fidoe's review against another edition
4.0
Week 40 Book 64
Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino
Rating: 4/5
My second Higashino, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it after the first one. And I wasn't disappointed.
SOAS revolves around a man found dead in his apartment alone. Looks like suicide, but the police suspect murder. But it looks like the perfect crime as every suspect has either an alibi or no motive. Kusanagi and Yukawa some again and solve this impossible crime.
As usual, brilliantly written and fast paced. Super fun read. Highly recommended.
Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino
Rating: 4/5
My second Higashino, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it after the first one. And I wasn't disappointed.
SOAS revolves around a man found dead in his apartment alone. Looks like suicide, but the police suspect murder. But it looks like the perfect crime as every suspect has either an alibi or no motive. Kusanagi and Yukawa some again and solve this impossible crime.
As usual, brilliantly written and fast paced. Super fun read. Highly recommended.
chompooas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
nkhang0507's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
3.75
sashas_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
I was very impressed with The Devotion of Suspect X, and wanted to read more by Keigo Higashino. This book was even better, even more impressive. Every word hooked me, every sentence made me run after the next. As a mystery, the construction is smoother than in the previous book, it flows better as we jump from one hypothesis to the next.
The first scene is chilling. The dinner party that follows is exquisitely false and theatrical. This sets the tone for the rest of the book and the mystery’s solution. Ultimately, this case is about two people with something missing from their souls.
The dynamics between Kusanagi, Utsumi (a new junior detective that I want to see more of – smart and stubborn, I liked her POV chapters), Yukawa, and Chief Mamiya were fun to watch. There are lots of conversations, as they all work, think, discuss, disagree, get frustrated, understand. It’s very clever and tense.
Mamiya comes across as a very good boss – “There’s no rank and no gender when we’re on the case.” Excellent, considering what the Japanese society is like.
I liked the dead-pan stuff sprinkled here and there. It gives the reader some breathing room ;)
“He said your face puts them at ease.”
“Nice.” Kusanagi snorted. “He’s just saying I look like an idiot.”
The part where Yukawa starts helping the detectives almost despite himself was very nicely done (well, if he didn’t take on this case there wouldn’t be any more books, and we can’t have that…)
“...the two of you are doing such a good job at piquing my intellectual curiosity, even though I’d decided not to get involved in another police investigation.”
Kusanagi had an excellent character arc. What happens when a detective lets his emotions get the better of him? How does he come to realize what is happening? The detective part wins at last, at a cost, of course. “And increasingly he found himself longing for an end to his own confusion.”
I finished the book in about 24 hours, I guess this also tells you something. (A combination of lazy weekend with no plans, depressing weather and having a cold might have helped ;) )
The first scene is chilling. The dinner party that follows is exquisitely false and theatrical. This sets the tone for the rest of the book and the mystery’s solution. Ultimately, this case is about two people with something missing from their souls.
The dynamics between Kusanagi, Utsumi (a new junior detective that I want to see more of – smart and stubborn, I liked her POV chapters), Yukawa, and Chief Mamiya were fun to watch. There are lots of conversations, as they all work, think, discuss, disagree, get frustrated, understand. It’s very clever and tense.
Mamiya comes across as a very good boss – “There’s no rank and no gender when we’re on the case.” Excellent, considering what the Japanese society is like.
I liked the dead-pan stuff sprinkled here and there. It gives the reader some breathing room ;)
“He said your face puts them at ease.”
“Nice.” Kusanagi snorted. “He’s just saying I look like an idiot.”
The part where Yukawa starts helping the detectives almost despite himself was very nicely done (well, if he didn’t take on this case there wouldn’t be any more books, and we can’t have that…)
“...the two of you are doing such a good job at piquing my intellectual curiosity, even though I’d decided not to get involved in another police investigation.”
Kusanagi had an excellent character arc. What happens when a detective lets his emotions get the better of him? How does he come to realize what is happening? The detective part wins at last, at a cost, of course. “And increasingly he found himself longing for an end to his own confusion.”
I finished the book in about 24 hours, I guess this also tells you something. (A combination of lazy weekend with no plans, depressing weather and having a cold might have helped ;) )
ahanaa's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
i_m_nov's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
SERU BANGET SERIUSSS.
MENEBAK NEBAK SIAPA PELAKU, APAKAH SANG ISTRI?? TAPI KALAU DIA GIMANA CARANYA?? BENERAN SERU, DEG-DEGAN TAPI EXCITED SETIAP ADA PERKEMBANGAN KASUS, POKOKNYA KOMPLEKS GITU!!!!
MENEBAK NEBAK SIAPA PELAKU, APAKAH SANG ISTRI?? TAPI KALAU DIA GIMANA CARANYA?? BENERAN SERU, DEG-DEGAN TAPI EXCITED SETIAP ADA PERKEMBANGAN KASUS, POKOKNYA KOMPLEKS GITU!!!!
bishop's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
crazygoangirl's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
1.0
Read this almost a decade ago in 2014 and gave it a one star review then😱 Unfortunately, this re-read hasn’t improved my rating. I found the book unnecessarily long. It would have been well served with some brutal editing, especially all those endless repetitive discussions about coffe, kettles, water and filters 🤦🏻♀️ They gave me a headache and there’s only so much of technical inanities that I can handle. Granted Higashino brought it together in the end, but it could have and should have been better done! Also, I read a lot of Japanese crime and even I couldn’t bring myself to believe the fantastical method of murder! I mean, touted as ‘the perfect crime’, it seemed to me, a completely idiotic way of committing a murder. I’m not sure any murderer would have the patience and sacrifice required for its success. True, it was hard to prove, but really in the end, it wasn’t 🤷🏼♀️
The reasons I didn’t like this book, a decade ago are crystal clear and still remain. Unlikeable characters, an unbelievable modus operandi, Kusanagi behaving like an idiot, late entry of Detective Galileo, and endlessly repetitive conversations surrounding the how and when and where of the method used to poison the victim, which do not help the investigation progress. Also, no sympathy at all for the victim who was a sexist of the worst kind as far as I’m concerned, treating women as nothing more than baby producers 😡 If I were in the book, I’d kill him too and good riddance😈 Although I would never have married him in the first place!
Although I love Higashino and own and have read all his translated work, I don’t think I’ll ever read this book again. Also, this time I listened to the audiobook and it was awful! The narrator did not speak in a Japanese accent and it made everything feel unreal! Listening to Japanese characters speaking in an American accent was very annoying 😕
The reasons I didn’t like this book, a decade ago are crystal clear and still remain. Unlikeable characters, an unbelievable modus operandi, Kusanagi behaving like an idiot, late entry of Detective Galileo, and endlessly repetitive conversations surrounding the how and when and where of the method used to poison the victim, which do not help the investigation progress. Also, no sympathy at all for the victim who was a sexist of the worst kind as far as I’m concerned, treating women as nothing more than baby producers 😡 If I were in the book, I’d kill him too and good riddance😈 Although I would never have married him in the first place!
Although I love Higashino and own and have read all his translated work, I don’t think I’ll ever read this book again. Also, this time I listened to the audiobook and it was awful! The narrator did not speak in a Japanese accent and it made everything feel unreal! Listening to Japanese characters speaking in an American accent was very annoying 😕
codey_spartan's review against another edition
4.0
Higashino's Detective Galileo novels have this special quality of revealing the killer at the beginning and still keeping the readers guessing at how it was done. Not to mention the murders themselves are creative and takes the best of them to solve it.