The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji Translated by Ho-Ling Wong

Description

A hugely enjoyable, page-turning classic Japanese mystery with an ingenious conclusion from the author of The Decagon House Murders, translated into English for the first time

Don’t miss this beautifully constructed, highly entertaining and atmospheric murder mystery--its propulsive plot makes for a compelling, page-turning read.

As 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.

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 get to the truth, and will you too be able to solve the mystery of the Mill House Murders?

About the Author - Yukito Ayatsuji 

Naoyuki Uchida who writes under his pen name "Yukito Ayatsuji' is the original creator of Another. He is a famous writer of mystery and Japanese detective fiction. He is also one of the writers that demands restoration of the classic rules of detective fiction and the use of more self reflective elements. He is married to Fuyumi Ono, author of The Twelve Kingdoms and creator of Ghost Hunt, Juuni Kokuki, and the author for a few other manga.

The Mill House Murders

I received a free copy of this book and my thanks to the author-translator team and the team of NetGalley for the copy.

All views expressed in this review are my own and based on my reading of this book. Some of the initial comments were made as I progressed in this book and I have not tried editing them as it expresses my contiguous thoughts as I proceeded with the story.

This book reads like a classical whodunit and is interspersed with things which are wholly oriental (Japanese to be precise) and the closest that the Western world could relate to it is the way the royals especially the British royals project their behavior in public with their stiff upper lip and the way they would behave, unruffled as if nothing has happened even in the face of stinging reality. The oriental style would be about stoicism or rather being more in control of emotions, being extremely polite and emoting very less in public or in company.  

In this book the atmosphere is gloomy despite a well described picturesque locale. The pall of the previous years tragedy at the house looms large over the members and the guests all of whom have a link with the incident or are aware of the links and its obvious effects. The fact that the owner of the house is himself a person whose life is steeped in great tragedy and who is also intimidated by a father who was larger than life and who as a classical artist had few peers and who still posthumously enjoyed widespread love; has forced him, Fujinama Kiichi to retreat into a shell and move to a aloof house. He has also hoarded all his father's art from the market into his own secluded gallery where he allows only a select few of his acquaintances once every year and he has along with himself also imprisoned a young girl, his wife which is a mystery of its own. 

The story picks at the annual viewing of the art and when 3-4 friends and acquaintances of Kiichi visit the Mill House. We also read about an interloper Shimada who arrives uninvited and asks the owner for permission to visit the house.

A third into the book and the story has warmed up and looks intriguing and interesting and is such that I feel that it should be read at a languid pace maybe facing a fireplace and with a drink in hand. The atmosphere is foreboding but never overwhelming. What is interesting is the cast of characters all of whom seem to have a rabid interest in seeing the paintings which goes beyond just interest and all are equally passionate of a mythical painting by the master which has never been seen by anyone other than Kiichi. The interest is beyond passion and gives out feelings that trickery and murder would not be far off just for the sake of possessing the painting(s). 

The book is from the 80's and this one is an English translation but doesn't seem too dated like the classical tales of Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle and others. This is a single house murder mystery that spans a year and involves two incidents involving much of the same set of characters with some of the them falling prey to murder. The story moves effortlessly between the two years - the present and the year previously but continuous back and forth makes the effort jarring and sometimes creates mind games which are not actually present in the book. The Japanese names which may be alien to most readers also forces that trap with remembering and understanding their interactions sometimes tedious. This does not hamper the story but on occasions makes reading slow by forcing the reader to go back and check the timeline. These efforts do not in any way deter in enjoying the story. 

The permanently masked owner who is also a person using a wheelchair  and host of the Mill House and the almost imprisoned girl who is his wife beg for more history and what is available does not satiate the need for information. They are also red herrings which make the mystery too obvious. 

What I loved in this book was the way the previous and present is played up and also the way Shimada as the person who cracks the case is consistently picking up clues and commenting or clamming up about situations, thereby allowing the reader to reach their own conclusions.  

What I did not like in the book was the absolute ending which alludes to the supernatural where the rest of the book including the mystery was a murder mystery and a damn good one at that. In hindsight it can be understood that the author probably wanted to give this story an Edgar Allan Poe style end with a hint of the supernatural and which like the cask of amontillado gives the errant villain his comeuppance with horror. 

I believe that the book has lost a bit of sting after the translation with no disrespect to the translator but because of my experience with other translated books, some of the original fire is naturally lost because of the nuances of speech and language. This is particularly true for most Asian and Oriental languages where the spoken and written word has variable meanings due to the intonations and the way and who is speaking it. 

When reading this book, I think the readers should give an allowance for the above and then they would actually enjoy the story just as I did. I reached the solution earlier than the book, hence I docked a star.

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stars 

Recommended reading. 

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