The Labyrinth House Murders

by Yukito Ayatsuji, Ho-Ling Wong (Translator)

Overview

*Perfect for fans of Uketsu's Strange Pictures and Strange Houses*

A twisty and ingenious stand-alone classic Japanese murder mystery from the author of The Decagon House Murders

Can 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?

Miyagaki 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...

As 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?

Readers of Japanese crime classics and fans of clever puzzle mysteries, such as Magpie Murders, Eight Detectives, and The Appeal will love the 3rd stand-alone book from the author of Decagon House Murders and Mill House Murders – 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781805335276
Publisher:	Steerforth Press
Publication date:	05/13/2025
Series:	The Bizarre House Mysteries , #3
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Yukito Ayatsuji (born 1960) is a Japanese writer of mystery and horror novels and one of the founding members of the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan, dedicated to the writing of fair-play mysteries inspired by the Golden Age Greats. He started writing as a member of the Kyoto University Mystery Club, which has nurtured many of Japan's greatest crime writers. The Decagon House Murders and The Mill House Murders are also available from Pushkin Vertigo.

Ho-Ling Wong is a translator currently living in the Netherlands. He is also both a member of the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan and former member of the Kyoto University Mystery Club. He did not commit any murders on Mystery Club excursions.

Read an Excerpt

P R O L O G U E
 
It was on Friday, the 2nd of September 1988, that a book was delivered to Shimada, who had been sleeping off a summer cold at home.
Was the colour of the cover lavender, lilac or orchid? He wasn’t sure, but it was a light purple shade.
The book was a common size for paperbacks. In the centre of the cover was a frame in the same colour, tilted at a forty-five degree angle, and inside of it was a picture.
Against a scarlet back- drop, reminiscent of a sea of blood, was the dark head of a bull… The title was printed in relief to the upper right of the frame, on the light purple background, and to the upper left, the name of the author was also printed in relief.
 
Shishiya Kadomi              THE LABYRINTH HOUSE MURDERS
A green strip of paper was wrapped around the cover, a so- called obi, a common practice in Japanese publishing. “Kitansha Novels—September Release” it read, with a tagline printed in Gothic typeface and a white outline around the letters.
 AN   O R I G I N A L   H O N K A K U   M U R D E R   MYST ER Y!
The Truth Behind the Labyrinth House Murder Case Finally Revealed!
 
Shimada thought to himself: “Hmph, the marketing slogans for these kinds of books are getting sillier and sillier lately.”
He had heard books weren’t selling much nowadays, but apparently there was still a market for mystery fiction. The number of whodunits on bookshop shelves had been increasing over recent years…
To be honest, there were so many of them now, it was diffi- cult to tell them apart. While it was none of his business, he was starting to worry that readers would eventually just drop murder mysteries entirely because the market was being flooded with mass-produced books of questionable quality.
Shimada looked at the back cover. There was a blurb, a short biography of the author and his photograph. Shimada didn’t think the picture was very flattering.
The Labyrinth House is famous for its complex underground maze. One day, four mystery writers gather at the house, each planning to write a story set inside the bizarre building. But little do they know that they will be caught up in a whodunit themselves! Soon, the writers find themselves cut off from the outside world, and then a series of murders strikes the Labyrinth House… Readers of this superlative mystery must prepare themselves for the most baffling of puzzles, the most shocking of twists! An unrivalled sensation!
Shimada couldn’t help but grin, as he imagined how the author must have felt when his editor came up with this overly dramatic copy.
This was the kind of novel he might pick up in a bookstore, but never buy. He certainly didn’t dislike murder mysteries, but he tended to prefer the translated ones. And while he occasion- ally did read Japanese mysteries, he was always disappointed by them.
But of course, this book was different, as he knew the author very well. It had been sent to Shimada as a gift, so he felt obligated to read it. Especially since it was about the Labyrinth House Murder Case.
Shimada took the book back to his futon, where he lay on his stomach.
He had got over the worst of his fever the previous night. His muscles were still aching slightly, but he was on the mend and beginning to feel eager for stimulation. He could get through a novel this size in a few hours.
He rested his chin on his pillow, and flicked through the book. He had a look at the table of contents. When he saw there was an afterword, he quickly paged to it, as he had a habit of reading afterwords before the main story.
 
AFTERWORD
These words should really have come at the beginning of the book, but because so few readers are disciplined enough to actually read an “Afterword” after the main story anyway, I thought I might as well put it at the end instead. Please consider the following as a kind of introduction for people who have yet to read the book.
Even now, I still feel somewhat uneasy about publishing this story as a novel. As I assume many of you will have gathered when you saw the title that The Labyrinth House Murders is directly based on a real-life murder case.
It occurred in April 1987, over the same days as in the book. The media made a sensation out of the incident at the time, since it was such a baffling case, and because it occurred at the curious residence of a well-known mystery writer.
However, it is safe to say the press have not managed to provide a proper analysis of whole affair.
That is only to be expected, of course. The incident occurred under highly singular circumstances and all those who knew the truth declined to speak to the press. Even the police were perplexed by this extraordinary case, and while they ostensibly accepted the “truth” that had been revealed, they did not make any definitive announcement about it. The press were therefore restricted to writing vague articles based on non-committal police statements. If the truth about the case was never made public, what gives me the right to write about it, you might wonder. Perhaps it seems arrogant, or presumptuous of me to do so.
Allow me to make a confession, therefore. I was present when it all happened. I, Shishiya Kadomi, was one of the people in the Labyrinth House in April 1987, when that series of murders occurred there.
I have decided to publish an account of my experience in this format for two main reasons.
The first is that a certain editor very strongly urged me to do so. As for the other reason, perhaps I could say this is my memorial to those who passed away during the tragedy.
That might sound somewhat tasteless, but I know at least some of the victims were great lovers of the unique genre that is the murder mystery. That is why I truly believe that a reconstruction of what happened in the form of a book is the best way to honour those who perished.
However, I doubt many readers will care much about these personal circumstances.
No matter what inspired me to write it, after all, this is nothing more than a murder mystery, a piece of entertainment that allows the reader to escape the boredom of daily life. Of course, that is perfectly fine. No, in fact, that is precisely what this book should be.
Finally, I want to make clear that after careful consideration, I have changed the names of most of the people and places in this novel. I appear in the story myself, but not under my pen-name of Shishiya Kadomi.
So which of the characters is Shishiya Kadomi?
Some readers might be interested in that mystery. But some things are best left a secret.
Summer of 1988 Shishiya Kadomi
Shimada was already familiar with the details of the murders that had occurred in April last year at the Labyrinth House. It had been a truly bizarre affair, but he knew that the matter had, in a certain way, been resolved.
“Recreating a real-life case as a murder mystery, huh?” Shimada opened to the beginning . The face of the author, whom he had not seen for some time now, appeared in his mind. “Well, let’s see what you came up with.”
Shimada started reading…

Table of Contents

C O N T E N T S  


Prologue 9
 
THE LABYRINTH HOUSE MURDERS by Shishiya Kadomi 15
 
Epilogue 255

Editorial Reviews

"This is a fun and clever mystery that works well as a standalone, though three additional books exist in the series for those interested. Fans of locked room mysteries will enjoy this unique take."
—Booklist

"For fans of twisty Japanese mysteries, golden age mystery tropes, crime writer characters, and remote settings"
—Book Riot

"A clever postmodern locked room mystery [which] owes more than a small debt to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. But Ayatsuji does Christie one better... A multilayered fictional trap"
—Toronto Star

From the Publisher