{"title":"Books by Yukito Ayatsuji","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781782278337","title":"The Mill House Murders","description":"\u003cb\u003e*Perfect for fans of Uketsu's \u003ci\u003eStrange Pictures \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eStrange Houses*\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A psychological-mystical thriller built on Agatha Christie-type stopwatch sequences and John Dickson Carr-style locked-room conundrums…  No one can accuse Mr. Ayatsuji of not sustaining the eerie mood of his strange story until its very last sentence.”  — \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA hugely enjoyable, page-turning classic Japanese mystery with an ingenious conclusion from the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Decagon House Murders\u003c\/i\u003e, translated into English for the first time\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDon’t miss this beautifully constructed, highly entertaining and atmospheric murder mystery--its propulsive plot makes for a compelling, page-turning read.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs they do every year, a small group of acquaintances pay a visit to the remote, castle-like Water 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis year, however, the visit is disrupted by an impossible disappearance, the theft of a painting and a series of baffling murders.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe brilliant Kiyoshi Shimada arrives to investigate. But will he get to the truth, and will you too be able to solve the mystery of the Mill House Murders?","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128568873138,"sku":"9781782278337","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781782278337.jpg?v=1786025487"},{"product_id":"9781782276340","title":"The Decagon House Murders","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Ayatsuji's brilliant and richly atmospheric puzzle will appeal to  fans of golden age whodunits... Every word counts, leading up to a  jaw-dropping but logical reveal\u003ci\u003e\"\u003c\/i\u003e — \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA hugely enjoyable, page-turning murder mystery sure to appeal to fans of Elly Griffiths, Anthony Horowitz, and Agatha Christie, with one of the best and most-satisfying conclusions you'll ever read. A classic in Japan, available in English for the first time.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Read Yukito Ayatsuji’s landmark mystery,\u003ci\u003e The Decagon House Murders\u003c\/i\u003e, and discover a real depth of feeling beneath the fiendish foul play.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eTaking its cues from Agatha Christie’s locked-room classic \u003ci\u003eAnd Then There Were None, \u003c\/i\u003ethe setup is this: The members of a university detective-fiction club, each nicknamed for a favorite crime writer (Poe, Carr, Orczy, Van Queen, Leroux and — yes — Christie), spend a week on remote Tsunojima Island, attracted to the place, and its eerie 10-sided house, because of a spate of murders that transpired the year before. That collective curiosity will, of course, be their undoing.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAs the students approach Tsunojima in a hired fishing boat, 'the sunlight shining down turned the rippling waves to silver. The island lay ahead of them, wrapped in a misty veil of dust,' its sheer, dark cliffs rising straight out of the sea, accessible by one small inlet. There is no electricity on the island, and no telephones, either.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eA fresh round of violent deaths begins, and Ayatsuji’s skillful, furious pacing propels the narrative. As the students are picked off one by one, he weaves in the story of the mainland investigation of the earlier murders. This is a homage to Golden Age detective fiction, but it’s also unabashed entertainment.\"","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204921131186,"sku":"9781782276340","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781782276340_387886de-f4e3-4328-942f-1c5e148f4164.jpg?v=1786025400"},{"product_id":"9781805335269","title":"The Clock House Murders","description":"\u003cb\u003eA deviously clever, locked room puzzle mystery from the celebrated Japanese author of \u003ci\u003eThe Decagon House Murders \u003c\/i\u003ethat’s perfect for fans of Uketsu’s\u003ci\u003e Strange Houses\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBrilliant detective Shimada Kiyoshi must save a team of paranormal investigators, trapped in an abandoned house, as they are picked off one-by-one!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRumor has it that the mysterious Clock House—a remote mansion built by notorious architect Nakamura Seiji for a long-dead clock enthusiast— is haunted by the ghost of a young girl, who died there 10 years earlier. No one is more intrigued by this than the investigating team from the paranormal magazine CHAOS. They decide to visit the mansion, along with a psychic medium, in an attempt to make contact with the spirit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe plan is for the group of investigators to spend three days locked in the house, but their stay has barely begun when a gruesome murder is committed. And then the survivors find that they are trapped in the house, with no possibility of escape…\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMeanwhile, the brilliant detective Shimada Kiyoshi is investigating the enigma of The Clock House from the outside, eager to unravel the mystery of another of Nakamura Seiji’s twisted architectural creations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut as his investigation proceeds, the team inside the house are being slaughtered one-by-one. Will Shimada crack the puzzle of the Clock House before all of them are dead?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe latest installment in Yukito Ayatsuji’s thrilling Bizarre House Mysteries series, this stand-alone puzzle mystery is par-excellence by a master of the form, packed with twists and culminating in a jaw-dropping, unforgettable solution.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55896477860213,"sku":"9781805335269","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805335269_a04b9b6a-b016-4f7b-a5a4-b7729371ba49.jpg?v=1786027931"},{"product_id":"9780316312318","title":"Another Episode S \/ 0 (light novel)","description":"Summer, 1998. Mei Misaki, age fifteen, has gone with her family to their seaside vacation home. There she meets the ghost of Teruya Sakaki, her classmate from Yomiyama North Middle School Class 3-3 who, like Mei, witnessed the mysterious events that had transpired at the school. There begins an adventure of memory and mystery as they search for the ghost's body and his memories alike.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56285797876085,"sku":"9780316312318","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780316312318_074650c3-5407-435a-bc3a-c35437af6ffb.jpg?v=1786012660"},{"product_id":"9781975336011","title":"Another 2001","description":"IT HAS BEEN THREE YEARS since the “calamity” of 1998 that claimed the lives of many students in Yomiyama North Middle’s Class 3. After Sou Hiratsuka, an acquaintance of 1998 survivor Mei Misaki, discovers that he’s being placed into the cursed class, he and his peers develop a series of countermeasures to avert a new tragedy. But when Sou’s classmates and their family members begin dying in a series of horrific “accidents,” he and Mei realize that the calamity has taken hold of their town once again. To stem the tides of death, the pair will be forced to reckon with Yomiyama’s deepest mysteries…","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56310067921269,"sku":"9781975336011","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781975336011_af729228-2390-4c9b-bfdd-75fba3e60665.jpg?v=1786032017"},{"product_id":"9781805335276","title":"The Labyrinth House Murders","description":"\u003cb\u003e*Perfect for fans of Uketsu's \u003ci\u003eStrange Pictures \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eStrange Houses*\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA twisty and ingenious stand-alone classic Japanese murder mystery from the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Decagon House Murders \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCan the brilliant Kiyoshi Shimada solve the mystery of this bizarre house before all those trapped in its labyrinth are dead? Can you guess the solution before he does?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMiyagaki Yōtarō is one of Japan's most famed mystery writers, but several years ago he put down his pen and left the Tokyo literary world for a life of seclusion in the remote Labyrinth House, built by the notorious architect Nakamura Seiji. When four of the country's most exciting up-and-coming crime writers are invited to the  house for Yōtarō's birthday party, they are honoured to accept. But no sooner have they arrived than they are confronted with a shocking death, then lured into a bizarre, deadly competition with each other...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the competition proceeds, and murder follows murder, the brilliant Kiyoshi Shimada investigates. Can he solve the mystery of the house before all those trapped in its labyrinth are dead? And can you guess the solution before he does?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReaders of Japanese crime classics and fans of clever puzzle mysteries, such as \u003ci\u003eMagpie Murders\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEight Detectives\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Appeal \u003c\/i\u003ewill love the 3rd stand-alone book from the author of\u003ci\u003e Decagon House Murders\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMill House Murders \u003c\/i\u003e–  Japanese crime classics that have dazzled readers with their  ingeniously constructed plots and solutions. The whole book is like a  magic trick, with one of Ayatsuji’s trademark breathtaking reveals at  the end.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312985256309,"sku":"9781805335276","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805335276_abc1abeb-de77-40f0-bb43-3e0fb5d194c4.jpg?v=1786027932"},{"product_id":"another-light-novel","title":"Another (light novel)","description":"In the spring of 1998, Koichi Sakakibara transfers into Class 3-3 at Yomiyama North Middle School. But little does he know...his new class has a horrible secret. When he takes his seat in class for the first day of school, Koichi is unsettled by his fearful classmates. Despite this atmosphere and warnings from fellow students, Koichi is drawn to the beautiful, distant Mei Misaki, another classmate. But the closer he tries to get to her, the more mysterious she and their class become. And when a fellow student dies a disturbing death - the first of a long chain of deaths - Koichi seeks to learn the truth behind the curse of Class 3-3. But can he get answers before the curse kills him?","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466707345781,"sku":"9780316339100","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780316339100.jpg?v=1785654767"},{"product_id":"the-black-cat-house-murders","title":"The Black Cat House Murders","description":"Aging Ayuda Toma was once the manager of a large family estate, The Black Cat House. As his memory begins to fail, Toma hands two friends his personal notebook. Inside is a record of a gruesome murder that occurred there. How many secrets does this bizarre building hide, and will the amateur detective duo be able to uncover the truth?","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57695285444981,"sku":"9781805336587","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"the-decagon-house-murders-manga-volume-1","title":"The Decagon House Murders manga: Volume 1","description":"The members of a particular university's Mystery Club travel to a ten-sided house on a remote island... which just happens to have been the scene of a gristly, and unsolved, mass murder. Armed with details of the murder and keys to the property, they set out to dig deeper... but can they trust the \"facts\" of the case? And moreover... can they trust each other?","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57695285543285,"sku":"9781805336785","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-yukito-ayatsuji.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}