A solid start of a series! The Decagon House Murders is definitely going to be on the watch-out list for me. It has the vibes of the classic whodunnit like "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie and much more of a modern vibe of mystery series and movies nowadays.

The story followed the members of K. University's Mystery Novel Research Association as they visited and stayed at the infamous Tsunojima Island where a mass murder of a couple and their servants occurred. No one exactly knew what really happened that time, so it piqued the club's interest and they decided to investigate. However, odd things began to happen the longer they pried and stayed at the island. On the other hand, former club members received a mysterious letter connecting the death of the estate owner's daughter to the crime that happened on the island which prompted them to conduct an investigation of their own.

The plot so far was intriguing and engaging to the core, and it established the mystery so well. I also liked how the main characters had their own aliases or nicknames from the names of famous mystery authors and book characters. Moreover, I still could not get over how the art was so gorgeous! Each personality perfectly reflected on their fashion styles and facial expressions.

The only crime that this manga did was ending the first installment on such a big cliffhanger. I was aghast that I already reached the last page. I can't wait to read the rest of the manga.

Overall, The Decagon House Murders is an engaging mystery manga with absolutely beautiful art. 4/5 stars!

I'm certainly not the world's biggest manga fan – all those splurges of sound FX, the cartoon baby mini-heads for asides and other speeches, the hair... Yet I can clearly see this is an authentic and well-crafted adaptation of this crime novel (my review of the original is at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3936869586). It manages to nail the characters, such as the demure Orczy, and those forced to club together to investigate on the mainland, even within the googly-eyed style of the genre, and nothing gets skipped in the way of detail or dialogue. Of course, little could be dropped, as they've turned one book into (I guess) four, in an exercise only starting to conclude in Japan as I write this. Indeed, when I post this the opening digital files of the American translation are one week old, and so readers will have to wait some good time for the full thing to be ready for their consumption. The good thing is that both the original and this variant are well worth being patient with – both are surprisingly classy and entertaining genre pieces. Just because the prose novel is revered in Japan, I was not expecting this adaptation to be as faithful and true as it proved to be.

This was such an intriguing story.
I don’t know the original version of the book, so I’m not sure how close the manga stays to it’s source, but following the plot definitely wasn’t an issue.
The artwork was nice.
I can’t wait to read the sequels!

Is it better to read this adaptation having already read Ayatsuji's original novel or not? I asked myself that question a lot while reading. Partly this is because, for a fairly faithful adaptation, there are some significant changes, although they won't necessarily impact the story - Doyle's gender is changed (she was a he in the novel), the story has been moved from the late 1980s to 2018, and some of the omnipresent decagons have been omitted, presumably to save the artist's sanity. One of the pluses of these changes is that the manga gives more background into who the authors each character is named for is, since not everyone today is up on their Golden Age and Victorian mystery authors, and some of the character designs incorporate elements of their books, like Leroux's yellow hoodie as a reference to Gaston Leroux's <i>Mystery of the Yellow Room</i>. There's another element that's particularly well done but that would be a major spoiler to reveal; suffice it to say that I'm impressed.

The pacing thus far feels comparable with the novel, which is good, although we're spending more time with those on the mainland than on the island. The art is a little off-putting in terms of how faces are drawn, but given the whole murder mystery genre, I think that it works well. As of this volume I still feel like one ought to read the novel as well as this adaptation - but when, precisely, remains to be seen.

This is a hard one to rate because it's only the first volume of a mystery/thriller story.
I really liked that we had multiple mysterious aspects going on. And that we had a cliffhanger ending. (I definitely expected one because of the format.)

However, there was something missing. I think part of it is that we don't know much about the plot or characters yet. So I wasn't really invested in what was currently happening. But I can imagine myself reading another volume and getting very invested. But I also don't see anywhere when a next volume is coming out... so I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn't read manga in ages (we're talking about years!) but this has really reignited my appetite for them! Such ac cool premise with the murder mystery club kind of trope and it seems the mystery is perfectly laid out to be solved in the next volumes! Very excited to continue reading the series!

I requested Vol. of The Decagon House Murders through Netgalley. I have been reading more comics and graphic novels recently. This was an excellent mystery. Seven members of a college Mystery Club travel to a deserted island. Six months earlier all four people living on the island were murdered. The club wants to visit and see if they can solve the question of what happened. It set up each character in terms of their personality and relationship with the others in the Mystery Club. There were also a healthy amount of red herrings thrown in. I absolutely must get my hands on vol. 2 of this series. I received a copy of The Decagon House Murder from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

#TheDecagonHouseMurdersVolume1 #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Decagon House Murders introduces us to Ellery, Carr, Leroux, Poe, Agatha, Orczy, and Van, who are all members of K. University's Mystery Novel Research Association. As a club, they travel to Tsunojima Island to stay in a ten-sided house and investigate the mass murder of a couple and their servants that occurred on the island the previous year. Once arriving, things start to go sour. Back on the mainland, former club member Conan teams up with amateur detective Shimada and another club member Morisu to determine how this mass murder connects back to the death of the estate owner's daughter one year ago.

I originally requested this because I'm a huge manga fan and a mystery fan. Additionally, some of the reviews said it had a vibe similar to classics such as "And Then There Were None" and modern media such as Danganronpa and Bungou Stray Dogs. This felt like the perfect combination of things I love.

Usually I don't like to discuss the art too much when giving ratings, but I feel like I have to this time because oh my god. All of it was absolutely exquisite. Hiro Kiyohara did an amazing job of making all of the characters look so distinct and have their own unique aura and fashion senses. Their personalities were also extremely clear from their drawn mannerisms and facial expressions. This is definitely one of the only mangas where I've seen subtle changes of the face totally change the mood of the panel.

I also absolutely love the characters, each and every one of them. Even the ones that are meant to be more abrasive and hot-headed are just so charming that it's hard to dislike them. They're also extremely interesting, with their own different perspectives and styles of communicating. They feel so alive on the page. I cannot wait to learn more about them as individuals separate from their ties to the group (hopefully). I would definitely have to say that my favorites are Conan and Ellery though.

The central plot, the mysteries surrounding Tsunojima's old inhabitants, the Nakamura's, is so interesting. It draws from some of the best mystery classics while still establishing an identity of its own. Additionally, not everything is revealed at once, which allows the reader to fill in their own blanks to figure out what's going on. It just makes me want to keep reading more.

To finish, that ending!!! Literally the biggest cliffhanger in the world that it made me so sad to realize that I couldn't read the next chapters yet. I'm so excited to see what can happen.

I genuinely can say that there's nothing that I disliked about this manga. If you enjoy classic mysteries with complex plots and characters that still has the occasional lighthearted aura, this one is for you.

first of the cover, it's so gorgeous! the story was interesting and i enjoyed every bit of it. the mystery and the character were very intriguing, I loved how they were nicknamed after famous authors!

Thank you, Kondansha Comics, for the opportunity to read The Decagon House Murders, Vol 1 manga.

While I haven't read the source material, this volume has really set the stage for the murder mystery that I don't believe requires one to have read the novel ahead of time. Already I am intrigued by both past incidents regarding Tsunojima Island and Chiori Nakamura as well as what is currently happening in the Decagon House. The story's pacing is gradual considering it is a manga volume, which also explains the cliffhanger at the end of the volume.

Hiro Kiyohara's art really lends to both setting all of the characters apart as individuals and also creating the varying moods of the story. I really felt like I was watching the start of a mystery movie. The fact that most of the main characters share nicknames with famous mystery writers is a nice bonus for Mystery readers.

I will be eagerly awaiting the next volume to see further plot development and seek the resolution to the story. Highly recommended for both manga readers and mystery readers.

I enjoyed this book just fine. I love Ayatsuji and would read anything by him so I was please when I ended up enjoying this book. I love the setting being a remote island it gives the book more ambiance. The book is kind of gruesome but nonetheless fun to read in my opinion.

This Manga was so amazing!!! He artwork was stunning and the plot was intriguing! Waiting on the edge of my seat for the next volume.

Review: The Decagon House Murders Vol 1 by Yukito Ayatsuji and Hiro Kiyohara

I firstly must thank Kodansha for allowing me an e-Arc of this manga in exchange for an honest a fair review. The manga is based off of the best-selling novel by Yukito Ayatsuji of the same name. I will start by saying the volume seems to follow the basic premise and plot of the novel to great lengths. That being said you by no means need to have read the novel to enjoy the manga!

Since manga is a large part visual I have to say the artwork is beautiful. It might not be everyone’s choice but I found the character designs and scenery wonderful. The characters are believable and convey their personalities within their appearances as well. The pacing is also good, it gives you enough to keep you interested but not too much information in one go. Unlike a prose novel the story is obviously split between the artwork and the text and Hiro Kiyohara has managed to do this brilliantly.

I am definitely looking forward to a physical release of this title and the next volume in the series. I am hoping to read the novel side by side with the manga as well. I would definitely recommend the title to anyone who loves a good murder mystery or detective fiction/manga.

After all the build up and speculation going around how you gonna do that to me! Like seriously!

Anyways. This book is full of mystery, I mean a mystery club group go to a pretty isolated island and receive some curios messages that come off threatening and they are wondering if its just a game. Meanwhile a couple of other people off island connected to the group receive some mysterious and unsettling messages as well and decide to look into it

I really loved how this book it really sets the tone for what's going to happen in the future I just wish it didn't end of a cliffhanger, I got an arc so I'm going to have to wait even longer to see what happens but I really look forward to seeing what's in store in the next book as the things they've all been curious if it would happen did. I loved getting to see each characters and getting to know their personalities and seeing how they mesh together. I loved the build up of the mystery they are trying to solve of the previous island inhabitants since they were murdered and a fire wiped away most evidence. Anyways can't wait to see what's in store for the next book!

The new manga adaptation of the classic mystery novel by Yukito Ayatsuji came out this week and I was very excited to read this one, based purely on the cover. I have to admit that I haven’t read the original novel, although after reading the first volume of this I will be, as soon as possible.

Seven students, who are also members of their university’s mystery club, travel to an island where six months before there was a brutal series of murders. The morning after they all arrive they start to suspect that they can’t trust each other. Meanwhile back on the mainland, a former member of the club, Kawaminami, receives a letter from one of the people who was murdered on the island. She sets out to solve the mystery of the letter and the murder.

I really enjoyed this manga. It almost feels like a 1980s slasher film when they set out to the island at the beginning. It’s very reminiscent of the opening to April Fool’s Day, with a bunch of characters travelling to a remote location for a small vacation. You know that something bad is going to happen even before anything does, purely because of the set up. It works really well and kept me reading from page to page.

The other side of this is the detective story, which I was gripped by instantly. It’s intriguing and you feel like you can work it out with them. I figured out one of the twists early on and I have some suspicions about what’s coming in future volume. It mentions it in the book and it does have an Agatha Christie vibe about it. (Which is strange because all of the characters are given nick names after famous mystery writers and on a page that gives a summary of the writers, Agatha’s dates are wrong. The book says she died in 1939, which is about 40 years too soon)

I do think the pacing is a little off with this one. At first it feels like it is going to fast without letting you have time to settle. Once you get past the opening chapter and the story switches to the mainland it does slow down. By the end of the book the pacing is right where it needs to be.

Oh and that ending. I already knew I was going to be reading volume 2 by the time I was halfway through it, but those final pages – I need volume 2 now!

Based on the best selling novel by the same name, this manga adaptation of the Decagon House Murders will keep you entrapped until the very end.

I love a good mystery. It tends to be my go to genre for reading. But there is something, just exciting about a mystery/thriller manga. I didn't hesitate to request this one when I saw it and I devoured it in one sitting.

Opening up with the arrival at an island littered with tragedy, the introduction of the peculiar mystery club is nothing short of dramatic and attention grabbing. The reveal that each member adopts the moniker of a famous mystery author made the the story even more entertaining.

This first volume focused on building the plot and introducing the cast of this mystery as well as a previous, unsolved mystery. The going back and forth between the members on the island and the two members that stayed behind and how the mysteries intertwined kept the plot moving and the reader engaged.

Now for the art, It is amazing. I tend to be picky about art style, but that is just because I have a preference, not that it's bad art. This however, was beautiful and I loved the character design and settings so much.

For the characters, there is the usual cast of characters, the hot head, the beauty with the brains, the mysterious one, and so on. But at the same time it didn't feel as if they were just your usual cast of characters. They felt unique and different to the story. Which made it that much more enjoyable.

I cannot wait to see this continued and I already have plans to read the novel in the meantime.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I went into this one blind, I will admit that the reason I picked it up was the cover. I assumed it was going to be an interesting read and was right. A couple of mystery club members go to a deserted island after series of murders are committed there to solve the mystery of the crime. And of course they will start dying one by one... Reminded me of "And Then There Were None" and Clue (my favorite board game), I enjoyed it so much but this volume is not enough, I need more! Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to pick up the novel or continue reading the manga adaptation... The story sounds interesting and I'm sure it will be more than just a "And Then There Were None" retelling. Can't wait to see how this mystery unfolds.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for approving my wish to read this in exchange of honest review.

As I saw a lot of my friends enjoying this manga, I quickly request this and happy to read it.

The plot is really really intriguing, crime mystery, who wouldn't like it? those who rarely read crime genre i think haha. Like there is so many questions in my mind, why is this happens and so on. Usual stuff when you read crime genre. However, making it as a manga would attract more readers to appreciate Japanese crime lit genre. I really love the concept of every characters used famous crime authors. It gave of more mystery crime vibes. Those who loved crime genre would be familiar with the mystery. I rarely read crime but I am familiar with it but who knows it might have the plot twist in the end?

I love the drawing as well. Nothing weird or bad. Very nice to say so. In a simpler way, I love everything in this manga. The only thing I despised is the continuation to the Vol 2 hahaha.

I am sorry for my short and simple review. My mind can't deciphered anything else to say here. Overall, it's an interesting manga because this will attract more readers for this book. Period.

****reviewing in Goodreads separately due to technical error****

The Decagon House Murders, vol. 1 reads like a classic detective story. It has all of the familiar, well-loved elements of the mystery genre. I finished it in one sitting and I'm anxious to get my hands on vol. 2.

This is a story about a couple of university students who go on an uninhabited island that hides a dark past. On this particular island gruesome unsolved murders have occurred only a few months back prior to the students' arrival. They stay at the strange Decagon House and soon enough, strange things start to happen. No electricity and no phone reception, how will they survive for a whole week?

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
- the beginning, it gripped me and it didn't let me go. I had to read it till the end in less than an hour
- the relationship between Car and Ellery / so much tension between them
- the art style was magnificent
- the way that the characters were introduced
- the air of mystery - everyone is suspicious, every character seems to have a suspicious, unexplained past
- the foreshadowing / I still have no clue what will happen in the next volumes, but I can feel the foreshadowing
- the clever nicknames / all of the characters were on the island under pseudonyms reminiscent of the names of famous mystery writers (example: Agatha, Poe)

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
- the misspelling of Edgar Allan Poe's name. He's Allan, not Allen

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫:
- manga fans
- murder mystery fans
- classic detective stories with a clever twist fans

All in all, I think that this book has a wonderful premise and the execution of it is so far clever. I can't wait to get my hands on the second volume.

This is the manga adaptation of a best-selling, genre-defining novel that I've heard about for years but stupidly haven't read.
It's a murder mystery/detective fiction full of all the best elements of the classic genres told in bits and pieces that might just turn out to be a misdirection or might lead to an explosive revelation. Definitely left me craving for more and pondering the possibilities.
The art is pretty straightforward, with character designs distinctive enough to make identifying the characters on the page easy enough. The amount of detail put into backgrounds, especially nature, is impressive.
I can't wait to read more of this series. It got me salivating to know what happens next. I might even break down and read the novel first just because I really want to know what happens.

Extremely happy thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the fantastic read!