'The Devotion Of Suspect X' - A Book Review.

Title - The Devotion of Suspect X

Author - Keigo Higashino

Pages - 374

Price -   350

Genre - Crime fiction

Well, I must say, since I'm an ardent crime-mystery-suspense fiction fan, my expectations are always high, and Keigo Higashino delivered what was promised off this unputdownable thriller. Being a part of the Galileo detective series, it had to meet the expectation bar. The lives of the characters run along a tipsy topsy curve and soon enough, you don't know what to expect. Now thats what you want from a gripping tale, don't you ? Simple and easy choice of words has played a big role in making Keigo's book a nation-wide phenomenon in Japan. And I'm sure, India too will be smitten by it very soon, giving in to BlogAdda's initiative.

The main characters were Yasuko Hanaoka, her daughter Misato Hanaoka, their neighbor Tetsuya Ishigami and the neighbor's college mate, Manabu Yukawa. Detective Kusangi's wit deserves a special mention here. A lot of thought has been put by Keigo into the minute details of daily monotonous routines of regular people. You may find the portrayal a little repetitive but I promise you won't complain when you're through with the novel.

Being a high-school maths teacher, Ishigami's love for numbers is evidently spread throughout the book, and you can't help but notice his secret crush on Yasuko, a single mother who works at a box-lunch shop. Yasuko seems oblivious to all the attention showered upon her by Ishigami. One dreadful day, her abusive ex-husband Togashi plans to drop a surprise visit at her door-step and ends up dead under less than mysterious circumstances. Yasuko starts panicking and here enters the devoted neighbor, Ishigami. 

He ends up being the devoted suspect. The excitement levels have been maintained throughout your read of this book, and that is not even the amazing part. The best is yet to come, and by that I mean the killer twist stitched at the end. Manabu is an ex-classmate or rather college rival of Ishigami, and also assists Detective Kusangi, hence another angle. Ishigami is threatened by her addition to the investigative team. The best part about this book is that you feel like you've known the characters long enough to wish well for them. It plays with your mind, puts it to work, but thats a good thing, Eh ? I won't kill the suspense for you, so there, no spoilers for you mister ! 

And because I wanted to know more about Keigo Higashino and his work after being through with the book, I'm sure you would too, hence this link for you. The kind of connection that his characters form with you, will leave you wanting for more. After reading the last page, you will no more wonder why is 'The Devotion Of Suspect X' one of the few novels that have been translated to English.

My Rating for this book would be a generous 4/5. All smiles.

This book was received as a part of Blogadda's Book Review Program. Sign up for the Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. and get free books !

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