Newcomer is the 2nd book in the Kyoichiro Kaga series to be translated into English(Happens to be the 8th in the Kaga series in Japanese)
Plot:
Kaga the famed detective has been assigned to help his superiors investigate the inexplicable murder of a middle-aged woman who lived alone and seemed to have no enemies.He has been recently transferred to a new precinct in the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo.The last few days of the woman's life is the clue that will lead to the murder.
My Views:
Fans of Higashino already know that the books are mostly about how and why.The motive is very important in each of his books.This book is presented in nine parts.We are taken along in the Nihonbashi neighbourhood lined with charming traditional Japanese stores,shops that specialized in wicker suitcases or shamisen lutes.We go from a clock maker to a rice cracker shop to a small cafe selling Japanese pastries.
There are too many characters but they are very well developed in the short chapters and gain a life of their own.At one point in the book I felt each character could have a motive but I couldn't figure out what it was.A box of cakes,a kitchen knife, a set of chopsticks ...everything seemed like a part of a bigger puzzle.In each business there is a mystery to solve.The chapters are superbly crafted and after having read each part I felt I was one step closer to solving the mystery only to realize how wrong I was in the end. It is like walking through a maze only to find yourself where you started.
However the subplots are important and Kaga notices details and looks into things which others dismiss as irrelevant.Intuitive,eccentric ,compassionate and always with excellent deductive powers he is many steps ahead of everyone and gets to the bottom of the chase with great elan.The only major difference from the rest of the stories is that we feel sympathy for the victim and want her killer arrested.This book was more about how he gets to the end than the end itself.After reading this book I can easily say that Kaga has found himself a place as one of the best fictional detectives of all time.
So fans of Higashino ,rejoice!He is outstanding as usual and this is a winner all the way.A very enjoyable read.
And yes it is way better than Malice!
I rate it a 4 out of 5.
