Strange Houses

• Read: 19 Mar 2026 - 20 Mar 2026

• Author: Uketsu (Translated by Jim Rion)

• Year: 2021

• Pages: 207

• Remarks: Strange Series Book 1

• Synopsis:

  • The Author investigated a seemingly normal Tokyo house's floor plan that featured a mysterious "dead space". Consulting his architect friend Kurihara, they uncovered chilling anomalies, but the theoretical architectural puzzle quickly turned sinister when a dismembered corpse was discovered near the property, along with the revelation of more such strange houses. From there, they set out to unravel the terrifying truth hidden within.

[20 Mar 2026] ‘Strange Houses’ (2021), by Uketsu.

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Reading Background:

• This was the second time I read this book, the first time being in Nov 2025! Phy recommended this series to me (Kym recommended it to her), and I subsequently recommended it to G and Joy!

• Re-read it after catching up with the Robert Langdon Series, because I needed a recap to write this journal entry.

• This book was the first instalment of the original Japanese series, but the second to be translated and published in English.

What I enjoyed about the book:

• The bite-sized length.

  • I liked that the book was short, which made it quite a fast and easy read!

• The usage of floor plans as the centre of the narrative.

  • Maybe I haven't read widely enough, but this was the first time I came across a book that used floor plans to tell a mystery story! I felt it was impressive, a novel experience reading, and it I enjoyed analysing and reanalysing the floor plans to spot the anomalies! 

• The mixed-media, faux true-crime style of writing.

  • Apart from presenting floor plans and diagrams, Uketsu also used interview transcripts, newspaper articles, letters and other forms of media as narrative devices, weaving them together seamlessly to tell an engaging story.

  • Uketsu also wrote the book like an investigative case file or journal, and this tone made the book seem like it was based on a true story at some point! Had to clarify with Google/Gemini to be sure that it was entirely a work of fiction lol. 

What I found less enjoyable about the book:

• The highly open-ended ending.

  • I think it's fine for books to end on an open-ended note, as it can be engaging for readers to draw their own conclusions or to look forward to a sequel. However, this book felt like it didn't have a proper conclusion at all, leaving behind too many possibilities that all contained improbabilities.

• The massive leaps in logic.

  • I think this was caused by the intention to keep the book short. When Kurihara was presented with the anomalous floor plans, instead of speculating on possible reasons and making progressive logical deductions, he almost immediately leapt to highly dramatic and specific conclusions that happened to be accurate. Wow, dude. 

• The unnatural dialogue.

  • Again, I think this was caused by its short length. The dialogue often felt unnaturally wooden and purely functional (e.g. to dump info). 

My overall thoughts:

• Because of the the English publication order, I've heard reviews that 'Strange Houses' felt like a step down from 'Strange Pictures', when 'Strange Houses' was actually the first book in the series! Keeping this in mind, I felt it fair to laud Uketsu for this amazing and creative debut book, despite some over-dramatisation and limitations of a short book. Also, seeing Jim Rion (the translator) personally and humbly responding to feedback and queries on Reddit gave me really positive vibes. All in all, I would highly recommend this book and the series!

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• Prologue

  • The Author introduced a seemingly normal floor plan that held a mysterious truth upon closer inspection. 

• Chapter 1

  • The Author consulted his architect friend, Kurihara, about the strange Tokyo house featuring a mysterious dead space and a windowless child's room.

  • Kurihara hypothesised that the house was expressly designed for murder, using an imprisoned child to kill unsuspecting guests via a hidden passageway.

  • The potential buyer back out of purchasing the home after a dismembered corpse missing its left hand was found in the nearby woods.

• Chapter 2

  • After the Author wrote an article about the Tokyo house, a woman contacted him with the floor plan of an older, similar house in Saitama.

  • Kurihara analysed the architectural differences, deducing that the family had one imprisoned child used for murders and a second, beloved child kept in a bright triangular nursery.

  • The woman eventually admitted that she lied about her identity; she was actually Yuzuki Katabuchi, the sister of Ayano, who lived in those strange houses.

• Chapter 3

  • Yuzuki drew the floor plan of her grandparents' house, where her young cousin Yoichi died suspiciously in front of a massive Buddhist altar.

  • Kurihara deduced that this ancestral home also featured a hidden confinement room and a secret passageway concealed behind the altar.

  • He theorised that Yuzuki's father murdered Yoichi using these passages to protect the family's dark secrets and control the line of succession.

• Chapter 4

  • Yuzuki and the Author visited Yuzuki's mother, who shared a lengthy confession letter written by Ayano’s husband, Keita Katabuchi.

  • The letter explained the "Offering of the Left Hand", a generational family ritual dictating that a Katabuchi child born without a left hand must murder descendants of the family's branch line.

  • Keita explained how he faked the required murders by harvesting hands from already-dead bodies to protect his wife, son Hiroto and the imprisoned boy Momoya.

  • When the family elders discovered this deception, Keita murdered them to free his family and subsequently went on the run.

• Afterword

  • Kurihara speculated that the Author intentionally omitted certain deductions about the house's layout to protect the family.

  • He proposed a chilling final theory that Keita was actually a prisoner of the family, casting doubt on the truthfulness of the entire confession letter.