who lived there were found murdered, along with the two servants.

The novel involves a group of students, who belong to a university mystery club, visiting an uninhabited island.

It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from August 2019 to April 2022, with its chapters collected in five tankōbon volumes.

Besides that everyone acted unusually calm for their friends being murdered and when someone did die it kinda just….Originally published in Japan in 1987 and only now available in English translation, this book represents a resurgence of "locked room" mysteries in Japan at the time. And that kind of character is either totally suspicious, or being set up to be an eccentric series character. Still, none of the murders actually requires an elaborate setup; any of the seven could’ve done them. Murder At the Mansion of Antique Clocks: Dark imaginary, clever plot twists and a lot of deadly surprises, it's my all time favorite. I will say that I'm a bit frustrated at not being able to share my experience with the identity of the who, but to do so would be giving away the show.