Malice

Oh my god. I've only read one other book by Higashino (The Devotion of Suspect X) and it was really good, but this book really cemented my impression of him. I feel like he's the modern Agatha Christie, coming up with fresh murder mysteries with plot twists you never see coming, leading the reader down a wild goose chase but then ending off with reveals that always feel earned.

Malice gets off almost to a meandering and formulaic start. You think you know where this is going. Somewhere down the line, you start to realise that there's a reason why Higashino uses different perspectives and modes of narration in every chapter, and that “unrealiable narrator” is a huge thing in this book. Halfway through, I thought I had the solution figured out, what with all my knowledge and experience with Agatha Christie. What I hadn't counted on was Higashino actually planning this for me, the reader all along. Dear reader, you are as much part of the mystery here. By the end, I was left slack-jawed and yelling in disbelief as Higashino dropped the bombs on me and revealed how much I was led down the garden path as the characters were. That's amazing, I haven't read a mystery that has made me do that for so long, since I first read Christie novels.

I don't really want to reveal too much about the plot of this book except I'd recommend going into it completely blind. It's easy to follow and so satisfying to read. I'll certainly be reading more from Higashino now, and probably more from this Detective Kaga series as well.