Silent Parade by Keigo Higashino

Two girls are murdered twenty years apart and the same man is a suspect in both cases. The first time he was found not guilty for lack of evidence. The second time he is released without being tried. Detective Chief Inspector Kusanagi of Tokyo Homicide was a young detective on the case twenty years ago and now is leading the investigation of the latest case. So begins Silent Parade by Keigo Higashino in one of the best detective novels of the year.

The cases are maddeningly lacking in physical evidence and the suspect refuses to talk. The neighborhood where the second girl lives holds an annual street parade and singing competition that draws entrants from all over Tokyo and Japan. It is during this parade that the suspect dies under questionable circumstances. The popularity of the second victim, Saori Namiki, means that there is no shortage of suspects. Everyone seems, however, to have an airtight alibi. Kusanagi is a skilled investigator but he needs the assistance of his college friend, physics professor Manabu Yukawa, otherwise known as Detective Galileo, to help unravel this series of complex crimes.

Yukawa is eminently likable, but he houses a curiosity and thought process that rivals Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Highashino lays out a brilliant case with only the thinnest of threads to follow. It takes some brilliant speculation by Yukawa to point the police in the right direction, but each puzzle solved leads to another puzzle. It also highlights both the difficulty of solving crime absent confession as well as the dangers that overreliance on confessions holds.

Higashino spreads breadcrumbs throughout the narrative for readers to follow and theorize along the way. Even with all the clues, the story manages to introduce astonishing revelations which feel earned. Higashino has delivered a brilliant detective story, as well as a touching portrayal of a tight-knit community. It’s easy to see why he is one of the most popular novelists in Japan and has a growing English-language following as well. One of the best books of the year.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.