Salvation of a Saint - Keigo Higashino.
My first Higashino and before I say it was an amazing book, I must tell you that again I was lucky that the book practically walked up to me 
. A very dear (Bookish) friend dropped by to my place last month and we had a few rocking hours gushing about the books, movies and what not and as I always claim, I have a rocking set of friends who precisely know what I love and what they want me to read. She was so excited about the book and the story that she told me "You have to read this", and I am glad she gave me the book. I had a little tiff with wifey on Friday evening and we decided to sleep in separate rooms and I picked up this book at 4 AM in the morning, kept on reading till she left for office at 9.30 AM (I was mid-ways), hit the 80% mark as she returned at 3.30 PM, slept for a few hours (this time in same room as I wanted to gush about the story) and finished it right after we had dinner at a friends place five blocks down the road from our place and right now, as everybody else is dozing off, I am sitting in front of my PC telling you about the book. I had to make up with wifey over last nights fight because I wanted her undivided attention when I narrated about this murder mystery . To get her full attention, I had to tell her that this is the same writer on his other book "Devotion of Suspect X" was the acclaimed movie "Drishyam" was based on . Now, I need to lay my hands on that book at the earliest as I have loved the movie. Also, I guess this will be the last of the Japanese book that I have read as the year is coming to a close.
. A very dear (Bookish) friend dropped by to my place last month and we had a few rocking hours gushing about the books, movies and what not and as I always claim, I have a rocking set of friends who precisely know what I love and what they want me to read. She was so excited about the book and the story that she told me "You have to read this", and I am glad she gave me the book. I had a little tiff with wifey on Friday evening and we decided to sleep in separate rooms and I picked up this book at 4 AM in the morning, kept on reading till she left for office at 9.30 AM (I was mid-ways), hit the 80% mark as she returned at 3.30 PM, slept for a few hours (this time in same room as I wanted to gush about the story) and finished it right after we had dinner at a friends place five blocks down the road from our place and right now, as everybody else is dozing off, I am sitting in front of my PC telling you about the book. I had to make up with wifey over last nights fight because I wanted her undivided attention when I narrated about this murder mystery . To get her full attention, I had to tell her that this is the same writer on his other book "Devotion of Suspect X" was the acclaimed movie "Drishyam" was based on . Now, I need to lay my hands on that book at the earliest as I have loved the movie. Also, I guess this will be the last of the Japanese book that I have read as the year is coming to a close.
I love detective stories, especially the one's where the chief detective has an assistant (they always do) who happens to be one step ahead of the boss and if that happens to be a Girl, it always makes it further more interesting. Like in this case we have a Jr. Detective, a newbie in the Japanese Metropolitan Force who have got a very weird Suicide / Murder case where as per the information available the suspected Killer was at-least 1000 miles away . How the murder is done and the reason behind it is something simply stunning. What is totally amazing about Keigo's story is that in the very first ten pages it is disclosed who the killer is, yet the way inquiry progresses, readers doubts keeps moving from one person to another and at times to even a third person who isn't even in the picture by a long shot. I guess I have read a lot of Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle books that I could actually make out the way murder was done (I was sort of proud of myself in the end) but the way killer keeps playing with the vulnerable detective, it was simply amazing. 377 pages, totally unputdownable with a terrific detective, a super kool assistant and a huge help from a Physics Professor makes this one a thrilling, suspense ride, although the narrative is never hurried but page by page as the cards get opened, it actually blows the readers mind to get to the end as soon as possible to get it all cleared up as how it was done. The elaborate murder planning is the best that I have ever read and I guess this isn't the best of Keigo's works I believe.
. How the murder is done and the reason behind it is something simply stunning. What is totally amazing about Keigo's story is that in the very first ten pages it is disclosed who the killer is, yet the way inquiry progresses, readers doubts keeps moving from one person to another and at times to even a third person who isn't even in the picture by a long shot. I guess I have read a lot of Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle books that I could actually make out the way murder was done (I was sort of proud of myself in the end) but the way killer keeps playing with the vulnerable detective, it was simply amazing. 377 pages, totally unputdownable with a terrific detective, a super kool assistant and a huge help from a Physics Professor makes this one a thrilling, suspense ride, although the narrative is never hurried but page by page as the cards get opened, it actually blows the readers mind to get to the end as soon as possible to get it all cleared up as how it was done. The elaborate murder planning is the best that I have ever read and I guess this isn't the best of Keigo's works I believe.
Have you read "Salvation of a Saint"? Were you able to guess not the killer but the way it was done? Do let me know how you like it and also, which one is your favorite Keigo Higashino novel. I would love to give it a go.
Another thing that I love especially about Japanese and Russian books is that, on an average if I take flat 18 hours to finish a book, a Russian / Japanese book will take close to 20 hours , you know why? Because of their awesome names and my habit of always reading the full name and trying to pronounce them as they should be inside my head of-course .
, you know why? Because of their awesome names and my habit of always reading the full name and trying to pronounce them as they should be inside my head of-course .
PS: Comparison with Stieg Larsson is an exaggeration from my point of view. Keigo is absolutely fantastic but definitely nowhere close to Larsson. I will come back after reading a few more books to see if he comes any closer. Your thoughts?
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