Books & Boba discussion

Happy August, everyone! This is the twelfth book we're reading for our growing book club. If you've been with us from the very beginning, then congratulations, you've read almost triple the amount of books than the average American reads in a year!

Our August pick is The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. This is the first crime novel and translated work we'll be reading for Books & Boba. How exciting!

Please note that although the book is the third installment of the Detective Galileo series, we've heard that it is an excellent stand-alone. As always, we welcome discussion, questions, and comments in the Goodreads forums here.

See you all at the finish line!

On p. 25. Wouldn't the crime be classified as self-defense?

WOW! Devoured this book in less than four hours today and it was riveting! Cannot wait to hear the upcoming podcast discussion!

p.163 - It has a good balance between showing the characters as real people and the intellectual pursuit of solving the crime.

Done!

What a great lead-up to a dramatic ending!

I am so glad that I decided to read this book instead of watching the Netflix adaptation of Death Note. Higashino did a fantastic job revamping the classic detective narrative. Reading all the misdirections and reveals in this book was like watching an intense chess match.

"What they needed was a perfect defense based on perfect logic."

I've read a lot of murder mysteries where we're told who the killer is right from the beginning, but it was the first time I've read a crime novel that centered its entire story on the idea of a perfect alibi. I found the mathematical allegory of the P=NP problem--the question of whether it's easier to solve a problem oneself or to check the accuracy of someone else's solution to the same problem--to be intriguing, and I'm by no means a math fan.

It was also really interesting to read what the investigators' thoughts on the possible motive for murder since we, as readers, are already aware of the true motive. Honestly, I had doubts about whether or not the novel would keep my attention since we already know who the killer is. I was pleasantly surprised at how tense the third act got; there were a lot more questions and twists than I thought there would be.

I'm sure I'll talk more about those twists on the podcast, so I'll leave my thoughts on Higashino's book here. Very excited to hear what everyone else's opinions are about the story. :)

I never really understood what P=NP meant. ^_^

I agree that it was terribly engaging how Higashino guided the reader through the process of discovering how the perfect crime was committed. I also think that one of the keys to enjoying the story was that the characters came across as real regular people with their own flaws.

Thanks for the August pick! This one had been languishing the TBR pile and this was the nudge I needed to finally pick it up to read and I’m glad I did. Loved the idea of getting away from the whodunit to the “howdunit” and there were twists aplenty. Clean and direct translation that didn’t draw attention to itself.

Currently #70-something on the wait list for it at my designated library. Fingers crossed that I get it before the end of the month.

Alex wrote: "On p. 25. Wouldn't the crime be classified as self-defense?"

I was wondering the same thing.

Mm... I feel like if (view spoiler)[Yasuko's daughter, Misato, (hide spoiler)] was the one who ultimately killed Togashi, then it would be classified as manslaughter in self-defense. And I think that's still a charge you can go to jail for in Japan.

But because (view spoiler)[Yasuko continued to strangle Togashi from behind until he was dead instead of passed out (hide spoiler)], it makes it more difficult for her criminal defense lawyer to argue self-defense.

Also, Japan has a 99% conviction rate. I'm guessing that the characters factored those grim odds into their decisions.

The podcast convinced me to purchase the book! Cant wait until it arrives :) My favorite classic is Sherlock Holmes so I have high expectations

Looking forward to your comments! (Oh, I just noticed that I haven't reviewed or rated it yet. Hmm, I guess I should do that.)

Teresa wrote: "The podcast convinced me to purchase the book! Cant wait until it arrives :) My favorite classic is Sherlock Holmes so I have high expectations"

Oh, yay! I hope you enjoy reading it. For some reason I especially like reading Japanese murder mysteries. There's something special about the way Japanese crime fiction authors weave human psychology and philosophy into their murder plots.