The Devotion of Suspect X: A Detective Galileo Novel (Detective Galileo Series, 1)
The critically acclaimed international bestselling novel by one of Japan's premier storytellers, Keigo Higashino's The Devotion of Suspect X marks the first book in his beloved Detective Galileo mysteries.
"One of the great mystery and thriller books of all time!" (Time)
Yasuko Hanaoka is a divorced, single mother who thought she had finally escaped her abusive ex-husband Togashi. When he shows up one day to extort money from her, threatening both her and her teenaged daughter Misato, the situation quickly escalates into violence and Togashi ends up dead on her apartment floor. Overhearing the commotion, Yasuko's next door neighbor, middle-aged high school mathematics teacher Ishigami, offers his help, disposing not only of the body but plotting the cover-up step-by-step.
When the body turns up and is identified, Detective Kusanagi draws the case and Yasuko comes under suspicion. Kusanagi is unable to find any obvious holes in Yasuko's manufactured alibi and yet is still sure that there's something wrong. Kusanagi brings in Dr. Manabu Yukawa, a physicist and college friend who frequently consults with the police. Yukawa, known to the police by the nickname Professor Galileo, went to college with Ishigami.
After meeting up with him again, Yukawa is convinced that Ishigami had something to do with the murder. What ensues is a high level battle of wits, as Ishigami tries to protect Yasuko by outmaneuvering and outthinking Yukawa, who faces his most clever and determined opponent yet.
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Community Reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
What an absolutely fascinating spin on a mystery crime thriller, because even though you're told who the killer is from the start, it's even more riveting than if you hadn't known. There is a cat and mouse element at play, along with some psychological intrigue that kept me hooked throughout the entire story.
The Detective Galileo series was originally released in Japan with this story as book three, but with the English translations they are calling The Devotion of Suspect X, "Volume 1". I can say, without reading any of the other titles, this read as a complete standalone.
I thought the narration was pretty good, but it was kind of odd hearing it read by a traditional American accent when the characters and names are Japanese. It would have been nice to have an English speaking Japanese narrator, but again, the English actor did do a fine job.
What an absolutely fascinating spin on a mystery crime thriller, because even though you're told who the killer is from the start, it's even more riveting than if you hadn't known. There is a cat and mouse element at play, along with some psychological intrigue that kept me hooked throughout the entire story.
The Detective Galileo series was originally released in Japan with this story as book three, but with the English translations they are calling The Devotion of Suspect X, "Volume 1". I can say, without reading any of the other titles, this read as a complete standalone.
I thought the narration was pretty good, but it was kind of odd hearing it read by a traditional American accent when the characters and names are Japanese. It would have been nice to have an English speaking Japanese narrator, but again, the English actor did do a fine job.
Intriguing and consuming read. I was on Yasuko and her daughter’s side from the beginning. There’s something about the way her ex-husband was with her and her daughter that screamed bad news. Ishigami was always ten steps ahead of everyone and it’s heartbreaking to think that all of the efforts he went through that human emotions my those he was trying so hard to protect may have made all his efforts be in vain.
The ending of The Devotion of Suspect X leaves readers to speculate about how things turned out for the characters but ultimately it was a fascinating read.
The ending of The Devotion of Suspect X leaves readers to speculate about how things turned out for the characters but ultimately it was a fascinating read.
“Murder isn't the most logical way to escape a difficult situation. It only leads to a different difficult situation.”
We already know that Yasuko Hanaoka (the ex-wife) and Misato (the stepdaughter) did it. But it was a crime of passion, in self-defense. When Ishigami, their neighbor -- a brilliant but unhappy mathematician who admires Yasuko from afar, offers to help them cover the crime up, his only ask is that they follow his instructions exactly and not ask questions about what he has done. He approaches this in the same way he approaches a math problem.
“Which is harder: devising an unsolvable problem, or solving that problem?”
Instead of the usual whodunit approach, we are trying to figure out how the crime was covered up and why the police cannot pin anything on the true killers. Domestic abuse, loneliness, and self-esteem act as strong motivators for much of what takes place, both before and after the death. They linger in the background, contributing to the somber atmosphere.
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