Keigo Higashino (東野 圭吾) is one of the most popular and biggest selling fiction authors in Japan—as well known as James Patterson, Dean Koontz or Tom Clancy are in the USA.
Born in Osaka, he started writing novels while still working as an engineer at Nippon Denso Co. (presently DENSO). He won the Edogawa Rampo Prize, which is awarded annually to the finest mystery work, in 1985 for the novel Hōkago (After School) at age 27. Subsequently, he quit his job and started a career as a writer in Tokyo.
In 1999, he won the Mystery Writers of Japan Inc award for the novel Himitsu (The Secret), which was translated into English by Kerim Yasar and published by Vertical under the title of Naoko in 2004. In 2006, he won the 134th Naoki Prize for Yōgisha X no Kenshin. His novels had been nominated five times before winning with this novel.
The Devotion of Suspect X was the second highest selling book in all of Japan— fiction or nonfiction—the year it was published, with over 800,000 copies sold. It won the prestigious Naoki Prize for Best Novel— the Japanese equivalent of the National Book Award and the Man Booker Prize. Made into a motion picture in Japan, The Devotion of Suspect X spent 4 weeks at the top of the box office and was the third highest‐grossing film of the year.
Higashino’s novels have more movie and TV series adaptations than Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum, and as many as Michael Crichton.
As mentioned several times before, I'm a huge fan of Keigo Higashino. I particularly liked this one because it doesn't really end in the traditional way. After following the whole story, the reader has their own chance to think and solve the mystery. The last pages of this edition is sealed and should only be opened after the whole story is read because it contains spoilers and on how to solve this case. This book was really entertaining and I loved it a lot!
Mình không biết nói sao nữa... mình hơi ngạc nhiên khi là có rất nhiều người thích quyển này... Câu chuyện vốn chỉ có hai nghi phạm chính: bạn trai cũ và bạn thân của nạn nhân. Người điều tra trực tiếp là anh trai cảnh sát của nạn nhân, sự xuất hiện của Kaga chỉ một phần để gợi ý cho người anh trai.
Mình đọc xong quyển này rất nhanh. Câu chuyện khai thác tình anh em mãnh liệt, trình bày thủ thuật nghe có vẻ thú vị. Nhưng bằng cách nào đó khoảng 50% mình không còn hứng thú với cuốn sách nữa và mình cảm thấy hơi khó chịu về người anh trai.
Và điều khiến cho cuốn sách này đặc biệt đó là cái kết, cái kết không tiết lộ hung thủ :)) và người đọc phải tự dựa theo manh mối mà đoán. Yep! Nghe rất sáng tạo, nhưng mình cảm thấy mệt mỏi với điều đó, mình tự hỏi là tại sao mình phải tự tìm ra lời giải, trong khi mình đã chẳng còn muốn biết hung thủ là ai? Kể cả diễn biến cũng chẳng thú vị để mình tập trung. Có lẽ ai đó thích bàn luận, buddy read, Bookclub sẽ thích, còn mình thì không!
Not quite happy with the ending of this one, as it's an open ending, which would be totally okay for me if it's not a detective novel. Now I am like being left hanging without know actually who committed the murder. I know it might mean more to leave it open like that, but I really want to know the murderer in a crime story...
"zabiło ją któreś z nich", czyli Kaga nr 4. Higashino powiedział kiedyś, że tą książką chciał wkurzyć światek japońskiej literatury kryminalnej i rzeczywiście, szalony ostatni rozdział wymownie tego dowodzi, choć pewnie dla wielu czytelników zakończenie może być frustrujące. Mnie się bardzo podobało, mimo że jak zawsze moja misternie budowana podczas faktury koncepcja rozwiązania w końcówce legła w gruzach 🥹
Powieść ukazała się w tym samym roku co "zła wola" (1996) i tak jak tam tu też osią fabuły jest pojedynek dwóch bohaterów - tym razem chodzi o dwóch detektywów, Kaga stawia tu bowiem czoła bratu ofiary, prowadzącemu śledztwo na własną rękę.
Jak dla mnie poważny kandydat do polskiego przekładu.