Book Review-04-2020: The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashimo #honestbookreviews #nospoilers

The devotion of Suspect X is reverse magic. One can say that he first pulled a rabbit out of a hat and then threw the hat to the audience with a challenge to find the concealed chamber where the rabbit was hiding all the time. Then he teases us as we do it by toying with the blind spots created by our own assumptions.

The story has been adapted into more than 6 motion pictures in various languages. Why not? When I was referred this book, I was told that I won’t be able to keep it down once I start it. Well, the book really lived up to its reputation.

This book is like a mind-absorbing narration of moves and countermoves of speed chess between two grand-masters, and the commentator is himself a very learned observer who can delve deep into their minds and translate stuff as it happens for laymen like us. The layouts are brutal in the humane composition, cold logic battles in warm hearts with hearts breaking and minds set free in conclusion. It is a fast paced thriller with slow tightening of the noose and thereby titillating the reader to turn the page until the end

The best mystery books, I believe are those where your mind races to solve the mystery before the characters of the book, the writing of this one coerces you to do the same all the way, while being fully aware that you will not be able to beat the “13th President of Mystery Writers of Japan” but you still keep trying till the last paragraph. That is the best thing about the writing of this book.

Keigo Higashima, the 13th President of “Mystery writers of Japan” (yes, that is a thing in Japan), take a bow for this one. This writer has the supreme skill to “toy” with the minds of the readers, with the blind spots created by their own assumptions.

Very complicated plots and their settings have been so simply described by Keigo Higashimo. Any novice writer would have just messed it. It also very refreshing to read about the scenes set not in India, US or UK but in Japan. It was my first read by a Japanese writer and I am sure I will cover some more books from Keigo Higashima this year.

The Kindle price of this book is Rs 99 only, an epitome of how wrong can one go in pricing this gem of a work. Next weekend, just go for this one!