Malice by Keigo Higashino

Recently, I received a book from Claire (3 Purity). It had been passed down to her from her Literature teacher and it was to be passed on to anyone else who might want to read it as well. I’m glad I agreed to pick it up from Claire as it was one of the best mystery thrillers I’ve ever read – Malice by Keigo Higashino. Many people said that Keigo Higashino could never write another book that would even come close to ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’, Higashino’s number one bestseller that enticed the entire world. Even though I’ve never read ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ before, I’m certainly interested to after reading ‘Malice’. ‘Malice’ is a murder mystery centred on Detective Kyochiro Kaga’s story as he investigates the murder of acclaimed bestselling novelist Kunihiko Hidaka. Kunihiko is found brutally strangled in his office, in a locked room; within his locked house. And there are only two people who could have done it: Kunihiko’s wife, Rie; and his best friend, Osamu Nonoguchi; both of whom have rock solid alibis. Or so it seems. ‘Malice’ is a thrilling tale that will keep readers on the edge of their seat throughout. What I find most interesting about it is the fact that it’s not a who-did-it kind of murder mystery, but more of a why-did-they-do-it kind of story. Even through the real killer is revealed quite early into the book, but what keeps readers hooked is why the killer committed the crime. We never have the full picture at any one time of the story, right until the very end. Done by: Soh Wen Shuen (3 Steadfast)