Book Review: Malice by Keigo Higashino

The book isn’t a murder mystery. Well, technically it is but it isn’t about finding who committed the murder. Infact the killer gives himself up quite soon. As correctly mentioned by Detective Kaga, the story is about establishing the perfect motive.

But why, why would somebody care more about the reason behind committing such a heinous crime instead of being spared from the consequences of the crime? This is where our mastermind killer comes in. He, who wanted to establish himself as a particular character in his own story and in the minds of the public. And he, who almost got away with it too. Almost.

The story is about two childhood friends- Kunihiko Hidaka and Osamu Nonoguchi. The story is also about two young teachers who taught at the same school- Osamu Nonoguchi and Kyiochiro Kaga. It’s also about two books. The childhood friends both grow up to become writers. One a famous novelist with multiple awards under his name and another, a far less recognised children’s author. One day, the famous author, Hidaka Kunihiko is killed at his own home. With no suspect in sight and both suspects having perfect alibi, it is up to detective Kaga to find the culprit. But it isn’t long before the actual murderer is caught. It happens at almost the very beginning. But then, what keeps the police awake at night and going round and round in circles? The absence of a motive. With the killer keeping it always under wraps and lying at every step, Detective Kaga struggles to uncover the truth. But, in a novel, gripping to the very last page, we ultimately do uncover the real truth and the actuality of the situation.

The book, Malice, is in no way about only finding the killer. But that’s what it makes it so well written. Even without the whodunit, we are kept curious till the very end. With developments one after the other, it’s hard to keep this book down without truly finding out what was the intention behind the murder. There are infact several plots in the single story which dealt with the theme.

Out of the numerous entangled themes, one which forms the basis of the eponymous malice is the human desire to see others suffer. Which is most commonly observed in little children bullying others for no reason at all. This is mentioned several times in the book with multiple sets of children. Infact, this theme is studied from various standpoints just to piece together as to why someone would do something like this to anyone. But to the utter dismay of both the reader and detective, the reason is ‘just because’. There are instances so horrible and torturous that it would upset anyone who reads about it, but we all know deep down how it gets with young children and no example mentioned here is too far-fetched to imagine. All those of us who’ve experienced bullying as kids in some form or the other may even sympathise with some of the characters. This ‘just because’ and the cruelty of humans is what’s shown by the author as the true malice in the human character which manifests itself from a young age. The murderer is somebody who just couldn’t get rid of this feeling and ultimately decides to commit a dreadful crime.

The book is a great read for anyone looking for realistic detective action with a palpable but incredible twist. The book is a must for fans of the genre and a highly recommended read for anyone else. The killer, which arguably is always the most important character in a thriller, is a brilliant one. Although by the time we discover the killer’s true intentions and the genuine persona who’s plotted the murder, the novel nears its conclusion. So we are not given too much insight into the persona from the killer’s own perspective, hence is almost feels a waste at the end to have such a person being discovered but not being able to hear his own take on it. Nevertheless, maybe that’s intentional, so that the image we’ve formed throughout the novel of the murderer stays with us and the shock of the twist is even more profound. The book really holds you down till the very end. Even when you think everything is over and all threads have been closed, the writer introduces elements which give the exceptionality to this story which made it such a big hit worldwide.

"The author's obsession with always engaging himself has now led him to the world of murder mysteries and he isn't going to stop anytime soon."

 

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