I Should Read That

Book review¹

A Japanese mystery bestseller, revolving around a series of unsettling floorplans, in which the reader is the detective – from the Youtube sensation Uketsu

A mysterious windowless room on a house’s floorplan hints at a hideous secret

A young girl suspects that her cousin’s seemingly accidental death was the result of a sinister family tradition

Can you uncover the dark secret of these strange houses? When you do, an unforgettable truth will be revealed.

Strange Pictures was a surprise hit for me this year – I was totally swept up in Uketsu’s storytelling style and the incorporation of pictures and images in the book. Strange Houses is the follow up to that book and is another fun, dark mystery read.

I read Strange Houses at the perfect time. I’ve mentioned (about a million times) later this year, which means I’ve been staring at floor plans on RightMove for the past 7 months. And a mystery revolving around the layout of a strange and unsettling house and the secrets it hides? Perfect. I really enjoyed studying the floor plans in the book and uncovering the secrets in the house’s architecture. The mystery is compelling and I was totally sucked into the story. Is it as plausible as the story in Strange Pictures? No, definitely not. This made it a bit of a weaker book, but it was still an absolute blast to read – I devoured it in a single day.

Strange Houses isn’t as strong a book as Strange Pictures, but if you liked the first book, I think you’ll really enjoy this one too. The two books also are not connected, so you can read them in any order. Strange Houses is a fun mystery, perfect for your summer TBR, and I can’t wait to read more from Uketsu!

1. I was sent a copy of this book by Pushkin Press in exchange for an honest review. ↩︎