A cult psychological thriller in Japan, The Black House - that I had access to in the French audiobook version La Maison Noire, translated by Diane Durocher and read by French-Asian actor Hao Ting - is a haunting novel exploring the darkness of a criminal mind.
The main character of the book who is also the storyteller is working in the insurance field, in Kyoto. Faced with a bizarre request for life insurance, he ends up being caught in a complicated game of crime and psychopatic games lead by a woman who cannot be stopped for even killing her own son for getting money. She will go so far that will directly threaten the insurance agent and his girlfriend who will barely escape being murdered after a brutal kidnapping.
The story evolves slowly, with the gruesome part taking place in the last quarter of the book, after many intermezzo dedicated to human psychology and the extreme temptations of the relationships between insurance clients and the promise of money. Although some local bureaucratic references may work as smoking mirrors, distracting you from the real story, there is something dark in those insurance procedures that deserves more attention from crime and thriller writers.
The exploration of social context and the genesis of criminal minds is by far the most interesting part, although it occurs in a way too theoretical, split from the proper narrative.
Overall, it was a challenging reading experience, and would be interested in exploring not only more books by Kishi but also more Japanese crime writers.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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