I just love this style of mystery, where the characters are pared down and the technical details of the case are the focus. A locked room mystery x3, and a quirky house to host it. I have to say the ending, though clever, leaves a lot of questions. Like if you were going to end up in prison for this murder any way, isn't there a more straight forward way to kill a guy? It just seemed like our suspect surrendered a bit too readily at the first hint of being found out. And wouldn't someone who hired a hitman, regardless of if that hitman accomplished his task, be charged with attempted murder or something?
That's really beside the point of the enjoyment of the puzzle this book presents though, so I will be reading more from this author. ( )

HIgh 3/5

I enjoyed this one, I did. The murder and the explanation was really clever. But, I think this book lacks characterization that it could had and the suspense it could built.

I think Tokyo Zodiac Murder is better, because it has more intricate and clever plot overall and more satisfying story but this is still worth a read ( )

What I didn't know going into the book was that it is a bit of a satire of the locked room genre, rather than an ingenuous example of it. Without spoiling the mystery, it is unlikely that any sane human would guess it, whether or not (as the author insists) all the clues are available to them. ( )

The Crooked House, built in the north of Hokkaido, Japan, by a wealthy magnate, certainly lives up to its name. The whole house slants, floors are on a slope, and tables and chairs have to be calibrated to accommodate the incline. The house also has a leaning tower at the same angle as the one in Pisa. The owner, Kazaburo Hamamoto, has invited a group of friends and colleagues to spend Christmas with him and his daughter, Eiko. On Christmas Day, a blizzard rages. By the end of the day, someone turns up dead. The next day, another. Both of these are under impossible circumstances, with locked doors and impenetrable rooms. The police are at a loss. Enter Kiyoshi Mitarai, a Great Detective in the classic tradition (the eccentric, gifted amateur).

This mystery is totally bananas, and I say this with affection. The book pays homage to the classics of the Anglo-American tradition of locked-room mysteries. An automaton may remind the reader of John Dickson Carr’s The Crooked Hinge. At one point the characters name-check Edgar Allan Poe and his Mystery of Marie Roget. The book even offers up a “challenge to the reader”, stating that all the clues are present and asking if the reader can solve the case. This reader did not; I don’t generally try to solve mysteries, and I alternate between being annoyed and impressed if I somehow do it without even trying.

I found the book went on a bit too long, especially because Mitarai didn’t show up until 2/3 of the way through. And the solution stretches the bounds of credulity and requires a great deal of disbelief to be suspended—for me, anyway. But if you do like the classical “puzzle-based” locked-room mysteries, this one might be worth trying. ( )

If you can believe someone would construct two houses just to commit a murder--how did the plans pass a building inspection?!--then you can believe someone would write a novel just to explain a complicated locked room mystery. My electronic advance reading copy referenced a floorplan but did not include it; that diagram would have helped my understanding of the logistics of this story, although it would not have affected my (lack of) enjoyment of it. Recommended only for fans of technical locked room mysteries. ( )