The Clock House Murder Review: A Locked-Room Mystery Novel

 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

“'You see,' he went on, 'I have something to discuss with you – something that may seem… well, it may seem like fate.'"

The Clock House Murder by Yukito Ayatsuji is set in the eerie, isolated Clock House, packed full of rare and valuable clocks from all over the globe. Locals say it’s haunted by the ghost of a young girl who died there, so a group of ghost hunters decides to visit it. But their investigation takes a deadly turn almost immediately when one of them is killed and they’re trapped inside with a murderer on the loose.

As the body count rises one by one, it’s up to Detective Shimada Kiyoshi to untangle the secrets of the house before everyone meets the same fate.

When the cover says "the classic Japanese locked room mystery", I thought it would just have the same theme or same vibe, but it turned out to be exactly that kind of story. I spent my childhood watching Detective Conan, and that was exactly how every episode was going to be. You’ve got a group of people stuck together, a mysterious place, murders happening, and a clever detective piecing it all together. It follows the same familiar formula step by step.

To be honest, it’s not a bad read at all. If you love this style of mystery or you’re just starting to dive into it, you’ll probably enjoy it. For me though, since I know this pattern so well, it felt pretty predictable, like I already knew exactly where the story was heading. Nothing really surprised me, but it’s still a solid, straightforward mystery that delivers exactly what it promises.