Thursday, March 23, 2023

番外編:The Mill House Murders Released

Back in November, I announced Pushkin Press would be publishing my translation of AYATSUJI Yukito's The Mill House House Murders, at the time with a scheduled release date of late February. Sorry for the wait, as the release was eventually pushed back a month to March. Now!

Two years ago, Pushkin Press re-released The Decagon House Murders, a slightly brushed-up version of the translation I originally made for Locked Room International in 2015.  Fortunately, the re-release seems to have been received well, leading to plans to release the follow-up novel and I am also happy both author Ayatsuji and Pushkin Press wanted me on board again. The Mill House Murders was originally published in Japan as Suishakan no Satsujin in 1988, set once again in an architectural creation by the architect Seiji Nakamura, and yes, people die there. The Mill House is a castle-like structure, home of a wealthy recluse with a unique art collection, and his beautiful young wife. One year before the present, a horrible murder case happened at the Mill House while a small party of guests were visiting visited the house to view the art collection. Exactly one year later, most of the same people have once again gathered at the Mill House, and that is of course the go sign for more mysterious happenings that build towards a surprising conclusion.


The Mill House Murders is the second book in Ayatsuji's long-running series featuring Nakamura's buildings and he recently got started on the tenth book. This second volume can be read seperate from The Decagon House Murders, as basically the only spoiler is the series detective, but of course, those who have read the first book will get some of the minor references and call-backs. People who liked the first book will find a lot to love in The Mill House Murders, as the reader will once again explore an unsettling, closed-off location where curious, bloody murders occur and a surprising conclusion waiting at the end. The Mill House Murders is also a transitional book: The Decagon House Murders was written as a standalone book, inspired by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but its success led to it being turned into a series, and this book does feel like it opens up the world a bit, marking the transition to a series.

One personal memory I have of this book I already mentioned in my review of the Japanese book. I originally obtained a used copy of this book, and near the end, before the final chapter, I found a receipt stuck between the pages. At first I thought it was just something left accidentally there by the previous owner and missed by the employees of the used book shop, but when I turned it around, I found it had a message for me, the new owner: it was a Challenge to the Reader, from A Reader. The note mentions that the murderer would be revealed in the next part, and challenged the reader to try to solve it themselves first before reading the final chapter. It was such a fun, unique present of the previous owner and I still have the note.

Pushkin is based in the UK, which means The Mill House Murders is out this week there, with a US release scheduled for I believe in May. Anyway, if you liked The Decagon House Murders, please try The Mill House Murders too and if not.... try both? The Decagon House Murders was the first novel I got to work on, and when I first started this blog, I of course never had imagined I would be translating all those books I was writing about, so I'm more than thrilled I was able to also work on The Mill House Murders. And as for more books in this series? I guess positive reception is the most likely to ensure more translations follow (hopefully by me, haha), so it'd be great if you'd pick the book if you happen to be looking for a fun mystery novel.

23 comments :

  1. Congratulations!
    I'll be picking it up as soon as possible, of course. Hopefully from my local bookstore, so I can show them that it deserves the shelf space.
    - Velleic

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    1. Thanks!

      Now I wonder if the local bookstore will carry this one... I haven't seen Decagon in the really nearby bookstores, though the bigger, neighboring city had Decagon so I assume they'll get Mill House too...

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  2. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of my copy!

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    1. Sorry for the long, long wait since Decagon :P

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    2. I don't think I have much to complain about considering how much has been translated over the years. And what's coming in the years ahead. I'm sure you're hard at work or have already finished translating Akimitsu Takagi's Why Were the Dolls Killed?. ;D

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    3. Well, well, well... it looks like I was right again. Well, sort of. I was half right.

      Pushkin Vertigo is going to publish Akimitsu Takagi's The Noh Mask Murder next year. I knew a new translation was coming the moment I learned they were going to reprint The Tattoo Murder. I can smell these locked room mysteries across space and time!

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    4. I was asked a few years back by the editor at Pushkin about Noh Mask actually, whether it was worth translating. I assume you also already know about The Meiji Guillotine Murders being released by Pushkin? I was also asked at that time to myself suggest a few honkaku titles I thought worth translating, and Meiji was on that list I sent, so I might have an idea about other future titles too :P

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  3. My copy has already shipped! I’m so excited! Thank you again for your hard work, Ho-Ling! ^_^

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  4. I wish Pushkin Press releases the Werewolf Castle next

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    1. Would be interesting to see any publisher tackling that mammoth!

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    2. This is my white whale. I despair of it ever being translated and thus, I study Japanese :P

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  5. As always, congratulations on the new translation! I can't wait to read it (though I suppose the US release date means I'll have to...) I sure hope Pushkin continues the series (with you translating, of course!)

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    1. Thanks! I do wonder why there's always a gap of months, instead of days/weeks between the UK(EU) and US releases... I can't say anything definite, but considering Pushkin is pushing forward with other series like Kindaichi too, I think both of us can at least be reasonably hopeful for the future!

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  6. Finished it yesterday, very enjoyable! It was fun to pick clues along the way, solution/twist is pretty obvious from the early stages but I was still entertained till the end.
    Congratulations on working on this book, hope it's not the last collab between you and Pushkin Vertigo! Cheers!

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    1. Thanks! I can agree that once you think of what the solution could be, it seems very obvious, but that does allow you to see the clues better I think, and that's a lot of fun too (I had to keep post-its for the clues to make sure I got all of them XD).

      I sure hope too I can announce I'm working on another of Pushkin's books on this blog in the future again :D

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  7. I'm currently halfway through my reading, and was one of those who asked if Pushkin would be releasing book 2 and if you'd translate it too. Congratulations are in order!! I hope we get Labyrinth House too, with your work of course. Decagon got its manga adaptation released in us and spain too, so I believe there's been a Bizarre Mansion revival! Kind regards!!

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    1. Thanks for asking for me and the book, and I hope you're enjoying Mill House. I sure too hope more translations of the books will follow!

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  8. I teach a Mystery & Detective Fiction course at a private school in Hawai'i, and my students really loved THE DECAGON HOUSE MURDERS. I told them about your translation of THE MILL HOUSE MURDERS, and they seemed very interested in reading it on their own. I sincerely hope you will be able to translate additional entries in the series. I saw -- I believe on this very blog -- that Kawaminami makes a return appearance in a later book. The students were very intrigued by that development -- and the possibility of further details about the killer's fate being revealed in later works. As a fellow mystery fan and scholar, I'm happy to have found this blog. Keep up the good work!

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    1. Oh, wow, thanks for the message! It's really cool to hear the book is actually being read for a course!

      As the product page is already put on Amazon UK, it's probably already safe for me to say it out loud, but the third book, The Labyrinth House Murders, will be released too and is at the moment scheduled for a release next year! So more is definitely coming!

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    2. Thank you for the info. It will be a long wait until next October. But that's great to hear!

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  9. Hah! I found this blog just now while searching for something else - I think I saw your review of Tokyo Zodiac. I listened to your translation of Mill House Murders last month. Great work, I look forward to the next one - even if I didn’t really care for the Mill House case itself.

    I love the audiobooks Pushkin has been putting out. The narrator’s lilting Australian accent adds so much.

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    1. Oh, cool, I have never listened to the audio books myself, so interesting to hear from someone who knows the work in that way! I hope you'll enjoy the audio book of The Labyrinth House Murders too!

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