I was gifted with an advanced copy of The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. This is Higashinos first major English production and it is GREAT. It is easy to see why he is a hit in Japan. The book is simply written, which belies a complicated plot. The writing style is calm, easy to follow; making it a relatively fast read. I would caution other readers that some knowledge of Japanese culture helps make this more fun to read than it might otherwise be to Americans. I found myself smiling when these obviously Asian people used American slang/colloquialisms. These touches, though, make it easy for any Western reader to follow the story. As long as you can google pictures of a kotatsu table; you shouldnt find anything else mysterious about the story.
The story revolves around an act of (more or less) self-defense that evolved into murder and the subsequent plot to cover it up. We meet Ishigami, a brilliant math teacher, whose exceptional intelligence means his every thought is on a higher plane than most others. There is Yasuko and her daughter, a beautiful divorcee who is the object of Ishigamis unrequited affections. Ishigami has no hope to attain the love of Yasuko; therefore he does not waste the energy pursuing her, but instead is content to love her from afar. When Yasuko finds herself in need of help, Ishigami quietly places himself between her and the police. Ishigami is the mastermind of a complicated cover-up that does not fully unfold for the reader until the last chapter of the book. The plot twist at the end is worthy (in the opinion of this reader) of a Law and Order style BUMP-BUMP.
All the while, an old classmate of Ishigamis (an equally brilliant physicist named Yukawa) is assisting his police detective friend in the investigation. Truly, if Yukawa had not been involved, Ishigamis plan would have succeeded. In the end, everyone involved Ishigami, Yasuko, and Yakawa must decide time and time again what to reveal to the police. Ishigami set a stage and pulled the strings. Yakawa must decide if he will reveal his old friend as the puppet master or let a murderer go free.
I consider myself reasonably intelligent, but I never fully anticipated the true nature of the cover up. It knocks the breath from you as it does Yasuko when she learns of it.
I highly recommend The Devotion of Suspect X to everyone a great mystery read!
The story revolves around an act of (more or less) self-defense that evolved into murder and the subsequent plot to cover it up. We meet Ishigami, a brilliant math teacher, whose exceptional intelligence means his every thought is on a higher plane than most others. There is Yasuko and her daughter, a beautiful divorcee who is the object of Ishigamis unrequited affections. Ishigami has no hope to attain the love of Yasuko; therefore he does not waste the energy pursuing her, but instead is content to love her from afar. When Yasuko finds herself in need of help, Ishigami quietly places himself between her and the police. Ishigami is the mastermind of a complicated cover-up that does not fully unfold for the reader until the last chapter of the book. The plot twist at the end is worthy (in the opinion of this reader) of a Law and Order style BUMP-BUMP.
All the while, an old classmate of Ishigamis (an equally brilliant physicist named Yukawa) is assisting his police detective friend in the investigation. Truly, if Yukawa had not been involved, Ishigamis plan would have succeeded. In the end, everyone involved Ishigami, Yasuko, and Yakawa must decide time and time again what to reveal to the police. Ishigami set a stage and pulled the strings. Yakawa must decide if he will reveal his old friend as the puppet master or let a murderer go free.
I consider myself reasonably intelligent, but I never fully anticipated the true nature of the cover up. It knocks the breath from you as it does Yasuko when she learns of it.
I highly recommend The Devotion of Suspect X to everyone a great mystery read!
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