Malice: Kyoichiro Kaga

Keigo Higashino's first book that I read - The Devotion of Suspect X - was the first instance of buying a book online, purely on impulse. And what a decision that was. Within 2 days flat, I finished it and was completely awed. I started searching more books by him, but sadly there were no new translations out. Couple of months back I read my second Higashino book - The Salvation of a Saint. This wasn't quite as good as The Devotion of Suspect X, at least for me. But I know for a fact that it wont stop me from reading more of his stuff.So last Monday when I came across Malice accidentally while checking out Amazon for my monthly fix - more books, I just hit Buy when I saw the name of the author.Malice, like his other two books that I have read, starts off with a murder in the first chapter itself. That is the beauty of Higashino detective stories I believe. It is not a traditional whodunnit. So if you are expecting that, read other authors.To give the gist of the story: Kunihiko Hidaka is a best selling author, a widower who has recently remarried, is about to shift to Canada with his new wife Rie. His friend Osamu Nonoguchi, a struggling children's author, visits Hidaka to say goodbye. Hidaka has decided to stay back in the house as he has to submit a serialised story to the editor of a magazine. His wife is supposed to head to a hotel for the night. Hidaka gets a visitor who wants to discuss something with him. Nonoguchi excuses himself and heads home. Later that same night Hidaka is found murdered at his apartment.I know that is not a very coherent gist, but just a short summary of the first chapter. The only other thing I would like to add is the fact that the case is being investigated by Detective Kaga, a former teacher-turned-cop who was Nonoguchi's colleague in a school they both taught at. Saying anything more would be blasphemy!The beauty of the novel lies in the rest of the chapters. In a couple of more chapters, the actual murderer surrenders as well. Halfway through the book you even have a coherent confession by the murderer. I won't say anymore of the plot.Like I said before, this is not a traditional murder mystery or detective novel. Complexity of the characters, a purely psychological cat and mouse game between the detective and the murderer, delicate layering of the story are some of the hallmarks of Higashino novels. The way he has used multiple characters to give a first person account in some chapters adds a nice dimension to the flow of the narrative. Higashino even pays homage to Akira Kurosawa, with an entire chapter having a Rashomon-like same-story-multiple-angles approach.The translation by Alexander O Smith, is great and you will rarely feel like putting the book down. I would not call it a pacy read, like say a James Patterson book. You have to be patient as the layers of the story unfold and the complexities of the characters come to the fore. I like the way the police procedures are explained. You really can't anticipate what will follow in the chapters.Just like The Devotion of Suspect X had an unforgettable climax, the last chapter of Malice will stay with you long after you have finished the book. And it is not a very thick book either.It is just a pity that there aren't translations of his other works easily available here. But I will always be looking.PS: This is something that really irritates me. Every physical book (I read the Kindle edition of Malice) of Keigo Higashino comes with a blurb - The Japanese Stieg Larsson. Keigo Higashino is NOT a Japanese Stieg Larsson. No offence to the Swedish author (I loved all his books), but it is quite a disrespectful blurb to use, to sell the book.

Excellent mystery novel featuring Detective Galileo. Not pleased that this title arrived with every library sticker known to man, but I was able to remove them and restore the book jacket to some semblance of new. Worth it to have this story on hand for re-reading.

I'll start off my review saying I don't read a lot of murder mysteries, so I'm not intimately familiar with their normal conventions. The structure & plot struck me often as gimmicky, but a fairly entertaining gimmicky nonetheless. I'm still not totally sure I follow the ultimate conclusion of the book - so that could have been more clearly plotted. The writing itself was mediocre, but I'm used to reading literary fiction, so maybe that's to be expected. I imagine this would be a good "beach read" for mystery fans.

The book was delivered in pristine condition! I'm only half way through reading, but I love the story so far! Amazing book and plot idea!

Not sure just how to review my opinion of this book. I paid more for it than usual and I will not purchase the 2nd one. While unusual, I am not convinced it is believable. Maybe a cultural difference. I love Michael Pronco who includes cultural information as well as a good story, but I guess I thought the relentless search for motive seemed contrived. Nevertheless there were some unexpected twists and in the end perhaps this story is less about the murder than childhood damage. The way the mystery unfolds is certainly interesting. I found the detective likable.

In a sea of predictable plots, once in a great while a gifted writer still delivers surprises - one after the other. Much more than a police procedural, this book takes that genre to another level altogether.The book begins in a fairly straightforward, predictable way. Osamu, a writer, narrates Chapter One. He travels to visit a lifelong friend and fellow author, Kunihiko. Kunihiko and his new wife, Rie, as they are about to leave Japan for Vancouver, BC.As their house is boxed up and ready for the movers, Rie has gone ahead to the hotel where she and her husband will spend the night as Kunihiko has a few last minute changes to make to a manuscript. Osamu has an appointment with his editor and he, too, leaves.Shortly after Osamu and Rie leave, Kunihiko is murdered. While Osamu is in his apartment with his editor, he receives a phone call. Annoyed, he tells his editor that Kunihiko wants to see him on some urgent matter, but he can wait, as he, Osamu is hungry and suggests that he and the editor have dinner first - then he will visit Kunihiko again. After his dinner, Osamu arrives back at Kunihiko's house and all the lights are off and the front door is locked. Concerned, he calls Rie at her hotel. Rie rushes back to the house, opens the front door with her key and they find Kunihiko dead in his study.There is no doubt that Kunihiko is murdered. Both Rie and Osamu have well documented alibis. Osamu's account of his last visit with his friend casts a cloud over Kunihiko's character and it appears that many people may have had sufficient motive to murder him.There is no way to describe what follows without revealing more than the reader wants to know - however, this is one of those books that whatever you think you might know about what is transpiring --- you don't. This book is clever and thought provoking without becoming so bogged down in details that the thread is lost. Interesting, compelling, great writing, great plotting. Stellar.