The Devotion of Suspect X

By: Keigo Higashino, Alexander O. Smith Translated by

Narrated by: David Pittu

Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Yasuko Hanaoka is a divorced, single mother who thought she had finally escaped her abusive ex-husband Togashi. When he shows up one day to extort money from her, threatening both her and her teenaged daughter Misato, the situation quickly escalates into violence and Togashi ends up dead on her apartment floor. Overhearing the commotion, Yasuko’s next door neighbor, middle-aged high school mathematics teacher Ishigami, offers his help, disposing not only of the body but plotting the cover-up step-by-step. When the body turns up and is identified, Detective Kusanagi draws the case and Yasuko comes under suspicion. Kusanagi is unable to find any obvious holes in Yasuko’s manufactured alibi and yet is still sure that there’s something wrong. Kusanagi brings in Dr. Manabu Yukawa, a physicist and college friend who frequently consults with the police. Yukawa, known to the police by the nickname Professor Galileo, went to college with Ishigami. After meeting up with him again, Yukawa is convinced that Ishigami had something to do with the murder. What ensues is a high level battle of wits, as Ishigami tries to protect Yasuko by outmaneuvering and outthinking Yukawa, who faces his most clever and determined opponent yet.

©2005 Keigo Higashino (P)2010 Macmillan Audio. A Macmillan Audiobook from Minotaur Books

Poignant Ending

I liked the ending more than the ride but it was well thought out. I don't know if the reading was flat or the prose but it sounded very matter-of-fact which took some joy out of the book.

Wonderful mystery, wonderfully told

It's disappointing to find so many current mysteries end up not being mysterious at all but rather some deranged serial/psycho killer. This brilliant little piece is original and thoughtful. The dialogue is pitch perfect, the characters, believable. More like this please!

Sad ending.

I can understand why this won an award in Japan. The story is very much of that culture. I enjoyed it tremendously, even though the ending was not a happy one. Very character driven, this story is engrossing.

The best of 100 books I've listened to on Audible

There are stories that appeal on a very basic level. The hero is already halfway to being superman. The villain is all bad. Throw in a few frills like detective work, maybe a touch of romance, and you have a book. So what if the hero does things which are often impossible, illegal, or both? So what if, near the end of the book, the bad guy turns out to be someone you least suspected? So long at the bad guy gets ground to dust, I am happy. Such books may be brainless, but, hey, they appeal to me at a testicular level.
Not this one. This one’s appeal is much higher. The book is genius. Everything is plausible. The author's description of the crime and its solving is a thing of beauty. The detective work is served like a lavish dinner, one course after another of excitement. If I ever write a book (ha!) this is the sort of book I wish to write.
Some reviewers have commented on the sort of sad ending. The ending isn’t REALLY sad, but Higashino is a bit of a pervert. He deliberately blurs the distinction between who is the good guy, and who is the bad. He makes the bad guy fall in love, so that the reader cannot easily think of the bad guy as a villain. He makes it less easy for the reader to achieve satisfaction at the testicular level, perhaps forcing the reader to appreciate the book for its craftsmanship.
I’d have to rate this as the best of about a hundred books I’ve listened to on Audible.

Just when you think you have it figured out......

I really enjoyed this book. This was the first book I have read by a Japanese author and I enjoyed the cultural references and learning new things. When I first read the premise, I was like, okay, its not really a mystery, as you know who did it. But the book takes surprising turns and it turns out that there is a mystery. The ending was really good; I was trying to figure out how this could end, and I definitely did not predict it. The logic scenes were well written and I enjoyed the gamesmanship. Fast moving, interesting plot.

Really good story -- excellent narration

Any additional comments?

I began this novel unsure that I wanted to take the journey, as I knew it was a drama and thought it would be sad, and I don’t often want to read sad things as entertainment. From the very first word, David Pittu’s narration was compellingly quiet, sort of reminiscent, and it filled me with melancholy and told me, yes, it would be sad all the way through – and it was. It felt a lot like the American noir of Raymond Chandler, whose novels I devoured when I was much younger and unafraid to be cast into days of despair after reading him.

This is my first Detective Galileo novel, and I’m sure I’ll read the next one in the series. Keigo Higashino has given us the standard police inspectors who are very good at their jobs but still, once in a while, need the brilliant mind of someone who sees life just a little differently from their more usual law enforcement outlook. I must say I’m like others who thought of Inspector Columbo immediately upon meeting the physicist Dr Yukawa, but that may be because I was completely taken in by the narrator, and it was he who, after all, gave us the speech patterns and attitudes of Yukawa that brought Columbo to mind. It wasn't so bad, actually, since the face I kept seeing was that of the real-life physicist Michio Kaku! I very much enjoyed the relationship between Yukawa and Ishigami, partly because their first couple of times together were among the only cheerful scenes in the book. However, the most important part of Yukawa’s character is his humanity, and that is probably what has persuaded me to read more about him.

I’ve never been to Japan, but Higashino made me feel I was right next to Ishigami and Yukawa as they walked toward the little café where Yasuko worked. I saw the bank of the river, the train station, the homeless, so clearly. I can only assume it was an excellent translation, so kudos to Alexander O. Smith.

Sometimes I’m driven crazy by a narrator’s consistent mispronunciation of words, particularly in the language of that story’s setting, that should have been reviewed before ever beginning an audio. However, Pittu’s pronunciation of names – people, places, things – was, to my unpolished ear, excellent, so there was no jarring interruption for me during the descriptions. Perhaps, since I don’t speak Japanese, it wasn’t really so, but I enjoyed his accent and the smooth delivery of Japanese names.

I gasped when I heard the total of Ishigami’s efforts to help Yasuko cover up the murder of her ex-husband. And the final scene was – yes – so sad.

smart guy story

Refreshing simplicity and a good pace. I love smart guy stories. I couldn't see it coming

Never Would Have Picked It Up, But Glad I Did!

I got hooked on this listening to a free first chapter, and couldn't wait to read the rest. It's really well done--suspenseful and carefully plotted. It was a treat to listen to and I will listen to more by this author (and I really enjoyed the narrator as well!)

unique murder mystery

This story takes place in Japan, but that didn't get in the way for me to follow the story, just some names to get used to. The story involves a socially inept mathematical genius who is willing to go to surprising extremes for his passions. We know from the outset whodunit but the cover up and investigation, which is aided by another genius, is very engrossing. One of the most clever plot lines I can recall. Not too long a story or action packed, but the content is there. I am glad I purchased this one.

Different and intriguing

What made the experience of listening to The Devotion of Suspect X the most enjoyable?

I loved that I never really knew how the author was going to close the story. There were a lot of twists and turns, and just as I was expecting him to go one way, he would go another.