The Labyrinth House Murders is a chilling psychological thriller that immerses readers in an atmospheric, suspense-filled narrative. The story centers around a seasoned detective who is called to investigate a series of gruesome murders that have occurred within the confines of a sprawling, dilapidated mansion. As the detective delves deeper into the case, they uncover disturbing connections between the victims and the house's dark history, which is rife with secrets, betrayals, and a history of violence. The mansion itself almost becomes a character, with its labyrinthine halls and eerie ambiance playing a pivotal role in the unfolding mystery.

The novel expertly weaves together complex characters, each with their own hidden motives, and a plot that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The pacing, while deliberate in places, builds an air of suspense and dread that intensifies as the investigation progresses. The slow burn of the narrative serves to deepen the mystery, leading to a shocking and unexpected conclusion that will leave readers questioning everything they thought they knew.

Ideal for fans of gothic mysteries and psychological thrillers, The Labyrinth House Murders offers a haunting exploration of human nature, deception, and the dark forces that can shape our fates. This compelling novel is sure to captivate anyone seeking a tale of suspense, intrigue, and psychological depth.

Can't wait to read more of his books!

A solid story of mystery and suspense. The characters were well written and the plot was interesting. The average rating is mostly because I couldn't get as into the story as I'd wanted to.

All I can say is wow! This book takes some amazing turns that I didn’t see coming! The whole time I was a little annoyed because I felt like duh, we all know how this ends, but nope the twists start coming. Then they keep coming!

I love a great locked room murder mystery and then when twists come into play that you don’t see coming, it makes the book that much better. What I also loved about this book, it was a book within a book that had other books written inside it. It kept it very interesting.

This book did take me a bit to get into it since there are a lot of characters in it and then there are a lot of Greek Mythology references that took a while to remember. The author does do a great job at retelling the characters and stories, but it is a lot to take in and remember.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I have not read the first two installments of this series, but Yukito Ayatsuji has a new fan! It had a classic mystery feel, and was filled with Greek mythology references (which I love!) and twists and turns I didn't always predict. Like a few other reviewers, I was a bit disappointed with the final twist, but I feel like that's just what you get when men write women, and considering this was originally published in the 80s, it's not all that surprising. But my overall opinion of the book is positive, and I'm interested in reading the first two books in the series.

The House Labyrinth Murders has a very eye-catching cover and some intriguing elements like the labyrinth maps and insights into the use of author pseudonyms in Japanese literature. But, the reading experience didn’t quite land for me. The book-in-a-book structure - multiplied four times - felt excessive, making the narrative unnecessarily convoluted rather than alluring and captivating.

One of my biggest gripes was the infamous “bull head” reveal, which felt like a cringeworthy example of men writing women in ways that simply don’t make sense. The writing style didn’t help either - straightforward to the point of being dry, with an ending that overexplains everything instead of leaving room for nuance or imagination. Adding to the frustration, this isn’t a true “fair play” mystery, as some key details are deliberately kept from the reader, making the resolution feel cheap rather than satisfying.

While I can see how this might have been groundbreaking decades ago, it didn’t hold up for me. If you’re a fan of classic Japanese mysteries or Ayatsuji’s other works, you might still enjoy it, but personally, I struggled to stay engaged.

I simply can't put this book down. I think this may be Yukito Ayatsuji's best work that I have ever read. I love the layout of the house and the Greek mythology references. Some things were quite confusing but rewarding once we figure things out.

This murder mystery had a very classic feel to it! As someone who read And Then There Were None in my formative years, this felt right up the same alley.

I enjoyed the puzzles and while I solved some minor mysteries within the mystery before the characters did, other twists surprised me. The turducken of a book within a book and a solve within a solve confused me a little, but it was most likely in part due to the textual layout of the ARC.

It took a while to pick up, but once it did, it was properly unnerving. That first murder scene really set the tone for the story!

A well-done whodunit murder mystery structured as a book within a book. It also contained a good deal of Greek mythology, which was very fascinating. It was, unfortunately, the epilogue that ruined it for me. I felt the big plot twist was a bit misogynistic.

The third book in the locked house murder mystery series and as is the norm with this series it is so fun. The twists and the turns of this series that takes place in an underground Labyrinth house (as in the name) are incredibly compelling. It was hard to put this book down.

After visiting the Decagon and the Mill houses, this third entry brings us the fabulous Labyrinth House. All three were designed by the same architect, and I’d really love to visit them if they existed. This one is very well described, adding to the element of dread and claustrophobia. Both, house and plot, are filled with impossible turns and twists. I figured out some parts, but the main reveals were unexpected. Unlike other Japanese novels, I didn’t have such a hard time keeping track of the characters. Their names were hard for my Spanish-wired brain to remember, but the characters are distinctive enough that I could follow along. This is mostly a fair-play mystery that pays homage to the classics, and I was able to identify most of the easter eggs hidden throughout. I imagine that the original text is well written because the translation was excellent. This one also feels a little less dated than the others, even if it was also written in the 80’s. The ending is, as usual, unexpected and amazing.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Pushkin Vertigo.

The third (in terms of English translations) in the house murder mysteries, “The Labyrinth House Murders” by Yukito Ayatsuji is, like the previous two books, a clever homage to the golden age's "fair play" and "locked room" mysteries, with a Japanese twist.

The setting is similar to the previous “The Mill House Murders”, an odd house (built by the same architect as the previous two houses) out in the country, inhabited by an eccentric. The owner of the house, Miyagaki Yotaro, invites a select group of guests for a weekend: four of his protégé authors, a famous literary critic, a mystery editor and his wife, and Shimada Kiyoshi, who readers will remember as the amateur sleuth from the previous books. The house itself is built underground and based on the Greek mythological tales of the Labyrinth, with maze-like corridors, rooms named after Greek figures, and a menacing bull’s head hanging on the wall. Soon after the arrival of the guests the surprises start: Miyagaki has committed suicide and has left instructions for an interesting contest to determine which of his proteges will get his billions. Each of the four authors has 50 hours to write a murder mystery, set in the Labyrinth House, with themselves as the victims. The remaining three will act as judges to determine the winner. Everyone will be locked in the house with no communication with the outside world.

And so it begins. As each author scrambles to write their story, very quickly one of them is found gruesomely murdered, with the bull’s head where their head once was. On the author’s word processor was the start of his story, which was the exact prediction of how he died. And the owner’s assistant, the only one with keys to exit the house, has gone missing, the phone lines are cut. Before the night is done, there will be more mysterious murders, each predicted from the victim’s short story. Can Shimada and the editor solve the mystery and find the killer before they become the next victims?

An interesting glimpse into a different culture, time, and place. The mystery isn’t too intricate, most readers will be ahead of our amateur sleuths in figuring out who and how, but be prepared to be shocked in the very last epilogue.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Pushkin Press - Pushkin Vertigo via NetGalley. Thank you!

This was such a fun read! The concept and the resolution were not exactly unexpected however it didn’t take away from the story and the twists and turns along the way.

A slow burn but very enjoyable, have not read this authors work before but I shall definitely look out further work .
From the start of the book , I had a sense of the board game Cluedo , I enjoyed each character from their different backgrounds
8/10 from me

OMG! What an excellent read! I thought I was soo clever to have guessed what was going on.... oh girl.. I was soo wrong! I loved every page! If you are a fan of Agatha Christie and locked-house/isolated mysteries.. this one is for you. I have enjoyed all the books from this author, but this one is my favourite so far.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion!

I didn't realize this was the fourth book of interconnected stories, the Bizarre House Mysteries series. This book has definitely made me want to read more of them, ESPECIALLY the twisty ending.

The Labyrinth House Murders is a Japanese locked room murder mystery novel that has been translated to English and republished.

Written as a book within a book, an unknown character receives the novel detailing the true story of the Labyrinth House Murders committed the year earlier. As he starts to read the book, we find out that a group of writers and esteemed guests have been invited to the Labyrinth House by its owner on the pretext of a party. Things go downhill from there when they discover his death, along with a challenge to come up with a perfect murder mystery story to win his fortune.

Until more people start showing up dead.

While the story is twisty and sets you up in a direction to believe what you are presented with, and even make you think you have guessed the whole plot... you would be mistaken.

It is not until the epilogue of the novel, and followed by the epilogue of the unknown character reading said novel, that we finally see the real picture.

This book, originally published in 1988 and republished this year, is a clever whodunnit with lots of twists and stories within stories. Four writers and a few critics are invited to the house of an elderly crime writer, the Labyrinth House, built by a famous architect known for his clever designs and houses full of surprises and mysteries. Having just arrived, they learn that the older writer has just died and that they are now competing for his fortune and must come up with a crime novella set in the house and where they are the victim.
It was clever in its construction of a story within a story, and every time I thought I had reached the last layer there was another one. The issue with labyrinths is that they are hard to follow and this was true of this story... Following the whereabouts of each suspect when the rooms all connect through a labyrinth was tricky. And I won't say much more not to spoil the story, but clearly the author doesn't have a very good knowledge of women or of female anatomy, which ruined some parts of the book for me.
But overall it was a clever detective novel and I enjoyed reading it.

I devoured this book in two sittings.
It was fun and so clever and kept me guessing every step of the way. The author did an amazing job at building suspense and making you doubt absolutely everyone in the story.

Wow! This was original and a mystery that keeps giving. Nothing is what it seems to be. The truth? Who knows... You can't trust anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for thos eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. All words are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the ARC.

A nice puzzle of a whodunnit with distinct personalities driving the mystery and a likable amateur sleuth to guide us to the answer. It also features a frame narrative of a mystery book published in this world, read by someone who knows the detective, and that is a key detail to solving the mystery. I really thought I had it. My predictions turned out right at first, I thought I was so clever, but I forgot about the frame narrative! It changes everything, and it's not that the clue was even hidden, I noticed it, but I completely dismissed it at the time! It's such a smart move on the author's part, and very enjoyable.