The Devotion of Suspect X

By: Keigo Higashino, Alexander O. Smith Translated by

Narrated by: David Pittu

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

The best book I have ever had read to me!

I have been an Audible.com member for a couple of months and have about 10 books under my belt. Including the trilogy by Larsson, some Vince Flynn, James Patterson, and few other motivational titles. This one was by far my favorite and kept me entertained thoroughly.

Unique story; interesting plot

I enjoyed listening to a different kind of mystery. The plot was intricate with many twists. In this tale, I was never sure of who I wanted to triumph. After finishing, I'm still not sure--which for me, added to the appeal. My main complaint was that the Japanese names were difficult to remember and identify as they were reintroduced during the course of the story. I might read another book by this author when I am in the mood for an Edward Allen Poe kind of read.

Not a thriller or a whodunnit.......

This isn't a whodunnit, because the murder is clear in the first part of the book - we know where, when, why, and (yes) who did it. The only question that remains is if, when, and how will the aftermath play out.

The novel is ultimately focused on whether it it more difficult to create an unsolvable problem, or to solve that problem. And if you can understand and ponder the philosophy in that, then you can get to the heart of this story, where the main characters are a mathematician, and physics professor, and a police detective - all alumni of the same university in the same year, and all brought together by the murder of a greedy and abusive man by his frightened ex-wife.

It's also about friendship, unrequited love, devotion (to people and philosophies), and morality. Sadly, though it has thoughtfulness and intelligence, I thought it lacked in character development and emotion. That was not helped by the narrator, who didn't provide sufficiently different voices for the characters, in my opinion, further adding to the lack of characterization and emotion in their voices. It all sounded a bit wooden to me, though that might also have been the fault of the translator - without being able to read (or listen to it) in Japanese, I can't decide which is at fault there.

I chose this because I wanted to try a Japanese murder mystery and it was well reviewed and awarded, but it didn't wow me and I'm not sure I'll try another.

Psychological mystery with finely drawn characters

A gem. Beautifully written, poignant mystery which begins with the story of the murder, with the suspense centered on whether they will get away with it. The characterization and sense of time and place are superb. At the heart of the story is a gentle yet tenacious battle of wits between a mathematician who teaches teens who hate maths, and a physicist who likes to dabble in detective work. The final moments of the book are devastating. If you like fascinating characters, psychological drama, and slowly building suspense it’s for you. If you crave bullets and endless jump-the-shark narrow escapes, there are plenty of those out there.

Excellent mystery, engaging story arc.

Read this book many years ago. Listened to it again recently.

I had forgotten a lot about the book, and it was really enjoyable to experience again. I don't expect that the narrator speaks Japanese, which is fine. Pronunciation of some words ('Hanaoka' or 'Sayoko,' for example) is inconsistent, however. This was a little distracting, but the narrator's voice is a great fit for the book otherwise.

Overall, thoroughly recommend.