Bookseller Reviews
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An Immersive and Imaginative Read
I read this book longing to perceive the answers to its twists before they were revealed but I must admit I did not, and I only fully loved this story when... READ MORE
Tense, gory, heart wrenching, and tragic.
Tense, gory, heart wrenching, and tragic. I absolutely adored this.This book is such a page turner, it was genuine agony any time I had to put it down to f... READ MORE
Perfectly unsettling
I was so excited for a new Kylie Lee Baker and it did not disappoint!
A suspenseful horror connecting two timelines through an isolated house in Japan. ... READ MORE
Synopsis
2025
Lee can't remember exactly where he hid the body, but he can remember the blood. Hiding out at his father's centuries-old home in Japan, Lee knows something is wrong with him, and he knows it has something to do with his mother's disappearance almost a decade ago.
1877
A female samurai, Sen, stalks the borders of her home to protect her family from slaughter after the abolition of the samurai class. She's not sure how they'll ever survive, not without her father, who has returned from war with a different soul behind his eyes.
When Lee and Sen find one another through a door between their worlds, they're both looking for answers. But what they find in the creaking old house they share is beyond what either of them could imagine...
Publisher information
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
- ISBN: 9781399755221
- Number of pages: 368
- Dimensions: 238 x 156 x 36 mm
- Weight: 580g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allA unique, thought provoking blend of Historical Fiction, Supernatural Horror and Literary Fiction.
My tanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a free DRC of “Japanese Gothic” by Kyilie Lee Baker.
A unique, thought provoking blend of Historical Fict... READ MORE
Unusual but immersive
I really enjoyed the writing in this book. It was striking without being too flashy which enabled me to stay immersed in the atmosphere and engaged with th... READ MORE
Japanese Gothic
4.5 stars rounded up.
I was drawn in by the cover and stayed for the beautiful writing. It was so well written that I flew through it.
Of the two tim... READ MORE
Kylie Lee Baker has done it again!
I previously read Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker, which was a 2025 Kindig Gem for me, so I was very excited to read her latest ... READ MORE
Unconventional, dark, tragic and brilliantly crafted
What a weird, dreamlike, dark and bloodsoaked book, I loved it!
Japanese Gothic is the story of Lee and Sen, two people split by time. Lee is an American ... READ MORE
Quietly Haunting and Impossible to Forget
I went into Japanese Gothic with high expectations after loving Bat-Eater, and it still completely delivered. I finished it and just sat there thinking abo... READ MORE
Japanese Gothic
There’s something slightly unhinged—in the best way—about a book that throws you into two timelines, a possibly unreliable murderer, a collapsing samurai e... READ MORE
Mesmerising
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.
This is a dual timeline set hor... READ MORE
Unique Samurai Story
Japanese Gothic unfolds over two time periods. In the present, we follow Lee, who has just murdered his college roommate back in New York and is now hiding... READ MORE
A haunting novel with incredibly engaging characters!
To describe this book would be a challenge. Part horror, part historical fiction, part character study, part deconstruction of father-child relationships. ... READ MORE
A Haunting, Blood Soaked Narrative That Comes Together Masterfully By Its End
Actual Rating: 4.5
'He sensed even then, that the house had been built at the edge of a cliff overlooking an abyss of darkness, that it teetered somewhe... READ MORE
A haunting story full of magic realism and Japanese mythology
4.5 stars
My love for this crept up on me. To start with, I was mostly confused but enjoying myself. Then, at around 30%, I admitted defeat, strapped in f... READ MORE
Creepy but a bit slow
In 2026, Lee Turner has run away to his father’s house in Japan, escaping from the mystery of his roommate’s death back in the USA. He can remember what ha... READ MORE
Japanese Gothic
“He wanted to hopelessly entangle her soul with his until they were one and the same, to follow her to the bottom of the sea, to rot beside her when death ... READ MORE
Japanese Gothic drew me in right away
This was my first time reading Kylie Lee Baker, and now I get why so many horror fans rave about her. Japanese Gothic drew me in right away with its creepy... READ MORE
Atmospheric, mysterious and creepy
Just as the unreliable narrator is fundamental to the novel form, the haunted house is fundamental to the horror genre; and a creepy Japanese house with do... READ MORE
Japanese Gothic is, quite simply, a masterpiece of modern horror
Japanese Gothic Kylie Lee Baker
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC.
★★★★★
Japanese Gothic is, quite simply, a masterpiece of modern ... READ MORE
Japanese Gothic is, quite simply, a masterpiece of modern horror
Japanese Gothic Kylie Lee Baker
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC.
★★★★★
Japanese Gothic is, quite simply, a masterpiece of modern ... READ MORE
Beware the house behind the sword ferns!
This book has a gorgeously creepy setting with the house behind the sword ferns and a tale of ghosts connecting there, characters with dark secrets and liv... READ MORE
.
This is certainly a unique take on a gothic fiction that I have never encountered before, and it's worth of a read by any fan of that particular genre.
... READ MORE
Unexpectedly brilliant
Not my normal genre but I bought this (via another supplier) after the NY Times review.Couldn’t put it down - great fun, bit gory.Given most of the reviews... READ MORE
Have I found another new favourite book?
Have I found another new favourite book? The moment I picked this up, I was hooked. Bat Eater was one of my favourite reads last year, so this was always g... READ MORE
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