Strange Houses

By Uketsu

Book Overview

"Deliciously unsettling and refreshingly unique, Strange Houses will lure you in and keep you captive with every clever twist." --Kristen Perrin, New York Times bestselling author of How to Solve Your Own Murder

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

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006343315X
• ISBN13: 9780063433151
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: Harpervia
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

not at all believable

The only saving grace was that it was a very fast read.

Wild and creepy!

I found this novel to be so intriguing and a really quick read because I could not put it down! The way the author looked at an odd floorplan with his friend and concocted a strange theory about the dead space in the middle of a house, plus the bedroom with no windows had me consuming the words and illustrations, especially when the article was answered by the woman with her own crazy story that took it all the way out into the wild and creepy field of the map. It certainly left me with an unsettling feeling when the whole story comes out and yes, it is insane but I still enjoyed it enough that I believe I am going to go see what else this author has written. Plus it makes me want to go and see if I can find floorplans of buildings that may hold their own secrets, though hopefully none as murderous as these house turned out to be!