The Mill House Murders Quotes

“... No.'
She had said the word very faintly, but I heard it clearly. She had wilfully lied to me. I didn't know what to think.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“And after Kōjin had been spirited away, Masaki used a lighter or torch to signal to his accomplice waiting in the tower room, to let her know the deed had been done.” “Accomplice? You mean, Yurie too?…” Mori exclaimed, adjusting his spectacles once. “Yes, she is the only person who could be Masaki’s accomplice. The suspicious light Kuramoto happened to see from his room was Masaki signalling to her.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“And if Kōjin was murdered on the first floor of the annex and cut into pieces there, only one person could have done it: Masaki Shingo. And that means that the cut-up body found later that night did not belong to Masaki Shingo, but to Kōjin. At this stage, it is easy to imagine how the body was swapped. “That night Masaki Shingo killed Kōjin after he returned to room 5. He undressed him, carried him to the bathroom and, using the meat cleaver and hatchet he had got ready beforehand, he cut the body into six parts.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“He moved slowly closer. I backed away, but he kept coming, looking down at me with pity, as if I were a wounded animal. “Do you really want me to pull that mask off your face, Mr Masaki Shingo?”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“But wouldn’t it have been possible for someone to leave through the window if they were dead, and cut up into pieces? Let me put it differently. If Furukawa Kōjin truly managed to vanish from the first floor, the only way he could have done it was as a dead body cut up into smaller parts.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“Yes. I remember noticing that the carpet in the Southern Gallery was wet when we were on our way back to the annex.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“Ōishi Genzō was an art dealer who used to handle many of Issei’s paintings. Mori Shigehiko was the son of the art historian who first recognized the artistic value of Issei’s works and made him famous. Mitamura Noriyuki would inherit the hospital where Kiichi and his two friends had been treated after their accident twelve years ago.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“There was another flash outside, followed after a while by a clap of thunder. It was almost as if the weather was mocking our melodrama.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“In the gloomy darkness, I revealed my accursed face.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“She raised her face slightly. Terrified eyed looked at me from behind the veil of her hair.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“You shouldn't lie to me,' I said finally, with an aching heart.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“It sounded like the beating heart of the house.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“The frantic storm continued to rage around the house as I moved down the gloomy gallery. The sound of the wind and rain were joined by the crashing of the mill wheels, turning monotonously yet faster than usual. It sounded like the beating heart of the house.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“His silence made even the white mask seem melancholic.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“He cursed the storm that had upset his peaceful life.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“A cold death mask worn by a living man.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“I placed my pipe on its stand and started getting dressed. I took my pyjamas off, put on a shirt and trousers, and a dressing gown on top. When I had managed to do all of this, I put the cotton gloves on both my hands. And finally, it was time to put on my face.
My mask.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders

“An indescribable, inescapable shiver welled up from deep within and ran through my whole being.”
― Yukito Ayatsuji, The Mill House Murders