I stumbled on this in the library but since I loved Galileo (which was based on his books), I decided that I had to read it. It’s been some time since I read Japanese fiction translated into English, but I think I’ve been missing out.

Malice is a murder mystery about the murder of bestselling novelist Hidaka Kunihiko (who has the same initials as Higashino Keigo). Detective Kaga is assigned to the case and he soon recognises that one of the people who discovered the body, Nonoguchi Osamu, is his former colleague from his teaching days and his prime suspect. Battling wits against a master of stories, can Detective Kaga unravel the truth behind his murder?

What I appreciated most about this story was how clever it was without taking away from the plot. It’s a bit like some of Agatha Christie’s best writing – this is a fairly conventional murder mystery but with a huge twist that relies on the narrative structure. It’s not like the 7 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle, which also had an unconventional format but was a lot harder to read (for me, anyway) and I think that Higashino did a marvellous job with the twist in the story. I can’t say more because it would be a huge spoiler, but I think writers will especially appreciate this.

The style of the book is fairly sparse, something which I’ve come to expect from Japanese novels. There is enough description to evoke the feeling of Japan for me, so the pared-down style worked for, rather than against, the story.

The last thing that stood out to me was its depiction of bullying. It’s at the heart of the case and as a teacher, Kaga has a unique perspective on how vicious the bullying can be. Chapter 8, while not directly related to the main plot, was heartbreaking and offered insight into the motivations of various characters. The book is rather pessimistic about the situation, saying that “As long as the people involved [in the bullying] are in the same school, it keeps going on.” It’s a cynical view, but one I’m inclined to agree with from my limited experience with the matter.

The last book of Higashino’s that I’ve read was The Devotion of Suspect X and that was all the way back in 2011. Still, my impression is that I enjoyed this one even more. From what I can find, the rest of the Detective Kaga books have not been translated into English so I will have to remember to pick up some Japanese copies of other books in the series when I next go to Japan.

Feature Image: Photo by Me