Strange Houses
Notes
It's not a very satisfying mystery; you can deduce some problems or weird things in the floor plans, but all the mystery comes from the author just telling you things. And most of it is conjecture and hearsay, which invariably ends up being correct. I appreciate the innovation of the floor plan approach, but I think it fails by any of the standards by which I evaluate a mystery novel!
Noted on September 7, 2026
This is exactly what it says: a mystery / horror / etc that is told with a lot of floor plans. A really interesting combination of image and text, even though I am very much not into horror/murder books. It's pretty shallow, and walks you through the specifics, but a very interesting format. It really does show you a floor plan, and then talks through the weirdness about it. The author speaks directly to you, but then also excerpts conversations he's had with characters in a screenplay format. It's weird!
Noted on September 7, 2026
Quotes
[this is technically a spoiler but I'm quoting it to give a sense of the stiltedness and artifice here]
The Katabuchi family has been murdering people for generations. I don't know why, but it has become a tradition. Your sister had to take up that burden.
But if you take someone raised in a normal home and tell them, 'From now on, you're going to use a child to kill,' they wouldn't be able to do it. And so, the successor to the Katabuchi name has to be kept close to the family head from a young age and brainwashed into going along with their murderous ritual. Of course, this is all speculation.
Just then, there was a knock at the door of the meeting room, and a voice said, 'Pardon me, time is almost up.' I glanced down at my watch and saw it was already well after six. We concluded our discussion and got ready to leave.Quoted on September 7, 2026