Murder in the Crooked House

by Soji Shimada · 2019

When the eccentric millionaire Kozaburo Hamamoto gathers his relatives at his isolated, snow‑capped estate on Japan’s northern tip, the festive atmosphere quickly turns deadly. The Crooked House—a labyrinth of sloping floors, bizarre staircases, eerie masks and lifelike dolls—becomes the scene of a seemingly impossible murder. As the body count rises and the guests report unsettling visions, the local police are baffled. Enter Kiyoshi Mitarai, a flamboyant fortune‑teller turned detective famed for solving the infamous Umezawa family massacre. With his uncanny intuition and a cast of quirky suspects, Mitarai must untangle a web of riddles hidden within the house’s twisted architecture. Readers are invited to follow every clue, match wits with the sleuth, and try to solve the locked‑room puzzle before the final, chilling revelation.