Soji Shimada Murder in the Crooked House was a little underwhelming. Our sleuth, Kiyoshi, doesn't appear until the final third of the novel. And while his entry into the mysterious case of the serial murders at the odd Hokkaido home built on a slant is hilarious, one cannot help but feel somewhat disappointed. Furthermore, there are no astrological, alchemical or occult themes that our astrologer-sleuth must confront (unless one considers the Golem from Jewish folklore). It's certainly less occult and graphic than Tokyo Zodiac Murders, but also more convoluted and somewhat absurd. The big reveal at the end also fell a little flat since one of the victims, a lecherous older man, is turned into a war criminal during World War II in Burma. Needless to say, the novel is a bit of a mess, involving an unbelievable concept to elucidate the locked room murder(s).
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