The Devotion of Suspect X

It’s been some time since I participated in the annual Japanese literature reading challenge hosted by Dolce Bellezza. The last few years’ reading has been distracted and unplanned, so I was always caught unawares by reading challenges. But sometime last year, something changed, and I have been on a serious reading spree. And I thought I’d take advantage of this moment by knocking off some books for the Japanese literature reading challenge.

The first book I read for this challenge is a reread – The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. I read this eons ago and have completely forgotten the plot. Then recently saw a Hindi movie Drishyam, which was supposed to be based on the book. Only the movie was so loud and dramatic I couldn’t relate it to my memory of the book.

Therefore, time for a reread!

About the Book

Yasuko lives a quiet life, working in a Tokyo bento shop, a good mother to her only child. But when her ex-husband appears at her door without warning one day, her comfortable world is shattered.

When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day, he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated. Nothing quite makes sense, and it will take a genius to understand this crime genius.

~ Synopsis from GoodReads

My Review

This is the third book in the Inspector Galileo series, but it is the only one I have read, and I did not find any continuity issues from reading from the middle of a series. So, you definitely can read it as a standalone novel.

It’s tough to write a review for this book without giving too much away. The Devotion of Suspect X is a subtle, skillful book that is unusual and familiar. I would say it relies a lot on human psychology and people’s choices. It focuses more on the how part of the murder rather than the usual, who, what, where, and when.

The twist at the end made my jaw drop, which was phenomenal. After finishing the book, it felt like I was silently witnessing a clever chess game.

I am looking forward to reading more of Higashino’s works now. I highly recommend this book as it was stellar and so good!

And yeah! The Hindi movie Drishyam is based on the core plot but so poorly executed (in my opinion); it’s nothing like the novel and doesn’t do justice to the book’s cleverness.