akira_outofthegravity's reviews
175 reviews

A Midsummer's Equation by Keigo Higashino

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emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I may change the rating. 

This book is not like Higashino’s other works. Where Malice was the equivalent of being slapped in the face every chapter with misdirection, this was a more subtle, calm kind of crime novel. It’s almost chilling how serene everything is.
 
The story covers the investigation of two crimes, the crime in which a guest of a lodge is found dead off a cliff and a separate crime some 16 years earlier where a former hostess was stabbed after an argument with an ex client. Be warned the environmental aspect plays a fairly minor role in everything considering.

Yukawa is an amazing character. Enigmatic and yet kindhearted. He is a methodical detective at heart, but values not shaking peoples lives up unnecessarily. Something we don’t see often are kind and gentle detectives. So this was a nice pace. He and Kyohei were the stars. Such a lovely dynamic, and I hope, in this book’s world, they meet up again and begin a father-son relationship. 

This book is gentle, it’s amazing what scenery can do for a crime novel. I found myself almost relaxing as I would on the beaches of Hari Cove- despite the murder. But it’s gentleness just adds another layer of sinister ness to the crime, and that makes for an absolute punch of an ending. Like his other novels, this is a good book made into a great book by one detail at the end. Which I won’t spoil here. Be warned that this is a very sad book, and focuses more on solving the reasoning for the crimes than the actual incidents. Also, be aware that, although the ending is satisfying in a way, it may not be what you’re looking for. However I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I appreciate its qualities, the subtle foreshadowing and the messages it portrays. Higashino is a master at what he does, and the final twist makes this good book into a heartbreakingly great book. Tragic, yet hopeful. I loved it. 

Spoilers below!

The ending totally threw me for a loop. It’s so melancholy, I’m crying just thinking about it. The lives of the characters are built on tragedy, and although Yukawa is methodical he is also kind. The real tragedy of this book is the selfishness of adults, something that Kyohei complains about many times in the book. Not being told things, being dismissed, parents not being interested. The children in this book are continually let down, and that piece of seemingly random-pre-teen-thoughts being a very prominent theme in the book really got me. Narumi was failed by her mother, and then failed by her father who left her to bear the sins of all of their actions- despite the fact that he only wanted the best for her. Similarly, Kyohei is let down by his parents, and then his uncle, whom he trusts and ultimately sets him up to “technically” be the killer. It’s such a tragic detail, and shows how precariously balanced this house of cards is. If Senba admits that he is Narumi’s father then the whole thing falls, taking friends and family and strangers with it. Similarly, if Shigehito admits it was murder, he takes Kyohei with him, as well as Setsuko and Narumi. But Kyohei is the innocent party, and this would ruin him the most. I have a feeling that Shigehito knows this, and it’s his last trump card. It’s such a detailed and layered crime, and something that really strikes me as almost poetic. Kyohei is going to realise one day that technically he killed the victim, and Yukawa pledges for Narumi to be to him what she never had. This means that although the murderers get away with it, it’s satisfying because there’s not other way for the innocents to live. If they went away for murder, innocents would suffer. I think it’s a strangely profound message, and I wish Kyohei had Yukawa in his life still. But I suppose life is a continual cycle of gaining and losing. I loved this book, in all its quiet, sad glory.
 
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Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a great book that suffers from a terrible blurb.

This is not a murder mystery, this is a character-study-cum-police-procedural-drama with a hint of whodunnit. Six Four makes up less than 20% of the book.

Nevertheless I enjoyed it. Mikami was a really interesting protagonist, and Yokoyama’s surprisingly haunting writing had me crying a few times- at the scene with the Amamiya family shrine in particular. Mikami was someone I rooted for despite his slight cowardice and slightly shitty decisions, and to see him come out his shell in the wake of his own daughter running away was nice, and to embrace his role in MR rather than detest it. The side characters were great, and there were a few solid twists

Go into this expecting a lot of workplace politics and corruption, not how they solved Six Four.
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Malice by Keigo Higashino

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is pure genius. You’ve heard of a whodunnit, and a howdunnit (Higashino’s ‘Devotion of Suspect X’) this is a whydunnit. The murderer is glaringly obvious and actually revealed within the first 100 pages, but the story is so much more. It’s a fabulously written book of misdirection, with major themes of bullying. Not everything is as clean cut as it may seem. 

There are lots of twists, but there is one bit- more misdirection than a twist- that totally got me. I gasped out loud and immediately ran to tell someone the genius of this book. It’s such an incredible thing, but I absolutely was fooled, and that made this read all the more interesting. 

I’ve read a lot of crime, and eventually they all start to get boring. You guess the structure, you guess who did it based on stereotypes and build ups and where they are placed in a story. This kept me guessing throughout the whole story. Every time I thought I had something, it was disproved. Keigo Higashino is one of the best crime writers ever. Not even just in Japan, but I believe internationally. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into his other novels. (I loved Suspect X)

Spoilers below!
  The final twist is pure and utter genius. Having the cat, such a small detail only mentioned once, be such a huge defining factor of “Hidaka’s” personality is genius beyond belief. It truly worked on me. I was fooled because every reaction to any interaction, good or bad, from Hidaka hinged on the fact that he had killed this cat. Bad guys kill cats, but Hidaka is described as both a good and bad guy depending. How can a good guy kill an animal? Do these people know he does? I never even once suspected that he doesn’t, or wouldn’t. Higashino planted that seed of anger and disgust in me and it grew until it blocked my vision. I’m so amazed at how well it worked, even when I forgot about the cat, I was always thinking of it. Nonoguchi is a great villain, if not a pathetic one. But I suppose the great thing about crime novels is that they’re sad, no one wins. Definitely not in this one anyway. Not even Kaga.
 
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And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A fantastic book, a little hard to get into, but the way Christie manages to manipulate 10 very distinct and different people all at once is honestly incredible. The mystery is paced just right, and the final twist threw me for six. The "solution" totally blew my mind, but it made so much sense. 

An amazing mystery, the best yet, and possibly the best ever.
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Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

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dark emotional sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This book is absolutely not for everyone. Most of the characters are bad people, all make dodgy decisions, and a lot of bad things happen to innocent people. I like this book as an analysis of generational trauma, neglect, and racism- as it's implied that Heathcliff is mixed race. But if you dislike books where the characters are extremely flawed I wouldn't try this one.
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Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I had to read this for school. I fair enjoyed it! All the characters are awful people so it’s not a pleasant read, but it’s an intriguing story. Barbra is a freak but I think she’s really interesting.

It’s great to analyse!
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In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

Creepy, terrifying, gory, everything I like in a book! The second half is batshit insane, and the ending is a bit WTF? But I loved it. Surreal and spooky, and a short read. 
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Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A great book with an interesting twist! A bit slow but once you get into it, it’s amazing. Loooooved the “solution” 
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I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 02 by Okura

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A very cute read! The adorable chapters mean that the difficult ones (a colleague of the MC describes a handsome man that they think is gay as “a waste” for women) are way more hard hitting. My heart actually panged. 

I can’t wait for vol 3! 
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After Hours, Vol. 1 by Yuhta Nishio

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funny hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Feels like it’ll be a slow burn, but I’m not sure if the story is for me.