Murder in the Crooked House

A stunning new paperback edition of the cult classic mystery following a set of bizarre murders at a family's eerie remote estate.

"A delightfully intricate murder puzzle with retro charm, bound to tantalize readers." -Kirkus Reviews

The Crooked House sits alone on a snowbound cliff at the remote northern tip of Japan. A curious place to build a house, but even more curious is the house itself: a maze of sloping floors and strange staircases, full of bloodcurdling masks and uncanny dolls.

Christmas, 1983. Kozaburo Hamamoto, the aging 'lord' of the strange Crooked House, is hosting a grand gathering for his relatives. But when one of them is found murdered in seemingly impossible circumstances, the police are called. But they are unable to solve the puzzle, and more unsettling deaths follow as the guests start seeing bizarre sights on the estate.

Enter Kiyoshi Mitarai, the eccentric fortune teller, psychic and self-styled detective. Surely if anyone can crack these cryptic murders it is him. But you have all the clues too - can you solve the mystery of the murders in the Crooked House first?

The Haunting of Hill House meets Agatha Christie, this fiendish locked-room mystery is the thrilling follow-up to Soji Shimada's widely acclaimed crime novel, The Tokyo Zodiac Murders. Known as the "god of mystery", Shimada masterfully blends classical detective fiction with grisly violence and elements of the occult to creative a riveting, intricate puzzle that will delight horror and mystery fans alike.

Born in 1948 in Hiroshima prefecture, Soji Shimada has been dubbed the 'God of Mystery' by international audiences. A novelist, essayist and short-story writer, he made his literary debut in 1981 with The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, which was shortlisted for the Edogawa Rampo Prize. Blending classical detective fiction with grisly violence and elements of the occult, he has gone on to publish several highly acclaimed series of mystery fiction. He is the author of 100+ works in total. In 2009 Shimada received the prestigious Japan Mystery Literature Award in recognition of his life's work.

Louise Heal Kawai has translated around a dozen works of Japanese literature, including works by Seicho Matsumoto and Taeko Tomioka. In 2018, her translation of Seventeen by Hideo Yokoyama was longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award. Her most recent works for Pushkin are the classic locked-room murder mysteries Murder in the Crooked House by Soji Shimada and Seishi Yokomizo's The Honjin Murders. Louise lives in Japan's Kanto region.