黑桃A的血咒

by Tetsuya Ayukawa, 鮎川哲也, 林敏生 (Translator)

自從藝術大學的七位學生住進來後，紫丁香莊便揭開一幕恐怖的殺人連續劇。
首先是當地的居民遇害，現場留有一張黑桃Ａ的撲克牌，起初人們並未注意到它的存在與涵義，但是緊接著犧牲的卻是住宿學生之一，而屍體週遭則發現黑桃２。
這是怎麼回事？難道黑桃花色的撲克牌代表了兇手的詛咒？

328 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 1992

About the author

Tetsuya Ayukawa (鮎川 哲也 Ayukawa Tetsuya) was the pen name of a Japanese literary critic and novelist. His real name was Toru Nakagawa. He is noted for his Detective Onitsura Series of mystery stories.

Reviews

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder At the Cloves Villa by Tetsuya Ayukawa, is a solidly written locked-room murder mystery and is considered by many as a classic.

It is the second time I read this book, the main story is about seven art students spending their summer break at the Cloves Villa (or the Lilac Villa), the students might not be as friendly with each other as they first appear to be. Then out of the blue, a local resident is murdered by an unknown killer, then more students are killed one by one. Who is the killer, and why would he/she kill those students and the local residents, when seemingly there is no connection among them?

I really appreciate the final plot twists and the explanation of the killer's motives (you just won't believe why he/she did that!), still the characters are so flat, and the atmosphere of mystery and dread isn't all that great neither. So, 4 stars only.

[Joseph Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

情節推演欠精彩，但詭計和點子很多，有些精彩，有些太難置信（例如兇手為何能在被害者的可可中下毒），導致整體成績只達良好水平，有點可惜——不是鮎川哲也最好的作品，「死亡的風景」好多了。