It was about three-quarters of the way through the book
that I suddenly realized that the house was non-physical,
and was essentially his memory ("What house has all the
significant rooms from your life in it, in unchangable
form?").
It was at the end that I figured out he was already dead.
The reference to the story of the Chinese youth was the
clue.
But where do you get murders from?
I like the puzzle aspects of Wolfe's work, if I get them,
but sometimes I don't (e.g., what's really going on in
There_are_Doors? Is the guy just a psychotic who isn't
taking his medicine?).
-John