Review: The Devotion of Suspect X

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lately I've been going through the process of reading a bunch of Japanese mystery classics that finally got translated into English the past few years (the Kindaichi series; Decagon House Murders; most recently the Tokyo Zodiac Murders). For the most part I've enjoyed them as comfort fare, but none of them have really stood out to me yet in the same way that this one did.

Basically in this book, the culprit is revealed the moment the murder happens, but the real crux of the plot is showing the detective figuring out how the crime was covered up. It's hard to say more without spoiling it, but let's just say I was pleasantly surprised.

I really appreciated that none of the actors in this book are "dumb" so to speak. The police especially are believable, rational actors who in my opinion never really feel too far behind from the detective (unlike other books where you find yourself frustrated with their incompetence); in some ways they function almost as a stand in for the reader trying to play catch-up. I could honestly believe real police functioning the way that they do in this book.

And really, everyone here is suspicious of each other. I had as much fun following the police trying to figure out what the detective was thinking as well as the culprits trying to figure out what each other were thinking. A good chunk of the enjoyment is figuring out what is happening on the fly during the investigation, because so many variables are changing in real time after the murder happens. Seldom do I see mystery novels place such emphasis on the progression of the investigation, on the same level (if not more so) than the event of the crime itself.

It's a refreshing take on murder mysteries. Or rather, I probably just haven't read enough of this style yet. Looking forward to the next one.

endnote: I just read that Higashino died of cancer last week. This is the second author this year who's died within a couple of months of me reading one of their books. I'm hoping this doesn't become a trend ;_;