I enjoy reading Japanese mysteries. My favorite Japanese author is Keigo Higashino, who has written two mystery series in addition to some standalone novels. This book is the second book featuring Detective Kyoichiro Kaga that has been translated to English.
Each of the books by Higashino that I have read is very different. He definitely does not follow a formula. In Malice, the first book in English to feature Detective Kaga, the story was more focused on characters and relationships. This book, Newcomer, seems at first to be a more straightforward police procedural. A woman who has recently moved to the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo has been murdered in her apartment, and it appears that she knew her murderer. Detective Kaga spends a lot of time visiting various locations, mostly small businesses, near her home to gather clues about her activities before she was murdered.
Each chapter features a location at which Kaga interviews various prospective witnesses or suspects, and each chapter reads almost like a self-contained short story. The reader doesn't know much about the murder and the victim until about a third of the way through the book. Information is doled out bit by bit as a picture of the murder and the circumstances surrounding it are revealed. For a while this method of introducing the crime and the characters related to it annoyed me a bit, and it seemed like a simplistic way of telling the story. But as the relationships between all these shops and people come together, the complexity of the story is revealed.
I have enjoyed every mystery by Keigo Higashino that I have read. I was rereading my reviews of his books, and I realized that I have never given my husband credit for introducing me to this writer (and many other Japanese mystery authors). He has been appreciative of Japanese mysteries for years, and now I share his enthusiasm.
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Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2018 (orig. pub. 2001)
Translator: Giles Murray
Length: 342 pages
Format: Hardcover
Series: Kyoichiro Kaga
Setting: Tokyo, Japan
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: Borrowed from my husband.
11 comments:
This reminds me I have been meaning to watch THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X, streaming on several places.
I really enjoy reading Japanese fiction, too, though I haven't read many Japanese mysteries yet. I do have a list of books and authors to try...and this one is definitely going on that list. :D
Patti, I will be eager to hear what you think of the adaptation, when you see it.
Lark, I keep discovering Japanese authors that I haven't read yet, for both mystery novels and other fiction.
I must try one of the Japanese mysteries. Is there a book you would recommend as a starting place?
His Japanese mysteries sound good. I do like the settings in Japan, where I have never visited, and Japanese Lit. I plan to read Yoko Ogawa's latest book coming out in August. Thx for introducing me to Keigo Higashino.
You've made me really want to read this, Tracy. I've yet to be disappointed by Higashino's work, and this plot sounds interesting. I need to put this one on the wish list.
Cath, I have been thinking about your question about suggestions for a Japanese mystery to try. First I would suggest The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, which I think was the first mystery by Higashino to be translated to English. The only drawback to that one is that it is an inverted mystery; if you don't like knowing who did it in advance, it might not be a good one for you. The other book I would suggest is A Midsummer's Equation; it is a later book in the same series by Higashino and a little longer (360 pages). The setting is interesting, a summer resort town on the coast.
Susan, I am glad you mentioned Yoko Ogawa. I remember that you mentioned that she had a book coming out this summer: Mina’s Matchbox. I had forgotten that we have The Memory Police on the Kindle; maybe I can get to it later in the year. Also when I was looking into her more I saw that she has some short stories that have been translated into English, so I will look for some of those also.
Margot, Higashino is one of my favorite authors; I hope to read Silent Parade from the Detective Galileo series before the end the year.
Thanks, Tracy. I've made a note of the titles you suggest and will check the library catalogue to see if they have either of those.
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