Strange Houses

A Novel

By: Uketsu

Narrated by: Andrew Grace

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

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

simple criticism

I have the Japanese version of the book and it is wonderful. Thereader is great but would have been better with having a female reader to better immerse listener to the story.

the plot was built well, i thought id have it and the i didnt.

i think it’s a good set up. i love the way japanese horror focuses alot on psychological fixture versus jumpscares and gore soley. id recommend.

Great story, but a bit too dependent on PDF / visuals

This is a great book and translation, but I’d highly recommend just buying the print version of this book honestly, The performance by the narrator is excellent, but there are so many visuals and diagrams that the reader would need to double check while reading, all in the accompanying PDF. This isn’t a good book to listen to while driving or doing chores.

Always on the hook

This was such a fresh read and listen. I'm usually not a mystery fan but this entire story had me evaluating and speculating on the outcomes the whole time! Looking forward to strange buildings

READ THIS BEFORE TRUSTING THE GLOWING REVIEWS!

There is an interesting premise at the heart of this book, but it's presented in a way that is completely absurd almost immediately. This will sound like a spoiler, but it is revealed within the first 5 minutes of the audiobook: Someone notices a curious small, narrow, completely enclosed space on the floorplan of a home. He shows the floorplan to a friend, who concludes:

1- It's a secret passage;

2- The parents of the family who lived there must have lured people into their home, gotten them drunk, suggested they spend the night, and offer them the use of a private bath;

3- While their guest was in the bath, they would sent their child through a hole in the floor of its room and through the secret passage so that the toddler could murder the guest while helpless in the tub.

4- Profit?

Reminder, these are the conclusions drawn base SOLELY ON EXAMINING THE FLOORPLAN OF THE HOUSE! For the record, the "mystery space" that inspires this is directly off the kitchen, so a normal assumption would be to think it may be the water wall, or contain gas and/or electric lines for the kitchen. Even presuming some nefarious intent, a stash of drugs or money would be much, much more plausible... but no. Assassin Baby is the conclusion to which he jumps. ACTUAL SPOILER: Aside from a few minor variances, he turns out to be CORRECT!

I have no problem with a suspension of disbelief, especially for a story with some supernatural elements, This goes well beyond that, and into the realm of "if you remove enough of my brain for this to seem reasonable, my body will cease all autonomic functions."