The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino,
translated by Alexander O. Smith

All I can say is read this one, but read it all the way through. It’s the end that makes it outstanding.

Set in Tokyo, the book starts out with a woman, Yasuko, killing her ex-husband to protect her daughter, so we know who the killer is, who was killed and why. Her neighbor, Ishigami, a brilliant mathematician, decides to help her cover up the murder, so we know who her accomplice is but not why he goes to such extremes to protect her.

I have to protect them, thought Ishigami. He would never be this close to so beautiful a woman ever again in his life. He was sure of that. He had to summon every last bit of his strength and knowlege to prevent any calamity from happening to her. (pg. 36, ARC)

Enter the detectives, a pair of good guys trying to figure out what happened. If it were just them working on the case, probably they wouldn’t get anywhere, but they are being aided to some degree by Yukawa, an associate professor of physics who happens to be an old college friend of the mathematician. It comes down to a struggle between the two of them, Yukawa and Ishigami, as to who can outwit the other. At the same time, though, they admire each other. They are both geniuses and don’t have many equals they can relate to. They’re both almost too brilliant to be believable, but I’m willing to overlook that.

If that were all there is to it, it’s a compelling story, an intelligent thriller, but the end, the last chapter or so, stunned me. It made me think back to the rest of the book, picking up on details I hadn’t seen the first time around. And the last page’s raw emotion is astounding. I don’t want to tell you too much, because I don’t want to spoil the ending. Trust me, it’s worth your time.

298 pages (ARC)
To be released February 1, 2011 by Minotaur Book

5 out of 5 stars

Pre-order at Amazon, an Indie bookstore, or The Book Depository.

Challenge: Mystery & Suspense

I received my ARC from the publisher and the above is my honest opinion.

About Keigo Higashino

Born in Osaka and currently living in Tokyo, Keigo Higashino is one of the most widely known and bestselling novelists in Japan. He is the winner of the Edogawa Rampo Prize (for best mystery), the Mystery Writers of Japan, Inc. Prize (for best mystery) among others. His novels are translated widely throughout Asia.

21 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.