As I mentioned in my post last week, I decided to start reading the books and ebooks that I've purchased or been given. They've been with me for years, but I've only read around 10% of them.
Last week, I shared my views on "The Little Prince"... and I also started reading another book after that. It's called MALICE by Higashino Keigo.
This is the first Higashino Keigo book I've ever read, but I'm not new to his stories. I'm a fan of the Galileo series (Japanese drama) and a couple of Japanese movies (Suspect X and Midsummer's Equation) which were based on his books. I got these two books as well, so I'm going to read them someday, too!
I also have a Higashino Keigo paper book at home, but it's entirely in Japanese, so I haven't read it. If it had furigana, I would have tried. (lol) It was a gift from one of my previous students in the English Academy.
Anyway, so much for the author, let's talk about this book.
In the story, a best-selling author named Kunihiko Hidaka was murdered in his locked study. His body was discovered by his childhood friend, Osamu Nonoguchi, and his new wife, Rie.
Kyoichiro Kaga is the investigating detective assigned to this case. He happened to be Nonoguchi's former colleague when they were both teaching at the same institution. Nonoguchi, just like Hidaka, is now a writer... but of books for kids.
It turned out that Nonoguchi committed the murder. He admitted to it... But the question here is "WHY?"
As I expected, the book was masterfully written! I'm a huge fan of psychological mysteries and thrillers, so this was an excellent read for me that I finished in just two nights. XD
It's interesting because the murderer was easily presented because the aim of the book was not to find out who the murderer was, but the motive as to why he did it.
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Another thing that made the book more engaging to read was that it was written in two points of view, one from the murderer and the other from the detective.
In the earlier chapter of the book, the murderer's confession was revealed. The way his confession was written was so convincing that you'd somehow end up sympathizing with him. It kind of makes you question your morals... Hahaha
Then later on, you'd get to read the detective's point of view, where he tried to unravel the murderer's deeper motive instead of simply accepting his confession and calling it a day.
I also appreciate how the books the victim wrote played a role in this entire incident. The characters are all so smart and convincing that every time I read the next chapter, the conclusion I had in my head changes. hahaha
It was as if there was an angel on one side of my head and a devil on the other. It was an incredible and chaotic mess. I love it when a story fries my brain! LOL
The story involves layers and layers of lies and deceit. Then, there are also the issues of jealousy, manipulation, bullying, and so on.
It doesn't only affect the superficial present in which the characters live before and after the murder, but it comes from much deeper into their past as kids and/or teenagers.
But then again, it made me question... was it really because of the things that happened in the past... or was it just plain MALICE?
If you're a fan of mystery, especially psychological ones, I highly recommend this one.
It has just nine chapters and is a little over 200 pages, making it easy to read. If I didn't have to work, I'd have finished this in one sitting because the excitement and curiosity it brings would definitely increase your reading pace.
I'll be reading more of his books in the coming days, but my next post will likely be from a different author whose novels I've been curious about for a long time. So, look forward to reading my thoughts on it, then!
I'll end this post here for now. See you around!
