Malice: Kyoichiro Kaga

In a sea of predictable plots, once in a great while a gifted writer still delivers surprises - one after the other. Much more than a police procedural, this book takes that genre to another level altogether.The book begins in a fairly straightforward, predictable way. Osamu, a writer, narrates Chapter One. He travels to visit a lifelong friend and fellow author, Kunihiko. Kunihiko and his new wife, Rie, as they are about to leave Japan for Vancouver, BC.As their house is boxed up and ready for the movers, Rie has gone ahead to the hotel where she and her husband will spend the night as Kunihiko has a few last minute changes to make to a manuscript. Osamu has an appointment with his editor and he, too, leaves.Shortly after Osamu and Rie leave, Kunihiko is murdered. While Osamu is in his apartment with his editor, he receives a phone call. Annoyed, he tells his editor that Kunihiko wants to see him on some urgent matter, but he can wait, as he, Osamu is hungry and suggests that he and the editor have dinner first - then he will visit Kunihiko again. After his dinner, Osamu arrives back at Kunihiko's house and all the lights are off and the front door is locked. Concerned, he calls Rie at her hotel. Rie rushes back to the house, opens the front door with her key and they find Kunihiko dead in his study.There is no doubt that Kunihiko is murdered. Both Rie and Osamu have well documented alibis. Osamu's account of his last visit with his friend casts a cloud over Kunihiko's character and it appears that many people may have had sufficient motive to murder him.There is no way to describe what follows without revealing more than the reader wants to know - however, this is one of those books that whatever you think you might know about what is transpiring --- you don't. This book is clever and thought provoking without becoming so bogged down in details that the thread is lost. Interesting, compelling, great writing, great plotting. Stellar.

Another brilliantly crafted crime novel from the masterful Higashino. The plot line is complex and beguiling, building to its denouement with superb character development and riveting sequences. The lead detective’s (Kaga) idiosyncratic personality gives this poignant novel a wonderful sense of humanity, As with all of Higashino’s crime novels, one does not want the literary journey to end,

Malice is a breathtaking mystery book that has lingered in my thoughts for months -- I finished it on the first of April, and am writing this halfway through May, and I can say I've been thinking about it regularly since reading the last page.In this book, we know who committed the murder and how -- we just need to figure out why. Higashino constructs it beautifully, because it kept me guessing until the very end -- even when I figured out the broad strokes, he filled in the details better than I ever could have expected.I really don't want to say anything else for fear of spoiling: just put down what you're doing and read it now. One of my favourite books of the year for sure!Started: March 28, 2016Finished: April 1, 2016Rating: 10/10

This was a different type of mystery book than any I have read before. Instead of a who done it, it was a book that said “Here’s who done it but figure out why.” The writing style seemed to me a little problematic in places due to the translation probably. I felt like the author was telling us things instead of showing them to us. Even with that I still loved this book and definitely want to pick up all the other books by Higashino. If you’re looking for a short and fast mystery that keeps asking “why?” this book is for you.

A man named Nonoguchi kills an apparently good childhood friend who’s a famous author. The detective Kaga unwinds the machiavelic plan of the murderer: not only to kill the man, but to destroy him utterly, his reputation, his work. An enigma wrapped in a mystery inside a riddle. Just as you think you have the solution, detective Kaga unearths something new that throws the inquest into a whole new direction. Neat.

Malice is as carefully constructed as a perfect origami and as delicate. One wrong fold, and it wouldn't be the same. And one misplaced word in this review could spoil the book for you. Keigo Higashino has had but a few books translated into English. I am not certain if there is method to the order of translation, but each book gets more intricate than the last. Do not read him (and especially this book) if you seek a stereotypical murder mystery. Here, there are layers of mystery, and murder is just the first. Read this for the difference and decide for yourself. Reading this book, I marveled at the craft it took to write a book that can reveal so much so soon and still keep one in thrall till the end. And even in the end, after all was said and shown, there remained a freshness to the story that is hard to ignore.

This is a clever mystery by Keigo Higashino, a best selling mystery writer in Japan, and for the most part it is a page turner that keeps the reader engaged throughout. The book is not a who done it, as much as a why did he do it. The head detective (and the reader) know fairly early on who did the killing of a best selling mystery novelist. The trick for Detective Kaga is to learn why the crime occurred as he understandably does not want to go to court with the killer's confession as the only evidence. It makes for a different slant to the murder mystery. Another point of interest that makes this mystery a bit different is the dueling narratives, one from the suspect and the other from Detective Kaga. I enjoy detective stories in international settings because I feel like I am getting two books for one - both a mystery and a travel book. While I certainly recommend this book as a mystery, it does not really give you a feeling of living in contemporary Tokyo. The scene could just as easily been New York or London.

Malice is mainly an intelligent well-written crime novel with a complex (albeit somewhat convoluted) plot and some interesting features. However, while it is generally strong up until the final part of the book, the story really collapses with a poor ending. This is a fatal flaw, as the poor ending (where the resolution of the mystery is explained) undermines the entire story.

This is the fourth of Higashino's novels I've read and undoubtedly his best so far. The premise and shifting narrative perspective - through the written testimony of the two main characters - is both unusual and engrossing.Higashi departs from the earlier style of his joint investigative team, and we are given the voice and guile of Inspector Kaga and that of the suspect. The rest is a journey for the new reader. Enjoy!

Ha ha. A strange tale indeed. A clever psychological mystery with many turns and twists. If you love puzzles this will fascinate you.

This is not a thriller, it a slowly developing story with well drawn characters written in a very Japanese style. I really like Kyoshiro’s books; they make a refreshing change and have a calm feel to them.

The book is on the short side 313 pages and the story was so good I couldn’t let the book down until I had finish it.