Book cover of Death Among the Undead

Book description

“... a work of great importance.”

Soji Shimada, author of “The Toko Zodiac Murders”

“Death Among the Undead” is the only novel ever to have achieved first place in all four major annual mystery fiction rankings in Japan. It was an overnight sensation and was turned into a film and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Death Among the Undead as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is a fair-play honkaku novel that involves a twist with the supernatural—in this case, zombies. In Japan or otherwise, most detective fiction tends to avoid the supernatural. Still, zombies actually do behave predictably, so they can be used in the way a murder weapon can. 

Again, you can also solve this mystery before the “detective reveal,” which I didn’t manage to do, but the solution also involves some clever tricks. My reason for recommending this is the use of zombies (to besiege a manor where the characters are holed up), giving this detective story a fresh and unique…

If you love Death Among the Undead...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like Death Among the Undead?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Death Among the Undead.

Browse books like Death Among the Undead

Book cover of Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Book cover of The Tokyo Zodiac Murders
Book cover of The Opera House Murders

Share your top 3 reads of 2026!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

185

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Death Among the Undead, you might also like...

Book cover of Child of Vanris

Child of Vanris by Nikki McCormack,

At five years old, Kasiel was found with the pointed ends of his ears cut off. Despite that brutal start, he’s lived twelve peaceful years with the man who took him in. Keeping his hair long over his mutilated ears helps him hide the fact that he is Vanrian, a…

Book cover of Almost Home

Almost Home by Howard Means,

Almost Home is a fictional retelling of the last great tragedy of the Civil War.

In late April 1865, almost 2,000 newly freed Union prisoners of war are packed onto the steamer Sultana, in poor repair and with a listed capacity of 376 passengers. Among them are four Indiana soldiers…

5 book lists we think you will like!