Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino, translated by Alexander O. Smith (Abacus)

Keigo Higashino is Japan’s premier mystery writer. He has written over fifty novels, more than twenty of which were adapted into feature length films and television series. A number of his works have been translated into English as well. 

Journey Under the Midnight Sun is the English translation of Byakuyako which was originally written as a serialized story in the monthly literary magazine Subaru from 1997 to 1999 and published by Shueisha. It was first written as a series of short stories following a chronology spanning almost twenty years. Higashino then connected the stories into one plot line and compiled it into a single volume. 

The story opens with a murder that happened in Osaka in 1973. A man was found in an abandoned building stabbed to death. Investigating the case was Detective Junzo Sasagaki. He discovered the victim’s name to be Yosuke Kirihara, the owner of a small pawn shop. In their investigation, the police uncover a connection with Fumiyo Nishimoto, a single mother barely scraping by, and her boyfriend Tadao Terasaki, one of Kirihara’s customers. They become the prime suspects. 

Unfortunately, the police cannot prove their involvement and setting the investigation further behind, the two prime suspects mysteriously die shortly after the murder. Nishimoto’s death was ruled as an accident caused by a gas leak in the house. Terasaki dies in a car accident. With the loss of their two prime suspects, the investigation stalls and is eventually closed, remaining as an unsolved case.

The two people most affected by the murder are two elementary school aged children who were also friends - Ryo Kirihara, the son of the murdered victim, and Yukiho Nishimoto, Fumiyo’s daughter. The story then follows the life of the two kids, as they become university students, and then adults. 

Ryo grows up to be a man without emotions and doesn’t get close to anybody. He also has a knack for manipulating people to do his bidding. He gets involved with a series of less than legal activities such as a housewife prostitution ring and pirating and selling popular video games. He also manages to stay one step ahead of the police and is never caught for the crimes he has committed. 

Yukiho Nishimoto is adopted by her wealthy aunt, Reiko Karasawa. Yukiho receives a good education and blooms into a beautiful upper-class woman full of elegance and charm. She becomes the successful owner of an upscale boutique shop. However, those close to her seem to end up in misfortune. The hidden dark side of Yukiho is not revealed until the end.

The thoughts of Ryo Kirihara and Yukiho Karasawa are never mentioned directly. It is through the viewpoints of a number of characters whose lives all intersect with either Ryo or Yukiho. Detective Sasagaki never accepted the official reports on the death of Fumiyo Nishimoto or Terada Terasaki and continues to follow the lives of Ryo and Yukiho. As he slowly pieces together the twenty-year old puzzle of Kirihara’s murder, the end results may shock you as well. 

The plot twists and character relations will have your head spinning and may make you as obsessed as Detective Sasagaki in finding out the truth. And what’s you do, you may be in for quite a shock. ~Ernie Hoyt