Books like Murder in the Crooked House by 島田荘司

The Crooked House, perched on a snowy cliff that overlooks icy seas in northern Japan, is an architecturally bizarre mansion built by millionaire Kozaburo Hamamoto. Its sloping floors, oddly positioned staircases, and uncanny decorations—including lifesize dolls—create a disorienting maze. When a guest is found dead in one of the rooms under seemingly impossible circumstances, the local police fail to solve the case. As the deaths continue, the house’s guests are trapped, and the only hope for survival lies with Kiyoshi Mitarai, a celebrated sleuth who previously uncovered the truth behind the Umezawa family massacre. Mitarai must decipher the mansion’s puzzles and the pattern of the murders, using the clues left in the house, to protect the remaining guests and identify the killer before the mystery consumes everyone inside. Themes of isolation, architectural intrigue, and procedural investigation weave together to create a tense, atmospheric mystery set in a uniquely Japanese location.

First publish date: 2019