Review: Strange Houses by Uketsu

My Review:

It only took the first page of this book to have me hooked, I won’t lie. The prologue delivers instant creepy horror and thriller vibes, presenting a simple floorplan that looks ordinary at first glance but reveals irregularities the longer you study it. It is the kind of detail that makes you want to keep turning the pages to see what else is waiting.

Originally published in Japan in 2021, the book has recently been making the rounds across social media. There’s enough intrigue around the author alone; Uketsu’s identity remains unknown, as they usually appear online speaking only through a mask and a voice changer. In the book, they step into the role of the main storyteller, referred to only as “Author” throughout. The concept of following multiple houses and uncovering the mystery within them by examining their floorplans through the Author’s perspective grabbed me immediately. With spooky season approaching, this level of mystery seemed like the perfect read to kick things off. I am an absolute sheep that is a sucker for hype, and after seeing so many rave reviews along the lines of “it sticks with you” or “it creeped me out completely,” I was convinced this would be right up my alley.

As I began reading, I loved the clean structure of the book. The format is simple, with conversations presented as transcripts. This also happens to be the first Japanese-to-English translation I have ever read, so I cannot say whether the style is typical, but the writing felt succinct, easy to follow, and almost coded like an instruction manual, with each step laid out methodically.

The story begins with the Author receiving a phone call from a friend who is viewing a house to purchase. The friend notices that something about the property feels “off” when they take the tour. We are shown our first floorplan and guided through the Author’s thoughts on what is strange about it and what those details might mean. They enlist the help of an architect friend, and together they begin investigating the floorplan, which leads to another and so on, adding details about the people who lived in these houses, and the history embedded within the walls of each. It is a simple idea but a fascinating one, and I found myself thinking more than once, “How has this not been done before? And if it has, why have I not read it yet?”

I still love the premise and would happily read more stories that combine puzzle-solving with transcripts and images, letting the reader follow along as if part of the investigation, (Baddie, if you know of anything similar, pleeease drop me the title!) Where the book lost me, however, was in its conclusion. I had such high hopes after following house after house, and pouring over each floorplan meticulously. I was fully expecting a big reveal to deliver a jaw-dropping moment or a plot twist after all the leg work we as the reader took with ‘Author’. However, rather than leaving me gobsmacked with my eyebrows in my hairline and a continuous gasp coming from me, I found myself pausing in disbelief and just thinking, “Wait, is that it?”. Gutting.

That being said perhaps this was my own fault for going in with such high expectations. After seeing so many people talk about how deeply this story affected them, I might be guilty of having set myself up to be let down. Even so, it was still an enjoyable read and it’s one I’d recommend to a friend and tell them to go in blind. The pacing and the length meant I finished it in a single day, and reading it on the first of October was the perfect way to settle into a horror-filled, spooky, autumnal mood. For that, I am grateful. It may not be a book that lingers with me for weeks to come, but in the moment it gave me exactly what I needed; to step into the crisp autumn air with a touch of eerie atmosphere.

Rating: 3 ✦ Mid-Level Mood