신일본 항공의 스튜어디스, 속칭 A코와 B코. 도쿄대를 중퇴하고 입사 시험에 톱으로 합격한 갸름한 얼굴의 미인형으로 회사의 신뢰가 두터운 A코에 반해, 턱걸이로 입사 시험을 통과하고 훈련 과정도 꼴찌로 마친 B코는 승무원치고는 흔치 않은 뚱뚱한 체형에 궁금한 것을 못 참으며 사건을 몰고 다니는 떠버리 스타일.이처럼 둘은 하나부터 열까지 정반대지만 신기할 정도로 호흡이 잘 맞아 늘 붙어 다닌다.
지난 10년 동안 "한국인에게 가장 많이 사랑받은 소설가" 히가시노 게이고. ‘미스터리의 제왕’이라는 별칭을 지닌 그가 이번에는 비행기 탑승객들을 둘러싸고 벌어지는 기상천외한 사건들과 거기에 도전하는 스튜어디스 명탐정 콤비의 좌충우돌 활약상을 그린 코믹 미스터리에 도전한다.
기발한 상상과 그 상상을 뛰어넘는 절묘한 추리로 이루어진 『살인 현장은 구름 위』는 다양한 사연을 지닌 각양각색의 사람들이 ‘비행기’라는 한정된 시공간에 모이면서 벌어지는 사건들을 통해 일본 사회가 안고 있는 문제들, 특히 거품 경제로 인한 탐욕과 허영, 부도덕이 횡행하던 시대의 일그러진 모습들을 압축적으로 보여준다. 겉으로는 아무 일 없는 듯 평온해 보이는 탑승객들은 그러나 속속들이 들여다보면 저마다 긴박한 사정과 남모를 애환을 안고 있다.
작가 히가시노 게이고는 실제로 스튜어디스로 일했던 친누나의 경험담을 바탕으로 이 작품을 구상했다고 밝힌 바 있다. (참고로 그의 소설 중 『오사카 소년 탐정단』과『시노부 선생님, 안녕』 두 작품으로 이루어진 이른바 ‘시노부 선생 시리즈’ 또한 교사 경력이 있는 또 다른 누나의 경험담을 바탕으로 쓰인 작품이다.)
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.
It is a ridiculous collection with weird short stories. Every story comes with various ridiculous bugs. I do know why Hegashino wrote this. Waste of time. His long story is much better than this.
If you’re looking for a tightly plotted thriller that lives up to the author’s fame, you’d be disappointed. This book is a collection of seven short mysteries that are written for light reading - at lunch break, or before bed. I agree that the recurring characters A and B are dull, flat, and sometimes annoying, and that each of the stories have their loopholes and ridiculous moments, but let’s just remember that this book is meant as a leisurely fiction read, written by the author early in his career.
Keigo Higashino's style, but I think this is the first book I have read of his books that the main characters are women, since the author himself is a man, I could not believe it how can he get so much details of female flight attendants' lives.