Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Malice

Penting dan kegunaan dokumentasi menjadi hal yang di-highlight dalam buku ini. Menurutku alur yang disampaikan sangat menarik dan bikin ngejlimet alias akan dibuat hah hoh hah hoh.

Di bagian pertengahan, kita dibuat tau siapa pelaku dan bagaimana dia mengeksekusi korbannya. Namun, motif dan latar belakang kedua pihak – pelaku dan korban, menjadi hal yang diulik sampai akhir oleh Detektif Kaga.

Buku ini disampaikan lewat dua perspektif, Nonoguchi dan sang detektif. Mengulas juga bagaimana latar belakang mereka, bahkan menguak beragam hal yang membuatku takjub, tetapi geram.

Content Warnings

outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Osamu Nonoguchi visits his friend, bestselling novelist Kunihiko Hidaka, the day before Hidaka is due to emigrate to Canada with his new wife. Later that evening, Nonoguchi receives a telephone call from Hidaka asking him to return to his home as he needs to see him again urgently. When Nonoguchi reaches the house, all the lights are off & Hidaka doesn't answer the door. Nonoguchi raises the alarm & Police Detective Kyochiro Kaga is given the case. The police find Hidaka dead on the floor of his office, with both the door to the office & the front door to the house locked from the inside. Both Nonoguchi & Hidaka's wife have alibis for the time of death. Who killed the author & why?

The reader is kept at arms length from the investigation & the characters really as the murder & circumstances are told from written confessions, notes, or interview transcriptions. It is a writing style that takes a little getting used to. The story starts off slowly but as the twists & turns of the case started to reveal themselves, I found myself needing to know what happened next. There's no gore & most of the trigger warnings below are not dealt with in a graphic way. I think I would read the next one in the series just to see how the character of Kaga develops.

Content Warnings

christinaanna's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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ajediprincess's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Holy smokes, what a book! I love murder mysteries. This is my first time reading a Japanese murder mystery and I must say, I think I'm hooked. Malice by Keigo Higashino was unlike anything I've ever read. The entire story had me guessing and questioning the truth from start to finish. I was amazed at the journey on which this story took me. I don't want to spoil anything, but the book was masterfully crafted, so brilliant in every single detail. I will definitely be adding this one to my personal library.

This is the story of how an author is murdered. The killer is caught and arrested fairly early on into the story, which immediately threw me for a loop. But while the "who dunnit" is quickly solved, it's the motive that remains unclear. The truth of everything is something I'm still reeling from. On a more personal note, I loved the way the author wove in details pertaining to writing as a craft. I was amazed, while reading this book, how precisely accurate the descriptions and depictions of writers who love their craft were, and how much I agreed and could relate to the passion described with regard to telling stories and crafting a narrative. There was something almost transcendent about the way Higashino shared some of the most intimate aspects of writing and storytelling within the context of this story which was obviously so lovingly crafted.

I will remember this book for many years to come, and heartily recommend it with the likes of Sayers and Christie. This book was an intricately crafted, complex and oddly satisfying puzzle, filled with twists and surprises along the way. I can't wait to check out Higashino's other work. This book set my hopes high.

Content Warnings

serendipity421's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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dark tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I read this for the Popsugar reading challenge, for the prompt "a locked-door mystery." I didn't really care for this at all, so I don't think I'll be reading mysteries again in the future. I liked the style of the dialogue in general, but there was a lot more telling instead of showing. I didn't like how the only women in the book were love interests or parents with no real character traits. In any case, I'm glad to have checked this off my list.

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