Malice (Thorndike Press Large Print Reviewer's Choice)

Keigo Higashino has written a fascinating multi-layered murder mystery. The translation by Alexander O. Smith and Elye Alexander is exemplary, fully revealing the story’s cat and mouse element.In ‘Murder’, the first section of the story, Osama Nonoguchi, a writer of children’s books [like Higashino himself], finds the body of the best-selling author, Kunihiko Hidaka, in a locked office on the night before he and his wife were planning to leave for Canada. The following sections have titles such as ‘Suspicion’, ‘Resolution’, ‘Pursuit’, ‘Confession’ and ‘The Past’, before concluding with the ‘Truth’. The narrative is divided between Nonoguchi ‘s written accounts and notes on the investigation produced by Detective Kyochiro Kaga, the young detective assigned to the case. The impersonal form of the latter seriously inhibited the character development of the investigator.Earlier, Nonoguchi and Kaga were both teachers at the same school whilst Hidaka and Nonoguchi attended the same Middle School as children. These tight links reinforce the book’s claustrophobic aspect. It is refreshing that, unlike many crime novels, the murder is not presented in a gory or graphic manner. Whilst the plotting scores very highly the leading characters remain rather undefined overall despite their high profile in the narrative.Although very different perspectives are presented at various points about Hidaka and Nonoguchi, neither is a sympathetic character which makes it difficult to engage or empathise. Because of Nonoguchi’s extensive knowledge of the victim and discovery of the body, Kaga asks him to assist the investigation which he does by writing down his recollections. Despite Kaga’s obvious sharpness, his questioning is rather ineffective and does not throw much ight on events leading up to the killing. The solution, on the other hand, results from sheer dogged determination.As the story unfolds, details about the two writers’ backgrounds and relationship emerge which leads Kaga to build a case before having to discard it. The psychological depth of the characters is very impressive and the plotting is complex but the translation helps the reader to chart a way through the maze. Since the ‘How?’ is very clear from early on, the novel addresses the questions of ‘Who?’ and, especially, ‘Why?’. There was little building of tension as the ending approached but perhaps that is the nature of Japanese mystery novels or, maybe, the translation.Sex, bullying, bribery and jealousy all rear their ugly heads as the self-effacing Kaga works towards the final conclusion, sometimes to the frustration of his superior who believes the case to be solved half way through the book. In order to clarify matters, Kaga explores to the writers’ schooldays and talks to a number of their fellow students – this section is a tour de force with all the respondents possessing individual and authentic voices. The same section also allows Higashino to introduce some necessary humour.Readers desiring a pacey, exciting read should perhaps look elsewhere.