Newcomer by Keigo Higashino - book review
The master of investigative thrillers is at it again. I am amazed at the simplicity with which Keigo Higashino, weaves police investigations and how original he makes it sound. There are no slam bang, breathtaking chases, blasts and not even gun shots for that matter. The only violence in the story would be that of the incident under investigation. The meticulousness and methodical approach with which the detectives solve the crime is so simple and detailed at the same time that, it is almost impossible to guess or watch out for that sleight of hand trick, which reveals the “who” and in some cases, the “how” part of it.
Many a times I’ve wondered around the side stories of the minor characters involved in a story. If there is a hero who has an issue with a villain, many a times we get the back story of the hero’s friend to some extent, but never about the henchmen of the villain, unless they are like second in command to the main villain. In this book, I felt the approach towards, how the possible suspects are dealt with was pretty unique and different. Each suspect has a mini story around them. The detective reaches out to them, tries to have general conversation about their occupation or based on the conversation situation and at some point, eases in on the object/item that had linked them to the murder investigation. He captures them unawares and at the same time never antagonizes them as well. It is all so smooth that, as a reader, you are also in for surprise, when he explains the reason why they were considered as suspect and how he exonerates them as not at the end of each story. Each of the murder suspect is dealt in the form a story of its own. All these are part of the same investigation, so typically, the story timing overlaps within each other. It is all explained as a summary from the point of view of the partner detective towards the end as well to reveal the actual murderer. Every item that is out of place on the place of murder, leads to a suspect and a back story of how they are related to the victim and crime scene are brilliantly connected. There is a story of Mom in law and daughter in law and their quarrels, with the shadow of suspicion potentially hovering over the DIL. The ending to that portion of the story is quite heartwarming and would stand out as a short story of its own. There is another story about adultery. The casualness with which the wife takes the news and her response is pretty interesting. There is another lovely story about a divorced mother’s love for her son and how she mistakes a pregnant girl to be her son’s girlfriend. Spoiler alert – the entire story revolves around the mother for she is the one who gets killed. One another story is about a dad-daughter relationship where everyone mistakes the daughter to be his mistress. I found it quite surprising that such mega serial episode kind of storylines can be woven into a murder investigation!! The build up to the actual resolution is quite slow and by the time the reveal is made, it feels bit bland. Probably because all the murder mysteries that I’ve read have a sense of pace and rush associated with them, unlike this one, which is all about the human angle and love and emotions.
Gils verdict – In my previous reviews of books by the same author, I would’ve mentioned about translation errors and how it felt forced in English. But this one is pretty smooth and never felt like a translated work at all. A must read for thriller lovers. But this would be a different kind of thrill for sure.
Many a times I’ve wondered around the side stories of the minor characters involved in a story. If there is a hero who has an issue with a villain, many a times we get the back story of the hero’s friend to some extent, but never about the henchmen of the villain, unless they are like second in command to the main villain. In this book, I felt the approach towards, how the possible suspects are dealt with was pretty unique and different. Each suspect has a mini story around them. The detective reaches out to them, tries to have general conversation about their occupation or based on the conversation situation and at some point, eases in on the object/item that had linked them to the murder investigation. He captures them unawares and at the same time never antagonizes them as well. It is all so smooth that, as a reader, you are also in for surprise, when he explains the reason why they were considered as suspect and how he exonerates them as not at the end of each story. Each of the murder suspect is dealt in the form a story of its own. All these are part of the same investigation, so typically, the story timing overlaps within each other. It is all explained as a summary from the point of view of the partner detective towards the end as well to reveal the actual murderer. Every item that is out of place on the place of murder, leads to a suspect and a back story of how they are related to the victim and crime scene are brilliantly connected. There is a story of Mom in law and daughter in law and their quarrels, with the shadow of suspicion potentially hovering over the DIL. The ending to that portion of the story is quite heartwarming and would stand out as a short story of its own. There is another story about adultery. The casualness with which the wife takes the news and her response is pretty interesting. There is another lovely story about a divorced mother’s love for her son and how she mistakes a pregnant girl to be her son’s girlfriend. Spoiler alert – the entire story revolves around the mother for she is the one who gets killed. One another story is about a dad-daughter relationship where everyone mistakes the daughter to be his mistress. I found it quite surprising that such mega serial episode kind of storylines can be woven into a murder investigation!! The build up to the actual resolution is quite slow and by the time the reveal is made, it feels bit bland. Probably because all the murder mysteries that I’ve read have a sense of pace and rush associated with them, unlike this one, which is all about the human angle and love and emotions.
Gils verdict – In my previous reviews of books by the same author, I would’ve mentioned about translation errors and how it felt forced in English. But this one is pretty smooth and never felt like a translated work at all. A must read for thriller lovers. But this would be a different kind of thrill for sure.
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