Hello, readers! Welcome to a new blogpost after a gap of nearly three years.
Ever since I had started my job and stepped into the actual
adult life, things have been a bit difficult to manage. With my work schedule
and my impulse to do everything under the sky; I've been stretched a bit thin
over the past few years. Especially when it comes to tasks like writing a full
review or article, my focus has been difficult to capture to stay on it.
Adult life can be strange. We're meant to do something, but
our hearts and bodies are always at a crossroads. And there's this constant
feeling to always stick to what's right as your actions now have real and far
reaching consequences. And there's just so much to do out there- you got a
career to manage, a healthy lifestyle, a social life and your own mental peace.
I don't know if I'll ever get used to this life.
Anyway, lest I digress further, let's come back to the post
at hand- the review of a book I read last year but kept on putting off writing
about it- until now. Since it's been a while, I may not be able to as eagerly
capture and express all my opinions as I could've immediately after reading it
but I'll try to keep the review honest.
The Devotion of Suspect X is a novel in the famed Detective Galileo series of novels by master suspense author- Keigo Higashino. The book tells the tale of Yasuko and Misato Hanaoka- Mother and Daughter duo and their neighbour- the brilliant mathematician Tetsuya Ishigami and devious homicide cover-up.
The plot, much like other Keigo Higashino stories is not
just about a whodunit. Infact, now I'm starting to believe it must be a well-liked
trope for the author to establish it at the beginning of the story that who the
killer is. Given this is just my second Higashino novel, I'd say I'm starting
to like it quite a bit. Because despite the lack of a 'who did it' mystery,
we're still treated to a thorough and fleshy storyline about establishing the
circumstances which lead us to the end.
I'd say the story starts off a bit slow. We're transported
to urban Tokyo into the lives of Yasuko, a former bar girl who now lives with
her daughter and works at a bento shop. Yasuko is a conventional beauty and
still enamour the men who get close to her. After a few failed attempts at love
and a failed marriage, she lives a modest and humdrum life with her daughter.
That is, until her former gambling addict and alcoholic husband finds his way
back into their lives. The key character of the novel- Yasuko's neighbour and
gifted mathematics professor- Tetsuya Ishigami is one of the people who've
fallen for Yasuko.
When tragedy strikes and leaves the mother daughter duo in a
quandary- with the charge of murder against them, Ishigami steps up to help
them.
All of this and what actually happened on the night of the
murder up till the killing is very well established in the first few chapters.
With the audience fully informed of the facts and who did what. Even the motive
is quite clear and simply established.
But the real conundrum, motivations, actions, go far cavernous
than we realise as we delve deeper and deeper- chapter into chapter through the
investigation. By the time police discover the corpse- the game is already won
by the talented Mr. Ishigami.
The police eventually do reach Tetsuya and Yasuko but have
absolutely no clue on linking the crime to the perpetrators. And as reluctantly
as it is, Police Detective Kusanagi has to enlist the help of his brilliant
friend and physicist- Manabu Yukawa aka Detective Galileo.
As much as the pair is uncomfortable with each other and
their methods, they still manage to get along and work on the side of the law. As
it turns out- the primary suspect has a relation with Professor Yukawa and both
get along well.
What ensues is a battle of wits, misdirection, espionage,
meticulous examinations of each and every available evidence and timeline. At
every step, Ishigami is ahead of our detectives.
The only weak link is probably Yasuko who finds it difficult
to live and get by like Ishigami has asked her to. Feeling it too difficult to
bear the burden of the crime. Constantly worrying about the next move. But our
amazingly calculating professor Ishigami has factored in every possible
probability and put in place a plan which makes it impossible to implicate
Yasuko in the murder
Page after page, the book is so well crafted and riddled with anticipations that it's difficult to put down. Which I like to believe is the biggest quality of a good suspense novel.
By the end, we get to experience a twist so profound and
unexpected despite all facts shared with the readers that it's almost cathartic.
The realisation is so overwhelming that we have to put the book down for a
minute and let the joy, surprise and utter brilliance of this masterful piece
of work sink in.
But that is not the end. Delightfully enough, even after the
zenith of our storyline, the author doesn't just leave us after the big reveal.
The end beyond the mystery is something which truly opens our eyes to a whole
new perspective and justifies the title of the book and the titular 'devotion'
of the 'suspect x'. Before the ending, it's simply impossible to actually
discern the true meaning of those words. And the enormously heartfelt heaviness
that they carry.
The whole book establishes the entire surroundings and
characters pretty well yet the ending gives us insights into their psyche that
unravels their deepest secrets and determination to us. This was an experience
which I'd recommend to every mystery fan out there and to check out this book
if you haven't already.
All in all- great characters, amazing opposing protagonists,
plot, twist, and ending. A wonderful read throughout. If you’re a fan of the
genre and looking for an irresistible storyline with your mind blown with the
utter sense of emotional outcry at display while involving great clever minds
of geniuses trying to outwit each other at every move; then this book- an excellent
take on the ‘how to get away with murder’ concept is a must-read for you.
