Member Reviews

Really gripping and fast read, something you won't want to put down for fear of missing something! I really loved each character in this and the development of the storyline. If you like mystery then this is definitely something you will want to pick up.

Was this review helpful?

The story centers on seven college kids who travel to an island to investigate a murder that occurred six months earlier. They are all members of a mystery book club and each one has their research method, so the story gradually becomes darker and more mysterious.

Main Characters
The series revolves around several characters that contribute different things to the plot, but even so, the main protagonist of the story is Ellery Queen, a cold and reserved character who came to the island with high expectations and is focused on finding out what really happened. On the other hand, there is a former member of the club: Akira Kawaminami who mysteriously received a letter about the event that occurred on the island and who is now on a mission to discover what happens simultaneously to the rest of the characters.

Plot
I love the plot, I feel that it was very well executed and direct, something was always happening in each panel and I liked how the book became a manga. One of my favorite points was the investigations and deductions that the characters made, I feel that it was the most memorable of the plot itself.
Something that I loved about the plot is the pseudonyms that the characters used, that is, each one adopted the name of one of their favorite authors, and they were referred to by that name, something basic but that gives an interesting whole to the story.

Artstyle
Personally, I found the drawing style a bit old as far as the design of the characters is concerned, it is necessary to emphasize that they are long and defined lines, almost pointed. Even so, each character is unique and they are not basic, the background is detailed but not enough to distract the reader from the plot. In the same way, the panels support the story very well following a fluid rhythm.

Final Thoughts
In conclusion, I found it to be a good start to the series, the characters are interesting, the art style is detailed and the story is fluid, I definitely recommend it.

TW: violence, murder.
Violence/dark scenes: 1/10
Plot: 8.5/10
Type: manga (vol. 1)
Cover: 7/10

My thanks to the author Yukito Ayatsuji, Hiro Kiyohara, Kodansha comics, and NetGalley for the opportunity to get this ARC for an unbiased review.

Was this review helpful?

Beautifully written, excited for Volume 2. Great characters, stories and satisfying mystery.

I apologize for the delayed review and lack of details. It's been a long long time.

4.25/5

Was this review helpful?

Very solid murder mystery/detective story with lovely character design and an intriguing cliffhanger ending. If there was anything at all negative is that there are really two major stories going on here: the people on the abandoned island being picked off one by one and the people on the mainland trying to solve a completely different mystery altogether. It is hard to completely invest yourself in one story because the other takes you away from it temporarily.

Was this review helpful?

A very interesting mystery and right up my alley. I like how there is an outsider perspective too which makes everything seem to flip on it's head.

Was this review helpful?

La idea es muy buena, un grupo de estudiantes decide ir a la isla que es famosa por ilustrar los sucesos en el clásico libro de misterio "Los Diez Negritos" de Agatha Christie y además, cada personaje hace tributo a un autor de misterio usando sus nombres como pseudonimo durante el viaje, todo bien hasta aqu. Mi problema fue un poco con el ritmo de la historia, lo sentí confuso y apresurado. Sé que este manga es adaptación de la novela de Yukito Ayatsuji, y tal vez estar familiarizada con esta me habria permitido disfrutar más de este manga. En general bueno, entretenido, pero quedé a la expectativa de algo más.

Was this review helpful?

Huge thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC of this manga in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
---
I was really excited for this as the blurb sounded amazing!

I absolutely loved the first volume of The Decagon House Murders! It does an excellent job of setting up characters and their brief glimpses while connecting them to a mysterious event. Moreover, it ends on a surprising twist that makes me anticipate the second volume even more.

This was a great read and one of the best mysteries I've read in a long while!

Overall rating: 5/5 stars

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for this ARC

This is the first in a three part series; that is full of suspense and mystery! Look forward to more character building in the later volumes!

Was this review helpful?

The Decagon House Murders is a manga adaption of a novel with the same name.
The plot focuses on seven university students who travel to an island where a mass murder took place six months ago. During this trip, gruesome things begin to happen.
Another main plot is the investigation of the before mentioned mass murder, which is done by another group not included in the trip.
At the start of the manga, we are thrown into the beginning of the trip. The characters and their unique nicknames are explained during this. The art and character design are beautifully done and illustrate each of their distinctive personalities.
Continuing on, we get to see the island and get to know the mass murder and the setting of the story. The group is part of their university's mystery club and enjoys detective and crime novels.
While this group is on the island, a former member receives a letter from a dead victim of the mass murder. The letter accuses the mystery club of murdering another former member.
Through this, the connection between both plot points is introduced.
The end of the volume leaves on a shocking note which entices the reader to continue with the story.
(Extras at the very end are also very cute)
The Decagon House Murders Vol. 1 is a good introduction for the plot and serves its purpose of creating a mystic atmosphere through nice art.

Was this review helpful?

I've never read the original novel this series stems from and, I don't know why, but I had low expectations of this, but I was truly blown away. It was so mysterious and witty. I think turning this novel into a manga series was a really good idea because there's so much intrigue and suspense that can be built up over volumes. Classic manga art styles like this aren't my typical favorite, but you really can't go wrong with it so it was enjoyable all the same. I feel like I NEEEEEED to read the novel now. I'm so intrigued by the story. Adding it to my TBR right now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

The Decagon House Murders is a deliciously artful manga full of mystery and suspense. Entertaining as well as indulgent, this is why I am falling in love with manga.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC for an honest review. Much love!

Was this review helpful?

Fantastic mystery that reminded me of reading an Agatha Christie novel, but in Manga form. Members of The Mystery Club take up the case of the murdered student and find more than they bargained for. A must-read for mystery fans.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

Was this review helpful?

Wow, that was a ride!

This is the first volume of a three part manga series focusing on a university's mystery club. The majority of the members are spending Spring break on an uninhabited island where a terrible crime had been committed, while two other members are chasing down the origin of some mysterious letters regarding a terrible accident involving an old member of the club. And both incidents seem to be related.

The art was detailed and I enjoyed seeing a character sheet at the end of each chapter. The plot is intriguing and seems to be flowing in a steady pace.

I really recommend this if you are a fan of traditional mystery stories!

Was this review helpful?

I received an ARC copy of #TheDecagonHouseMurdersVolume1 from #NetGalley.

The premise sounded really interesting, but the story itself was pretty flat and boring. The characters were also are uninteresting, though they will probably be fleshed out better is later volumes. The artwork was nice though.

Was this review helpful?

When I saw that there's a manga version of a book in my tbr, I knew I will try to get my hands on it. The premise of it is also really intriguing, and a lot of people has said that it reminds them of the classic And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.

A short summary of this book is about 7 students in a Mystery Novel Research Association going on a trip to solve an unsolved mystery case together. I really loved this concept of students in a mystery club (!!) and this manga perfectly executed it. I love the illustrations and I love the dialogues, and the plot itself was also such an enjoyable read (albeit because I've already known what this book is about).

That said, I'll probably come back and reread this again after I finish the book, so I could really try and compare the plot on whether it was a great adaptation for a well beloved book or not, but as a manga alone, I think it was truly enjoyable and I would recommend it to people.

Was this review helpful?

By the author of Another and based on Yukito’s book “Juukkakukan no satsujin” written in 1987, this manga is a murder mystery. We are following seven students on an island as well as two students who stayed in the city.
First of all, thumbs up to Hiro Kiyohara for his drawing skills. Each character is really distinguishable from the others and this is a real highlight, especially since we have so many characters to remember. The second good thing about this manga is the atmosphere. I think the world building is well done and I really got absorbed in it. Finally, the story is developing at a nice pace in my opinion. I kind of want to read the book now to see which one I like better. However, I first have to finish the manga. I can’t wait to find out what will happened and how it will be resolved.
I recommend this manga to fans of murder mysteries who aren’t afraid to see some blood.
3.5/5

Was this review helpful?

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

An ode to murder mystery lovers everywhere.

From start to finish this was infused with an overly-dramatic air of mystery which I absolutely loved. Everything from the characters naming each other after famous murder mystery writers to the constant detective speak was a stark reminder of a manga that revelled in a classic murder mystery.

The plot itself was sort of slow and didn’t go many places, but that was because it benefited more from its classic murder mystery analysis; the kind often skipped or rushed in a regular manga. It was fantastic to see crazy conclusions reached as they tried to solve an impossible mystery.

What I loved most of all was that this was simply the start. And as Ellery Queen (from which one of the characters takes his name) wisely said in [book:The Siamese Twin Mystery|88579], <i>“The case, far from being solved, has just begun.”</i>

Was this review helpful?

In the same vein as Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, The Decagon House Murders Volume 1 by Yukito Ayatsuji and Hiro Kiyohara is a murder mystery of the classical kind.

The art work is sumptuous and atmospheric providing drama to the characters and actions on the page and aiding in the readers' understanding of what at first glance appears to be a complicated plot and dense exposition.

It was after reading this first volume and enjoying the story so much that I researched a little to find out that this is a manga adaptation of a very famous and popular murder mystery novel written in the late 80s and hailed as revitalising the murder mystery genre within the Japanese publishing industry. It is credited as single-handedly creating the modern murder mystery industry as we see it today. Quite a feat!

The story follows two strands of a university literature circle or group, some go to an uninhabited island where some murders took place and where the titular decagon house is situated; and some travel around tokyo and beyond to investigate the appearance of some seemingly poisonous pen letters. The strange goings on all seem to be connected to the death of a fellow university student the year before.

This is the kind of manga that I love, as a good murder mystery is so entertaining, and I need to find out what happens next!

Was this review helpful?

While this wasn't my favourite book, I also understand that manga isn't usually my genre so I'm not use to the writing style of it, and even though it took sometime to get into, I think if you're a fan of dark manga you would enjoy this one. In manga or comic books, it is imperative to analyze the art as much as, if not more than, the words and I just haven't mastered that yet. With that said, I don't think this is a great manga to delve into when you're new to the genre, but I would highly recommend it to any who have read and loved the original novel or are looking for a dark, manga mystery.

Was this review helpful?

Tsunojima island blue mansion is an infamous island that became a hot topic because of the unsolved murder mystery of the owner and his family. The Mystery Club has decided to take up this case and to spend their time with the club members on this island. What could possibly go wrong? Well, if the setting and the unsolved case weren’t enough to make the Club members worried for their lives, the anonymous death threats would do.

All the club members inherited their club names after famous detectives like Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Gaston Leroux, etc.; that part was a bit nerdy. Each character differed in personality, and reading about them deducing the who’s and why’s of the murder helped me know them as individual detectives. I was expecting ten members to show up on the island because the manga has a lot to do with number 10, but only seven showed up.
From the time they set foot on the island, Ellery and Carr were bickering and in each other’s business. Their dynamic was strained and affected the group too. Others were chill and just wanted to solve some mystery.
There wasn’t a lot to work on evidence because the mansion was burnt and ruined. There was only one clue that they could work on, but that was a moot point.

There wasn’t a lot to work on evidence because the mansion was burnt and ruined. There was only one clue that they could work on, but that was a moot point. Each had to work from their angle, but it didn’t lead them anywhere. So, all they did was sit and have coffee from decagonal cups and share their theories.

I must say, the details in the manga were commendable. From the floors, tables, cups, and the mansion, I liked it was all symmetrical. Seiji Nakamura ( the former owner of the mansion) was obsessed with the number ten and built everything around him in tens. My mind would be whirling if I had to keep walking in that house. The architecture was insane, thanks to the art and Seiji’s ingenuity!
The next thing I liked about the manga was the theories that kept coming in, which kept me invested in the story in the first place. From playing the armchair detective to many more, the members were questioning the motives of the killer. The last theory mentioned might be the most accurate one to solving the case, but we will never know because the manga ended exactly at this point when things were about to get interesting.

The funniest part of this manga was how the author did a clever job in confusing the reader by pitting everyone against each other. You can’t help but suspect everyone. So you are left with zero answers but tons of questions. The ending was a major cliffhanger. It was as if everything was building up to reach that part. It was expected but shocking at the same time. In all, The Decagon House mystery is a terrific thriller.

Was this review helpful?