A Death in Tokyo by Keigo Higashino

 

A murder in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo, where a stabbing victim walks to the middle of the famous Nihonbashi bridge to sit under the statue of a mythic beast, the kirin, and dies. Not far away, a young man in a park flees police and runs out into traffic where he is struck and seriously injured. The young man, Yashima, is carrying the murdered man's wallet. This is the beginning of Keigo Higashino's great new mystery, A Death in Tokyo.

Detective Kaga is assigned to the team investigating the murder. The team latches onto a theory that would close the case quickly, but there are a number of niggling issues that don't add up. No one feels those doubts more than Kaga. He painstakingly follows clues and digs into the lives of both victim and suspect. Why were both men in that area? And what secrets are still to be uncovered in this thorny mystery?

Kaga is like a Japanese version of Inspector Columbo. Plodding, thorough, and possessing a razor-sharp intellect that takes in all the information and is constantly assembling puzzle pieces in his mind. Higashino has constructed a brilliant detective novel and populated it with fascinating and engaging characters. Kaga and the other police working the case have different skill sets and motives, but all share a desire to find the truth, even if it may not be convenient. The families of both Yashima and the victim lend pathos to the story. 

You can't do better than Keigo Higashino for tightly wound puzzles but what really sets him apart is the emotional heft added to the story by his deeply sympathetic characters.

Already well-known in Japan, Higashino deserves to be widely read in the west. Any fan of detective fiction owes it to themselves to read his work. Highly recommended.

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