Strange Buildings: A Novel – A Chilling Journey Through Twisted Buildings from the Bestselling Author of Strange Houses
About Strange Buildings: A Novel – A Chilling Journey Through Twisted Buildings from the Bestselling Author of Strange Houses
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Uketsu’s strange riddles are chilling and addictive" - R. F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and YellowfaceFrom the bestselling author of Strange Houses and Strange Pictures comes a new unsettling mystery—eleven strange buildings, each with its own twisted floor plan and eerie backstory, and a terrible secret that connects them all.
A lonely hut in the woods. A murder house. A hidden chamber.
A mysterious shrine. A home in flames. A nightmarish prison.
After receiving multiple tips from his devoted readership, a writer fascinated by the occult put together eleven case files, each featuring its very own strange building. Each of the eleven structures in this book has a floor plan that conceals a disturbing architectural quirk: from disappearing rooms to apartments with no means of escape. Each buildings tells its own chilling story.
And each is part of a grander puzzle. Look closely . .
and you'll see that everything is connected. All leading to a revelation so horrifying you won't want to believe it. Millions of readers have become addicted to solving Uketsu's dark mysteries.
Strange Buildings is the strangest, and darkest, of them all.
What readers say
Readers are drawn in by this Japanese puzzle mystery's format: a set of seemingly separate case files, floor plans and diagrams that slowly lock together, with an eerie mood rooted in human cruelty rather than the supernatural. Many find it addictive and hard to put down. The most common criticisms are deductions that ask for big leaps, a large cast that's hard to track, a slow first stretch before the threads connect, and a rushed or unsatisfying ending. It is much darker than a cozy, with child deaths, abuse and suicide, and many rank it below the author's earlier books.
Best for: Readers who love visual, clue-hunting puzzle mysteries and can handle dark themes.
Summary of public reader reviews, updated November 2026.