Keigo Higashino; trans. Alexander O. Smith and Elye Alexander
Malice by Keigo Higashino, translated from the Japanese by Alexander O. Smith and Elye Alexander, is a murder mystery with a twist. The murderer reveals he committed the crime very early on in the novel. So rather than trying to figure out who did it, speculation revolves around the motive. This is not a “whodunit” but a “whydunit.”
The novel unfolds through the perspectives of Osamu Nonoguchi, the self-confessed murderer; and Detective Kaga, hot in pursuit of criminal and motive. The victim is Kunihiko Hidaka, a friend and former class-mate of Nonoguchi. Nonoguchi intentionally drops misleading, elaborate clues for the police that point to him as the murderer. His intention is to establish a false motive for committing the crime. He readily confesses to committing the murder when confronted and fuels Detective Kaga’s pursuit of the fabricated motive. But Kaga senses Nonoguchi’s elaborate scheme for supplying a motivation and investigates further. He questions Nonoguchi’s former middle school classmates and unravels the real motive for the crime. He confronts Nonoguchi who doesn’t deny it.
The novel touches on the themes of professional jealousy, malicious behavior, school bullying and its impact. But the characters are flat and uninteresting. And the real motive behind the crime when it is finally revealed is lackluster—more like a whimper than a bang.