I've read mystery books before, but I did not expect Higashino to approach the genre in a such a unique way!
At the surface, this crime story is a "whodunit" that centers on Detective Kyoichiro Kaga finding the murderer of a divorcee who was found strangled to death in her apartment. The story is propelled forward as Detective Kaga interviews different people connected and not connected to the crime. Each chapter focuses on a different person or family. And I absolutely loved how characters, objects, and even statements featured in one chapter would flow from one chapter to the next as Detective Kaga worked to find the murderer.
But what I loved the most about Newcomer was the theme of healing. One that I rarely see in crime stories. While many crime stories follow the pattern of crime is discovered -> race against the clock -> the perpetrator is revealed (fin); Newcomer focused on the importance of the living finding closure and trying to heal from that traumatic crime. There was a sense of loss, healing, and optimism for the future.
And it was this humanization of the characters that I feel added so much to the story. This was the first book I've read by Keigo Higashino and after reading Newcomer I'm looking forward to reading more of his books. People who've been traumatized by a crime are victims too. Finding ways to comfort them is also part of my job.
-Detective Kaga, Newcomer by Keigo Higashino
Note: My only complaint about the book pertains to the publishing company of "Newcomer" and not Higashino's storytelling. There a few missing words and at least one misspelled world (ex. "shine" instead of "shrine"). None of it took away from the story, but it was a little disappointing to see from a professional publishing company. I believe my copy was one of the very first that was published so I recommend later editions of the book where the errors were fixed.
3 Comments
2/1/2021 11:09:10 am
Great review, I'm so glad you discovered Higashino. I loved that book as well, though I highlighted different reasons: https://wordsandpeace.com/2018/11/19/book-review-newcomer/
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2/19/2021 03:07:10 pm
I love mystery books and I'm sure I would enjoy the different take on this one. Fantastic review!
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