The place to Begin Studying Keigo Higashino

If you happen to love twisty, character-driven mysteries and have by no means learn something by Keigo Higashino, get excited. You’re about to find your new favourite thriller author.

One of the crucial standard writers in Asia, Higashino has been known as “the following Stieg Larsson,” (not fairly precisely, as The Unbiased factors out), and his profession is usually in comparison with that of James Patterson’s or Tom Clancy’s within the U.S. He’s revealed 66 novels and 20 brief story collections in Japan, and his books have been translated into eight languages. Sadly, solely 9 of these books have been translated into English—to date! However the ones which were are a few of his most celebrated works.

So the place must you begin with Keigo Higashino? Like a personality in considered one of Higashino’s thriller novels, I’ve all of it deliberate out:

The Devotion of Suspect X

Decide up some other Higashino novel and someplace within the jacket copy you’ll most likely discover “By the writer of The Devotion of Suspect X.” That is Higashino’s most iconic work. It gained an avalanche of awards, together with the Naoki Prize for Finest Novel (Japan’s equal to the Man Booker Prize) and the Honkaku Thriller Award. It’s the third novel in Higashino’s standard Detective Galileo collection, however will be learn as a standalone.

As with lots of Higashino’s mysteries, The Devotion of Suspect X isn’t a lot a whodunnit as a psychological examine wrapped inside a tense cat-and-mouse recreation performed out between two characters. The characters in query listed below are Tetsuya Ishigami, a highschool math trainer, and Manabu Yukawa, AKA “Detective Galileo.” Yukawa isn’t actually a detective; as a substitute, he’s a physicist who sometimes moonlights as a police guide. He occurs to know Ishigami from college (all the time a foul register these books), and when he hears there was a possible homicide in Ishigami’s residence constructing, Yukawa’s spidey senses begin tingling.

The Devotion of Suspect X exemplifies a number of themes in Higashino’s work, significantly his use of complicated science and math puzzles (Higashino is a former engineer), and the exploration of loyalty and emotional bonds that kind between individuals who’ve dedicated a criminal offense.

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Malice

Kunihiko Hidaka, bestselling and beloved novelist, is discovered useless in his locked workplace by his greatest pal and fellow writer, Osamu Nonoguchi. Being a author, Nonoguchi instantly decides to begin documenting the investigation into the homicide of his bff as a memoir/true crime thriller, a lot to the consternation of Detective Kyoichiro Kaga (an actual detective this time).

Malice is an ideal instance of how Higashino can trick readers into gobbling up a helluva entertaining story that’s additionally an in-depth character examine and psychological thesis. There’s a locked room inside a locked home, a cat, a potential love affair, an unreliable narrator, and a tense (to say the least) relationship that goes again many years, all offered in a fantastically mapped, fast-paced plot that rolls out twists and turns with the precision of a gyroscopic curler coaster. The twists would possibly begin to get just a little too over-the-top to be believed towards the tip, however that doesn’t detract from the truth that Malice is Exhibit A in why Higashino is considered one of Japan’s best-selling authors.

In an interview Higashino as soon as mentioned that he desires his readers, “…to be regularly shocked by my concepts.” He definitely succeeds with that in Malice.

The Miracles of the Namiya Common Retailer

Higashino doesn’t simply write mind-bendy mysteries. He additionally writes books for youthful readers, like this heartwarming YA/MG novel that’s sprinkled with only a trace of magic.

Three derelict youths—Atsuya, Kohei, and Shota—break into what seems to be an deserted common retailer to flee from the legislation. However as they cover within the darkened constructing, one thing surprising occurs: a letter comes by means of the mail slot, regardless that there’s nobody on the opposite aspect of the door to drop it. Much more unusual, the letter is previous, written years in the past, and is asking for recommendation.

The Miracles of the Namiya Common Retailer is sort of a mirror picture to a typical Higashino novel: as a substitute of exploring the bonds and private penalties of doing one thing horrible, like committing homicide, it’s about what occurs when folks exit of their approach to assist one another. There’s a little bit of a time journey ingredient to it because the tales commute between the previous and current, and it’s laced with a delicate humor. Whereas the guide definitely does learn youthful than Higashino’s mysteries, it’s lots fulfilling for readers of any age who desire a story that can tug at their coronary heart strings and provides them the nice and cozy fuzzies.

Need some extra suggestions on what to learn if you’re finished with these three Higashino novels? Try eight Homicide Thriller Books That Will Preserve You Up All Evening and 21 Should-Learn Hoopla Thriller and Thriller Audiobooks.