Malice by Keigo Higashino, tranlated by Alexander O. Smith (Abacus)

Keigo Higashino is one of Japan’s most prolific and popular mystery writers. He has written over fifty novels and many of them have been translated into other languages. A number of his titles have also been adapted for the silver screen. A 2007 television series titled Galileo was based on his series of novels featuring physicist and part-time sleuth, Manabu Yunokawa.

Malice was originally published in Japanese in 1996 with the title Akui. It was released in English in the U.S. in 2014 by Minotaur Books. The Abacus edition was published in 2015 and is translated by Alexander O. Smith. Malice is the first novel in a series to feature Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga.

The story opens with the death of a writer named Kunihiko Hidaka. Hidaka and his wife Rie were set to move to Vancouver, Canada and this was his last day of living in Japan. Osamu Nonoguchi, a children’s book author and friend of Hidaka and his wife, was scheduled to meet them before their impending move. However, Hidaka wasn’t returning Nonoguchi’s calls so he phones Rie to ask about his friend’s whereabouts. 

Rie was waiting at the hotel for her husband so she did not know he was going to meet with Nonoguchi. When she reaches their home, she and Osamu find Hidaka sitting at his desk in his home office - dead. 

Detective Kyoichiro Kaga is assigned to investigate the case. Nonoguchi is an acquaintance of Koga’s from their days teaching at the same school in the past. Koga became a detective while Nonoguchi became an author. As Kaga began asking questions, Nonoguchi realized that Kaga was not reminiscing about old times but that he was being interrogated and the investigation into his friend’s death had already begun. 

As Kaga investigates the case, he feels that Nonoguchi’s statements are a bit off. Something just doesn’t add up. The more Kaga looks into the case, the more questions it raises than answers. All of the facts that Kaga uncovers leads him to suspect that it was Nonoguchi who committed the crime. Nonoguchi does not seem surprised to find himself under arrest and requests if he can write his confession. 

Although it seemed to be an open and closed case, Detective Kaga was not satisfied with Nonoguchi’s confession. What bothers him the most is that there seems to be no motive for the crime. Kaga refuses to close the case until he can establish a motive and what he finds out will even surprise you. 

The story is written alternatively as seen through the eyes of the writer Nonoguchi and Detective Kaga. It becomes a game of cat and mouse to see who could outwit who. Higashi not only focuses on the crime but incorporates other themes into his story - bullying, infidelity, extortion which utlimately leads to murder. 

As we begin to understand the personalities of the characters, then it is us, the reader, who also becomes a detective as we try to determine the truth of what the characters are saying. Is Nonoguchi’s confession reliable? Does Detective Kaga determine what the motive was for the crime? Once you reach the end of the book, the answers may surprise you. ~Ernie Hoyt