Month: May 2021

Originally released in 1987, The Decagon House Murders is a Japanese isolated mystery novel that takes its influence from And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. In this book, a college club of mystery lovers decide to spend their break in a ten-sided home on an isolated island that was the scene of a grisly quadruple homicide six months earlier. What they don’t know is someone has sent letters to members of the club who are not in attendance, claiming they murdered one of their members a year earlier. And the sender claims to be one of the island murder victims from six months before. While people on the mainland rush to solve the mystery of the letters, the seven people on the island cut off from civilization start dying one by one…

This is a quick, fun puzzle mystery, and I particularly enjoyed the many discussions the characters have that dissect different mystery tropes and plots, and how they put them to use once they find themselves in a real-life murder mystery.

(CW for mention of sexual assault, violence, bodily harm, and murder.)

Backlist bump: The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada, Ross Mackenzie

And if you’re a fan of fun graphic novels with fantasy storylines about brave characters, this one will be right up your alley! Bix and Pella are goblin sisters who live in a village wracked by earthquakes. If someone doesn’t do something soon, their whole world will be destroyed. According to goblin legend, the person in charge of earthquakes is the Earth Queen, whose tower resides in the middle of the Enchanted Forest. So armed with her sister, Bix, who has had to look after Pella since their parents died, and a skein of yarn to find their way back home, the goblin sisters will venture where few have gone—and from where fewer have returned. This is a charming story about sisters and bravery and is perfect for readers of all ages!

Backlist bump: Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne (Author, Illustrator), Kristen Acampora (Colorist), Natalie Riess (Colorist)

And last, but not least: I was completely sucked into this novel about the seven supposedly last people on the planet who are trying to work out what happened to the rest of the world. When Touré goes to bed in Cambridge, it’s a regular night. But when he wakes up, the world seems to have ended overnight. But it can’t be possible—there’s no way the buildings could have crumbled and nature could have taken over all in one night. As he wanders around, perplexed, he encounters more people who are equally as confused. But it is what it is—they must now figure out how to survive the freakish weather patterns and the hungry predators who linger outside their shelter, and possibly go in search of other people. And no matter what the seven think has happened, it’s not going to be anything they—or the readers—will expect.

I will admit that I was a little like “okayyyyyyy” when the cause is revealed, but it was so fun that I was pulled right back in and went with it. It’s a very funny book full of heart.

(CW for ableism, mass death caused by the apocalypse, violence, and animal death (for food and protection reasons.))

Backlist bump: The Spaceship Next Door by Gene Doucette