Strange Houses. Novel by Uketsu. A Review.

Though published before Strange Pictures, this novel has been released as something like a spiritual successor to its follow-up in the English-reading world. Jim Rion does another great job of translating Uketsu’s work. This time, it follows a mystery that begins with discussing strange aspects of a house’s floor plan and then grows from there, culminating in a decently creepy story though the author (and translator) have left purposeful gaps in knowledge. It initially argues its central mystery from first principles and architectural drawings – i.e., how oddities in a floor plan might be linked to murder without any other proof besides a sort of Socratic debate. The abstract nature of the first half combined with the much more definite – and darker – nature of the second half might turn off some readers, but fans of Japanese mysteries, architecturally-themed mysteries, and mysteries that try something a bit unique: it should satisfy.

Two Very Quick Caveats Pre-Review

First, I think this is the first review I have written in something like 6+ months. It might have even been 2024 since my last full one was written. Partially because across the end of 2024 and throughout 2025 I have been withdrawing from most social media. I still have a Goodreads page, but I haven’t really posted there in a while. Specifics are not important, just know I’m a bit rusty.

Second, I am typing this review up before actually finishing setting this blog up. Partially because I am needing some content in order to know what kind of things to set up for my content. As stuff changes, it might get a bit glitchy in the future. Here’s hoping not.

Now, moving along.

Though I read the HarperCollins version, and the artwork is actually from the novel, I kind of adore the vibe of the Pushkin Vertigo version.

Synopsis

(from HarperCollins): From the bestselling author of the wildly inventive Strange Pictures and a phenomenon in Japan—unnatural layouts, trap doors, windowless rooms— a sinister conspiracy is concealed within a house’s warped and unsettling floor plans.

When a writer fascinated by the macabre is approached by an acquaintance, he finds himself investigating an eerie house for sale in Tokyo. At first, with its bright and spacious interior, it seems the perfect first home. But upon closer inspection, the building’s floor plans reveal a mysterious “dead space” hidden between its walls. Seeking a second opinion, the writer shares the floor plans with his friend Kurihara, an architect, only to discover more unnerving details throughout.

What is the true purpose behind the house’s disturbing design? And what happened to the former owners who disappeared without a trace? When a body suddenly appears and a young woman reaches out about a second house, it soon becomes clear that the writer and his friend may be in over their heads. Structured around a series of chilling floorplans, with Strange Houses, mystery-horror YouTube sensation Uketsu casts readers in the role of detective, inviting them to help map out the truth hidden within these puzzling floor plans . . . and the terrifying plot behind it all.

Translated from the Japanese by Jim Rion

Doug’s Review (Spoiler-Free)

This is a hard one to review too in depth because a lot of the value of the novel (i.e., the pay out of reader satisfaction) will be contingent on elements later given that deeply touch upon the territory of spoilers. I’ll do my utmost.

The primary thing to know about the novel, the primary sell, is that it focuses on a mystery of strange floor plans and how they might hide a secret. In total, there are three houses whose floor plans look relatively normal – if a bit odd – but have elements that lead to questions. The way windows are used. The way dead space creeps in. How certain rooms are not in alignment with other parts of the house.

What follows, after introducing this conceit, is what might be called an argument of mystery from first principles. In other words, a murder mystery where the solution is less about finding clues, doing footwork, and interrogating witnesses but instead one where a lot of the discussion is grounded merely upon the analysis of the scant number of facts known.

It is akin to online forums discussing a new crime and potential motives based on a few facts at hand. Or YouTube videos discussing creepy photos and filling in a lot of gaps with only hearsay.

Only, I would argue, Uketsu does this more intelligently and, importantly, more interestingly than armchair detectives. It is a novel after all, so the author can align the conceit with the given reality.

Just keep in mind that this novel involves a lot of discussion of these floor plans, lots of different snippets and repeats of them, and then a lot of dialogue told purely in “quick script form”.

In the above example, the “Author” is meant to be Uketsu, himself. It is that type of novel. Kurihara is the expert brought in to analyze the house and is a primary driver for the diving into the mystery.

The first two sections (of five) are more purely of this “play with floor plan drawings and give parlor room analysis to some wild theories to explain relatively minor oddities” type. To a degree you would not be blamed for thinking it is a silly experiment in style rather than a fulfilling mystery. As the second gives way to the third we are offered a deeper glimpse to the behind the scenes. Then the fourth goes even deeper. Finally, a short fifth section acts a a coda which, rather than explaining the concepts, actual pokes at the nature of the novel itself.

In other words, where many detective/mystery novels would have the Great Detective explaining every detail, the novel’s closest equivalent to such a character (Kurihara) offers mostly doubt and points out gaps in information.

This authorial trick leaves the reader with a sense of mild disorientation. I think this works, because certain types of creepy novels need that liminal space [Doug’s note: the term “liminal” is actually used by the translator, Jim Rion, himself, in the translator’s note] to unsettle themselves in the readers’ minds. However, mystery is a genre where completeness of the solution is a factor of a story’s quality. This might spark some dissatisfaction even among those who were broadly into the novel prior to this.

The final product is less a pure mystery and more an examination of how we process mystery.

Doug’s Rating and Recommendation

I enjoyed it. More than Strange Pictures though the latter is more complete in its telling. I am very excited to see what else we get from Uketsu (and Rion). Even with the coda, I feel satisfied. In fact, perhaps more so because of it.

I think the novel would be a good fit for readers of Japanese mysteries or who likes architecture and technical details in their mystery stories. Also for folks who like more experimental takes on tried-and-true genres.

Content Warnings (Mild Spoilers)

Strange Houses contains at least one scene of the death of a child (described in minor detail) with more discussed “off camera” and a larger amount of child neglect. There are descriptions of at least a couple of mutilations though not greatly outside of the scope of normal murder mysteries.

Other Credits and Notes

The splash art is, to my discredit, not a house at all. Perhaps obviously so. It is from blueprints/design for the Bibliothèque royale in Paris. I just wanted some nice public domain blueprints to act as flavor. Mea culpa.