I first came across this book a long time back, when I was fresh from reading Haruki Murakami and was eager to discover other Japanese authors. . the description for this book said Keigo Higashino-san was the Japanese Steig Larsson. . Not really ready to believe it, I finally picked the book up here in Dubai.
As a feminist, I have a special place in my heart for Steig Larsson. So I wasn't sure how the comparision would work. Anyway, it became time to see how Japanese suspense literature read.
The story opens with a middle aged single mother, Yasuko Hanaoka, coming home from work to her high school going daughter., when their evening sees the undesirable intrusion of Yasuko's ex husband. When things go out of hand, they only have their neighbor, a middle aged schoolteacher for help. The events of that night puzzle Detective Kusanagi of the Police Department, for nothing seems to add up. The clues lead everywhere except to a solution. And when traditional methods fail, he falls back on his old friend, , Professor Manabu Yukawa, a physicist at the University.
Will they find a solution to this maze of a crime, where information only seems to throw them further off track? Will the Suspect X be named, and will that person' devotion bear fruit?
The story was well written, and was an interesting read. However, it lacked the intensity that whodunits typically have. The characters are typically Japanese, very local, . However, the nature of the crime itself and the solution offered aren't. . The typical elements of a crime, which are motive, and opportunity, and alibi, are central to the plot. Opportunity and alibi are evaluated at length. But the true motive of the character is a rather selfless one, which is rare in this day and age. In that sense, it does justify the name..
A novel with a rather ingenious plot. But for non Japanese readers, very original? I don't think so, perhaps because the setups and relationships otherwise seen, leave us with a sense of Deja vu of other whodunits. This book reads rather dry in comparision to most detective novels, and perhaps the depth of relationships could have been further elaborated. But in review, , Keigo Higashino stands in his own league, and may be a Mar Higgins Clark or a John Grisham, but is certainly no Steig Larsson. Best read at a stretch, so as to not lose track of the narrative. . .. . .
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Will they find a solution to this maze of a crime, where information only seems to throw them further off track? Will the Suspect X be named, and will that person' devotion bear fruit?
The story was well written, and was an interesting read. However, it lacked the intensity that whodunits typically have. The characters are typically Japanese, very local, . However, the nature of the crime itself and the solution offered aren't. . The typical elements of a crime, which are motive, and opportunity, and alibi, are central to the plot. Opportunity and alibi are evaluated at length. But the true motive of the character is a rather selfless one, which is rare in this day and age. In that sense, it does justify the name..
A novel with a rather ingenious plot. But for non Japanese readers, very original? I don't think so, perhaps because the setups and relationships otherwise seen, leave us with a sense of Deja vu of other whodunits. This book reads rather dry in comparision to most detective novels, and perhaps the depth of relationships could have been further elaborated. But in review, , Keigo Higashino stands in his own league, and may be a Mar Higgins Clark or a John Grisham, but is certainly no Steig Larsson. Best read at a stretch, so as to not lose track of the narrative. . .. . .
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