I do like a little contrast in my reading, and I suppose going from a book on Proust to a classic Japanese locked room mystery is quite a jump! But that’s where we are today, with a rather wonderful book recently issued by Pushkin Press. The titles is “The Mill House Murders” by Yukito Ayatsuji, translated by Ho-King Wong, and it’s the second in the series featuring the amateur detective Shimada Kiyoshi – how I managed to miss the first of these, “The Decagon House Murders” is beyond me, as this is right up my street!
The book opens dramatically, with a prologue set on 29th September 1985. A storm is raging around the Mill House, a mysterious private residence built away from prying eyes in the middle of nowhere. And a group of people are about to be met with a series of fearful events: a woman falling from a tower, a valuable painting disappearing and a man vanishing under impossible circumstances. The discoveries which follow, down in the furnace room, are grim; and although a seemingly plausible explanation is found, it’s clear that all those present will be changed by these unforgettable events.
The house belongs to the troubled Fujinuma Kiichi; son of the late Fujinuma Issei, a lauded and visionary artist, he lives as a recluse as following an accident some years back, he wears a mask and gloves to hide his scars and is confined to a wheelchair. Alongside him live his wife Yurie and his butler Kuramoto Shoji, and there are housekeepers, live-in or live-out, depending which part of the narrative you’re reading. Other characters are a varied bunch who visit the house on an annual basis: art dealer Oishi Genzo, professor of art history Mori Shigehiko, surgeon Mitamura Noriyuki and priest Furukawa Tsunehito. Then there is Masaki Shingo… Once a disciple of Issei, he’s also a friend of Kiichi and was present during the car accident where the latter was so badly injured. At the time of the dramatic events in 1985, he’s been staying in the Mill House for some months…
The structure of the book is fascinating, with chapters alternating between the events of September 1985, and a year later, where the annual visitors are making their pilgrimage to the Mill House. This is so they can see Kiichi’s collection of his father’s paintings; and they all have hopes of persuading him to make a sale of one or more to them, and also gaining a sight of Issei’s last work – a painting called “The Phantom Cluster” which apparently horrified its creator so much that it’s never been seen. However, the 1986 visit is a strange one, as inevitably the attendees will start to revisit the events of the earlier year. And things are complicated by the arrival of one Shimada Kiyoshi who basically invites himself in. His presence there is for a good reason, as he was a friend of Furukawa – and the latter disappeared after the events of 1985, which were mainly blamed on him. As Shimada explores and investigates, inevitably there are further killings and mysteries; and it remains to be seen if the detective can discover the truth before there are any more murders!
“Mill House…” is a really wonderful read from start to finish, and I was gripped from the opening pages. Yukito Ayatsuji certainly knows who to ramp up the tension and create a wonderfully atmospheric and dramatic setting, which is vividly portrayed. Pleasingly, the book comes with a list of characters as well as two plans of Mill House, and in fact the house is very much a character in itself. There were references to the architect who designed it (I think that element may well have played a part in the earlier book) and they added to sense of unease running through the book.
The characters are an entertaining bunch, too. Kiiji is seen differently because of the two narrative strands, one from a year ago which is written in the third person, and that in the present which is a first person point of view of ‘the master of the house’ as he calls himself. Butler Kuramoto is vital to the running of the house, and indeed to the narrative; and each guest has a clearly delineated character. Then there is Yurie… One of only a few female characters in the book, she’s a little more problematic. The orphan child of a disciple of Issei, she was in effect brought up, and perhaps even groomed, as a wife for Kiiji. Sequestered away from the outside world, her presence is as a physical object, a doll more than anything else. But she too will be vital to the mystery.
“Mill House…” is a fiendishly clever and deliciously devious book, in terms of both its plot and its construction; it’s not until you read the very final pages that you realise quite how brilliantly it’s been done, when you’re hit by a number of “ah, so that’s why….!” moments. And that ending is stunning and quite unforgettable! However I can say so little about the plot really, because the surprise element is essential and quite marvellous. As I mentioned above, there is a locked room mystery here, and so it’s not unexpected to see a little reference to John Dickson Carr’s characters, Dr. Fell and H.M., at one point in the narrative; and though I’m reluctant to use the world ‘classic’ for something published relatively recently (or at least it seems so to me!), this book is closer to GA crime than to modern violent stuff, and so that’s another reason to love it.
The blurb on the back of the book asks if the reader can solve the mystery of the Mill House Murders before Shimada does and I have to say that I couldn’t. I did have glimmerings of some elements, but not the overall solution – and there are certainly things on the last page or two which I never would have got in a million years! So “The Mill House Murders” was a total success as far as I was concerned: a brilliantly written, thoroughly entertaining and completely unputdownable mystery with a wonderful setting, and all I can say is that I have to get my hands on “The Decagon House Murders” as soon as possible!
(Review copy kindly provided by the publisher, for which many thanks!)