"A psychological-mystical thriller built on tropes from cozier crime fiction. Agatha Christie-type stopwatch sequences and John Dickson Carr-style locked-room conundrums coexist with Poe-like Gothic sequences full of severed limbs and charred flesh... No one can accuse Mr. Ayatsuji of not sustaining the eerie mood of his strange story until its very last sentence."
–The Wall Street Journal "If you enjoyed Yukito Ayatsuji's ingenious
The Decagon House Murders - and how could you not? - you will love this quasi-Christie locked-room mystery."
–The Times and Sunday Times Crime Club
"Another ingenious puzzle... John Dickson Carr would be proud to come up with as clever a locked room mystery as this... exceptional fun and superbly plotted."
–Paul Burke, Crime Time FM
"From the first page you know you're in the hands of a master. The atmosphere, the setting, the characters... it is flawless."
–Ian Moore, author of Death and Croissants "The dénouement was fiendishly clever... An engaging, entertaining mystery with a puzzle fit for the most ardent of armchair detectives."
–NB Magazine "A great classic, Japanese locked room mystery perfect for fans of Agatha Christie!... I thought I had the mystery solved but lo and behold, the unraveling was completely unexpected and I loved it."
–readamongstthecrime "This chilly, elegant tribute to the locked-room mysteries of the golden age of crime writing offers a challenge in clue spotting to readers who enjoy pitting their wits against an author's."
–Literary Review "Just as clever and delightful as the locked room mystery that got Ayatsuji on our radar last year... [The characters have] their agendas, complex backstories, and shifting allegiances, and by the end of the novel, I fear many of them shall be dead..."
–Crime Reads
