#44: Newcomer by Keigo Higashino

A divorced woman newly moved to a new neighborhood is found dead, and it is up to a recently-arrived police detective to find out what happened, in Keigo Higashino's Newcomer.

This is an exceedingly clever police procedural, set in Tokyo, where the mild but very intuitive policeman begins to uncover all of her neighbor's secrets as the investigation unfolds, including embezzlement, a false medical certificate, a hidden love child, and more. 

The lead detective, Kaga, is really woven into the background of all of these stories and never in the forefront, an interesting device.

Even more interestingly, the plot hinges on the minutiae of things, including a child's wooden top, a pair of new kitchen scissors, and a box of sweets. 

I have read several crime novels by Higashino and find that he is incredibly versatile writer, with all of his novels varied in plot, characters, and themes.  I always enjoy finding him in translation when I can.

I checked this out on audiobook from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana.

#29: Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino

A cold-hearted husband is served up poison, but the prime suspect--his wife--is several hundred miles away when it happens, confounding the Tokyo police in Keigo Higashino's Salvation of a Saint.

This is Higashino's second "Detective Galileo" novel (after The Devotion of Suspect X) and follows a similar formula where the killer is actually revealed at the outset, and the main action is watching the police trying to figure out how exactly it was done (with the help of an eccentric professor).  This entry especially has kind of that old-fashioned "locked room" puzzle feel.

Interesting characters and situations add value, as does a really good audiobook read by David Pittu.

I checked this out from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana.

#31: The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping by Keigo Higashino

An ad man's marketing idea is turned down by a demanding auto exec, leading him into a complicated revenge plan featuring the daughter of the exec's mistress, in Keigo Higashino's The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping.

The ad man and the daughter cobble together a fake kidnapping plot to extort money from the exec, but naturally nothing goes quite as planned. 

Highashino presents the storytelling in sort of a breezy caper style, but the three main characters are all pretty amoral, leading to double and triple crosses and a surprisingly downbeat ending.  Of added value is a glimpse into Japanese culture, for those interested.

A solid crime read in an international setting, for fans.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly.

#42: The Devotion of Supsect X by Keigo Higashino

A single mother with an abusive ex-husband gets help from a reclusive neighbor, but all is not what it seems in Keigo Higashino's The Devotion of Suspect X.

This was a good mystery with an interesting Japanese setting that adds a lot of flavor to the storytelling.  The dynamics of the characters was also compelling, with a battle of wits forming between the gruff detective; his old friend who is a brilliant professor and amateur sleuth; and the professor's old classmate, an equally brilliant mathematician whose motives towards the single mother are gradually revealed.

A change of pace mystery, from an author I would like to read more from.  I believe the policeman and his friend return in other novels, so I hope to be able to find them translated into English.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.