Japanese puzzle mystery meets time-loop caper in Yasuhiko Nishizawa’s first novel translated into English. Japanese novels playing with the concept of time have been popular recently. Last year, we had Tomihiko Morimi’s Tatami Time Machine Blues and now we have an intricate murder mystery where the protagonist finds himself stuck in a time loop.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2025/08/14/the-man-who-died-seven-times-yasuhiko-nishizawa/

Japanese extended Groundhog Day idea with a murder to solve/prevent.

4.5 stars.

How absolutely fascinating as a concept! A young man, in high school, has many years ago realised that sometimes he will experience the same day over and over again, nine times in all, before time once again restarts. This until now has meant he was able to get into a high-performing school and often been very bored with certain days repeating with little variation.

But now... it's New Year. He is stuck with his family at their wealthy Grandfather's home. Only recently have his mother and aunt reconciled with him following an estrangement. There is already rivalry and tension based on his annually-changing will. And now Hisataro awakens to find the same day is looping again, for the first of eight times... but this time the day ends with his grandparent's murder... which did not happen the first time around. He has several attempts to work out what's happened and if he can prevent it by the time his loop ends.

For me, the concept was brilliant. It's one you take with a pinch of salt, just like Bill Murray's spell in Punxatawney, it is never explained and the only rules are those Hisataro has worked out for himself.

I found the Japanese setting also rather interesting, the difference in how people treat each other, how society functions, noticeable differences from my own experiences. The language seemed occasionally clunky, which I felt was part translation but also I have seen this in some TV programmes and feel that people do express themselves differently around the world.

Our protagonist explains to us that he isn't the cleverest, but he proves throughout the story he can actually be rather logical, he works through options in turn and tries to change one thing at a time to see what effect it is.

I found this a little hard to follow at times, if only because it's a large family with some similar sounding names so I took a while to get used to who everybody was.

I adored the story, the direction it took, and not knowing how it would end. Great fun, good mystery, and a concept I think would do well as a TV series itself.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

This one's description reminds me of other Japanese novels I've enjoyed, so I will be watching for this book in the wild. If I con't find it in the wild myself, I know someone who will probably buy this one and I can borrow it from her eventually.

Entertaining, stylish and truly novel puzzle design
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Hisataro is the lowest peg in his family of matriarchs, misfits and chancers. What none of them know is that occasionally he loops through time eight times in a row, and he has used it to his advantage: to ace an important exam, to get to know a girl, to save someone. The problem is that he doesn’t know when he’ll time loop and whether or not over eight goes he’ll be able to change anything fundamentally. So when he discovers his grandfather dead, he has eight opportunities to work out who is the murderer and prevent them from doing it again. Will Hisataro be able to save his grandfather or will the murderer get the best of him and his strange power?

As any Japanese novel in translation, there are things which will be unfamiliar, even shocking for Western readers; but for a thirty year old novel which is being published in English for the first time, this is pretty innovative stuff, taking the conceit of Groundhog Day and throwing in an irascible grandfather and his warring family, as well as ambitious staff and a narrator who is older than his youthful years. Entertaining, stylish and a truly novel puzzle design that keeps the reader’s interest to the last page.

Rating: 3.75-4⭐
Review:
✨Firstly, thank you to Steerforth & Pushkin and #NetGalley for this ARC! This review was voluntarily written by me.
✨#TheManWhoDiedSevenTimes is a mixed read for me for several reasons.
✨Firstly, the title is actually a part of a summary of this story. But it still poses a question to readers, “Which day in the loop did the man die?”.
✨I did get bored at some points of the story due to repetitions of some events in each loop, but it is understandable because Hisataro needed to check by trial-and-error, which events affected the death of his grandfather.
✨The characters in this story, especially most of the family members, are something else. I just lost my thought and words on how to describe them in general.
✨My favourite character is Hisataro or Kyu-chan (spoiler alert!). I’m still thinking under his adult-like temperament, resulting from his condition, his inner gremlin is waiting to be unleashed. He’s not really mischievous in a way, but from his experiences in the loop, I do see that he’s still behaved like a teenager as he should in some events. Even if he didn’t realise it sometimes.
✨The writing is actually interesting for me because of how the chapters are divided and how the story unfolded from Hisataro’s eyes.
✨Based on the ending, I really pity the traumatised protagonist.
✨To the publisher, is there any sequel to this novel?
✨I do recommend this story for any readers, especially mystery readers that like time-loop mysteries. If you pick this book up, I hope you will enjoy this story more than or as much as I do

Succession meets Groundhog Day in this Golden Age-esq murder mystery with a Japanese twist. Addictive and entertaining, stop whatever you are doing, because you won't be able to put it down.

'The Man Who Died Seven Times' gives me 'Knives Out' meets 'Groundhog Day' vibes: a wealthy patriarch dies while his family is in the middle of a tense competition for his inheritance, and the main character gets multiple chances to relive the day and figure out what happened.

The lead, Hisataro, actually faces this “trap” several times a month, being forced to relive one day nine times—making him closer to 30 in mind than his physical 16 years. Previously aimless, he finally has purpose for his condition, using the loops to hide, observe, and adjust his approach until he pieces it all together. Additionally, I find Emi to be a charming side character.

This book has smart, suspenseful storytelling that pulls you in, though it sometimes leans heavily on backstory to clarify motives. That’s why I preferred the audiobook; it flowed more easily for me than reading all that detail on the page. That said, a few uncomfortable societal norms show their age, small reminders that this was originally published in Japan 30 years ago. If you enjoy intricate and clever puzzles—and don’t mind some repeated time-loop descriptions—you’ll likely find this entertaining.

Special thanks to Pushkin Vertigo and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An enjoyable time travelling murder mystery. The centralised character ability to live certain days 9 times over adds an interesting dimension to the story!

This book was a fun surprise. Each loop added a new twist, and Hisataro’s dry humor made it even better. It wasn’t an emotional read, but it was clever, fast-paced, and kept me guessing. I didn’t feel deeply moved—but I definitely couldn’t put it down

Hisataro Fuchigami has a mysterious ability. From time to time he will fall into a time loop and is required to live the same day nine times. On one of his trips his grandfather is murdered before revealing his heir. He only has nine tries to attempt to unlock the mystery and solve the murder.

This book was truly fun. I love a time loop story and adding a murder that has to be solved is almost always an entertaining time. This family is full of a wild cast of characters. The way the story unfolds is inventive and great to follow along with. There were plenty of twists and turns to the mystery. I look forward to doing an audio reread of this soon!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

'The Man Who Died Seven Times' is a clever, quirky twist on the classic murder mystery with a time loop. Set within a wealthy Japanese family, the story follows sixteen-year-old Hisataro (Kyutaro), who possesses the peculiar ability to relive one day nine times consecutively. When his grandfather is unexpectedly murdered during their annual New Year's gathering, Hisataro must use his time-loop power to unravel secrets, uncover motives, and identify the killer before the final iteration of the day locks the outcome in place.

The time loop explanations can get a little repetitive, but the pace is consistent. Nishizawa balances lighthearted humour with an Agatha Christie style plot and sci-fi elements. Add in some eccentric relatives, and you've got yourself an engaging story.

Overall I really liked this mystery, but the ending fell a bit flat for me. I unintentionally end up comparing every time loop story to that one episode of Supernatural, which is generally my favorite episode of the show. I think the explanation we get with Gabriel at the end of the episode makes sitting through the time loop worth it and contextualizes its place in the broader universe. While I really liked this book, I don't feel the same level of satisfaction with the ending. We're dropped into the story through an info dump, yet I still left with more questions than answers. Why does our protagonist have this "condition"? Does the grandfather ever find out that his entire family was trying to kill him? How does Emi know about the missing day? And again - why is Hisataro the. only. person. in seemingly this entire universe who experiences inexplicable time loops???

Besides feeling like I needed an additional chapter to wrap up the ending, I think many of my other issues may just be cultural differences. The dialogue is a bit abrupt and the talk of cousins getting married kinda freaked me out. But I am also not a rich person from Japan in the 1990s so maybe this is more normal than I think? You always lose a bit of nuance and context when translating a work from its original language, especially one that came out 30 years ago.

[3.5 stars] This is kind of like the book version of the "Happy Death Day" (2017) film. 16-year-old Hisataro (called Kyutaro by his family) sometimes falls into an unexpected time loop where he has to relive the same day 9 times. This can obviously be an advantage as he can change the course of events without real consequences until the final loop, but most of the time it feels tedious as nothing special happens and he has to relive that multiple times. However for once, this ability can be a matter of life or death, as he attempts to find out what and who is behind his grandfather's death.

With everyone scrambling for the inheritance, Hisataro can't really trust anyone, and every day of the time loop he learns something new while simultaneously finding a way to prevent his grandfather's death. This crime mystery serves a platter of melodrama, showing how selfish most family members are, and all their grievances that go way back. It's sometimes funny and the writing conveys the dynamics of the family quite well, especially since the timeline and characters are a lot to wrap your head around.

The chapters are also divided into each day of the time loop which makes it easier to keep track of the days and what exactly happened. I appreciate that Hisataro summarizes the timeline without overdoing it, but I do feel like that there was incessant repetition about the basic mechanics of the time loop. We already know how it works and the potential high stakes of it, and reiterating that over and over serves the same redundancy that uneventful time loops do. There's also that weird incest situation romance which was a little off-putting, although that's something you need to take into account due to the time period it was written in.

Regardless, the novel results in a super engaging murder mystery that puts your brain to work. I particularly love the ending and revelation, and the somewhat complicated conclusion works cohesively with the rest of the book. Would recommend!

Thank you Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the arc. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book and its narration by a rather world-weary teenager who suffers from a condition where once or twice a month, a single day will repeat for him as a time-loop nine times. Sometimes this works out well, like the time when he aced his school entrance exam because he had eight rehearsals, but otherwise it seems to be quite annoying.

Then his grandfather is found dead during a family New Year reunion, apparently murdered. But how? And this is the second day of a time loop - why didn’t he die on the first day of the loop? What changed? Can our hero work it out before the last loop arrives and the timeline is fixed?

A fun romp, excellent for lovers of Japanese fiction.

The Man Who Died Seven Times by Yasuhiko Nishizawa is a clever, intriguing read that keeps you hooked from start to finish. With its mix of mystery, dark humor, and quirky characters, Nishizawa crafts a unique narrative that blends the absurd with the profound. The plot twists are engaging, though some moments could feel a bit repetitive.

3.75

Hisataro, a young member of the wealthy Fuchigami family, has a unique ability. Every now and then, against his will, he falls in a time loop in which he has a live the same day out a total of 9 times. At the beginning of the book, he mentions how he used it to his advantage to get into a prestigious high school, but living a day out 9 times does have its grievances.

His family go to visit his grandfather for New Years, there’s also talks of an inheritance that is up for grabs. The time loop starts back up again and it’s every family member for themselves…and then his grandfather dies. Can Hisataro prevent his grandfather’s death during the remaining loops?

This was a fun little read, each day is unique with the mystery getting deeper and deeper. This is definitely for fans of The Decagon House Murders and the sequels that come after. Don’t expect a similar tone to those books as this is more light hearted but it gets you thinking.

My only complaints were, the time loops did get old after a while and there was some over-explaining towards the end when the reader could have easily guessed some things out. Other than that, the translation was fantastic and I was entertained.

Thank you Pushikin and Netgalley for the early copy.

A wild, twisty time-loop murder mystery with Groundhog Day vibes and a dark family secret. Smart, strange, and a little chaotic—perfect if you like brain-bending whodunits with a Japanese flair.

Meet Hisataro. Roughly once a week he has to suffer a most peculiar phenomenon, whereby one day – without warning – suddenly repeats itself, and again and again, a total of nine times. He can't choose which days, and he can't get out the cycle early. He can perfect things, if he chooses – for the ninth time of asking will be the definitive version of the day that the rest of the universe will carry on from. Today is one of those days – it's January 2, and the extended family are all at the mansion after the New Year's Day meal the night before, and with the succession of the family's restaurant business still unresolved. And his grandfather who is the one to pass it on has just been murdered. Which he wasn't yesterday, the first January 2…

This is clearly an interesting set-up for a novel murder mystery. Will he investigate – while there's that limit to the days he has with which to do so – or try and wrangle a way to prevent the murder? Normally the world seems to try and follow the track established by the first run-through – the initial Jan 2. Just because he would appear to be the only person in the universe to know about his skill, that doesn't mean he's unique. And, of course, who has clobbered the patriarch – while we have to think about the unique situation, we are in a mystery that (at least hopes it) is also unique…?

Thankfully we can consider either side of things, the murderous or the slightly sci-fi, and consider it well, and we probably won't get to the clever reality of it all. There was an aspect to things I had guessed (<spoiler>the nature of Emi's beau</spoiler>) but not as far as what that ultimately pointed to. We also have the comedy here – one scene deliberately OTT was not to my taste, but the sense of humour is definitely a third factor, and is not exclusively concerning the black comedy of the title character just refusing to stay alive.

All told this was fine fun – it seems to be going down very well and as opposed to so many cultish books, any success it gets is probably justified. It certainly continues to be unique throughout, the cleverness of the final couple of chapters is definitely a highlight justifying our time with these pages, and whatever the author's books since this have been like this at least is more than welcome in belated English translation. The fact this didn't get to English for thirty whole years shows a ridiculous situation; the story appears to do so too but it's actually a perfectly acceptable gender-bending mystery, worth a strong four stars. Definitely worth a once-over.

I don’t quite know what to say, other than that was a completely wild ride of a novel.

Kyutaro is your average sixteen year old, just trying to get through high school. Except none of that is quite true. His family may call him Kyutaro, but his name is actually Hisutaro. And he’s anything but average. While he may look sixteen, he’s more accurately around thirty-some years old, mentally—all because of a weird condition he seems to possess where he, entirely at random, will experience a day nine times. When this happens during the annual family get-together at his grandfather’s mansion, things seem perfectly normal. But when the night of the second loop comes, his grandfather has been murdered. And the only possible culprit is one of the other people in the house with him. In this completely unprecedented turn of events, Hisutaro scrambles to find the murderer and prevent his grandfather’s death that was never supposed to happen in the first place.

If the name wasn’t enough to grab you, the premise and breakneck pace of this story will hold you and refuse to let you go. I wasn’t prepared for such a whirlwind novel, even with the exciting concept. Hisutaro’s mind is on full display, mature and yet just as lost as one would expect to be in the middle of such a bizarre situation. He is intelligent and still endearing, despite his ability to put aside the consequences of his actions due to his knowledge that by midnight each day, it won’t matter. It was easy to forget his age, especially with his ability to deduce and extrapolate from the information at hand and come up with ways to reframe the narrative of his days. With the constant action, it’s easy to see how this became such a classic in Japan.

My only two gripes with the book are this: the ending (or, rather, the epilogue) continues the madness of the novel in such a succinct form that it feels like it’s pushing the absurdity of it all too far. It’s clearly meant to demonstrate that the family is just bonkers at its core, and that this particular time loop doesn’t mean Hisutaro is going to float through the rest of his life. It feels almost as though it’s an attempt to continue the narrative while simultaneously shutting down the possibility of a sequel. I’m simply not entirely sure it’s necessary. My other concern is perhaps due to my own confusion about the relationship of the characters in the novel than anything else: Hisutaro and his brothers must be first cousins of Mai and Runa. A possible sexual and marital relationship between some combination of the cousins is a significant plot point. I don’t know if I’m misinterpreting something or if there’s some cultural difference I’m not privy to, but it confused me the entire time.

Overall, if you’re looking for a quirky family drama with a significant dash of magical realism, or just love a good time travel trope, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Vertigo for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: 3.75 stars

Review posted to StoryGraph: July 22, 2025 (https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/4823e3c4-4cab-4902-8486-ecbfbd371b94)
Review posted to Instagram: July 27, 2025 (https://www.instagram.com/p/DMnPIHUxDY3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)

I loved the premise and found the family dynamics really crazy but entertaining. The only things I didn't like were that it tended to over-explain the time loop logic and the ending went on for too long. Also, there was a big focus on romance between first cousins (though you have to keep in mind that this book was first published in 1995 in Japan).

But overall, I thought it was entertaining and I enjoyed reading it. 4/5 ⭐ from me

(also, I absolutely love the cover 😍)