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bukutigatulip's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sebenarnya aku bukan penggemar cerita misteri di mana pelakunya udah ketahuan di awal. Jadinya dari awal aku udah agak skeptis dan rasanya mau DNF bukunya, tapi Yukawa bilang kalau ini KEJAHATAN SEMPURNA. Kenapa? Memangnya trik pembunuhannya gimana?
Novel ini dibuka dengan pembicaraan di antara calon korban (Yoshitaka) dan tersangka (Ayane). Mereka membicarakan tentang perceraian, yang didasari karena mereka tak kunjung punya anak. Di bab pertama ini, pelaku sudah menunjukkan niat membunuh dengan berkata, “Aku sangat mencintaimu sepenuh hati. Karena itulah ucapanmu tadi benar-benar menghancurkanku. Karena itulah kau harus mati.” Bahkan, pembaca sudah diberitahu kalau Ayane memang berencana memakai bubuk putih untuk meracuni suaminya.
Pembunuhan berjalan dengan sempurna. Ayane memanfaatkan Hiromi, selingkuhan Yoshitaka, untuk memperkuat alibinya. Saat pembunuhan terjadi, Ayane sedang berada di luar kota. Bagaimana itu bisa terjadi?
Akhirnya pihak kepolisian mulai turun tangan, dan tentu saja melibatkan Kusanagi. Selain dia, ada pula Utsumi yang berperan besar dalam kasus kali ini. Utsumi merupakan detektif junior dalam tim Kusanagi. The plot thickens karena Kusanagi jatuh hati pada ‘malaikat’ yang menjadi tersangka dalam kasus kali ini. Melihat situasi pelik ini, Utsumi memutuskan untuk berkonsultasi pada Detektif Galileo. Dan beliau malah bilang kalau ini kejahatan sempurna!
Proses pemecahan masalah berasa kayak roller coaster. Kusanagi dan Utsumi sama-sama besar ambisinya, dengan praduga masing-masing. Kusanagi dengan keyakinannya bahwa Ayane tidak bersalah–yang masuk akal sebenarnya, karena bukti dan alibi membuktikan bahwa Ayane bersih, dan Utsumi dengan nalurinya sebagai sesama perempuan yang merasakan ada banyak kejanggalan dari perilaku Ayane, sayangnya dia tidak punya cukup bukti. Di sinilah Detektif Galileo a.k.a Yukawa berperan, untuk memastikan kedua detektif ini nggak terlalu melibatkan perasaan mereka dan bisa membaca kasus ini dengan kepala dingin.
Tarik ulur antara para detektif di novel ini benar-benar menegangkan. Tentu aja hal ini terjadi karena pelaku benar-benar cerdik dan motif yang benar-benar nggak terduga. Mungkin kalian bisa menebak senjata pembunuhan, tapi untuk triknya akan sangat sulit. Trik rumit apa yang bisa dilakukan dengan bubuk kopi, dapur sederhana, dan air mineral di kulkas? Benarkah motif pembunuhan ini semata-mata adalah Ayane sakit hati karena akan diceraikan?
Meskipun kalian bukan penggemar cerita misteri yang pelakunya udah ketahuan di awal kayak aku, tetap saja aku merekomendasikan buku ini buat kalian! Buku ini menunjukkan betapa rumitnya manusia dan emosi mereka, lengkapnya silahkan baca di novel ini, ya! Untuk menutup ulasan ini, aku mengutip Yukawa, “Manusia itu makhluk rumit yang sering melakukan hal-hal yang bertentangan.”
aed4n92's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ckyoung's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Infidelity, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility
tunatanga's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sanslibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Its KEIGO HIGOSHINO i dont even need to write a review the name says everything.
kbsolomon's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
annabp2067's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ecleirs23's review against another edition
4.0
Lill book, Not exceptional, but not bad too. Classic whodoneit genre
pbbsalmon's review against another edition
3.0
This book is not as impressive and touching as The Devotion of Suspect X. The crime was planned and carried out in a meticulous, unexpected way, in the same vein as the one in Suspect X. However, the criminal's motive and the setup of the story was not as compelling. It's hard for me to empathize with Ayane compared to Ishigami.
This book would be decent if not for the biased, or sexist even, depiction of women. It's one thing that the victim is misogynist and harbors extreme views regarding children, but it's another thing for the main characters, the physicist and the detective, to use words like "female hunch", "female intuition" to describe the line of reasoning of Utsumi, the only woman in the all-male team. And there are several statements, some made by female characters themselves, that really bother me:
"Isn't that straightforward maternal instinct?"
"Only a woman could come up with a trick so illogical, so full of contradictions, and so perfect." And what is this suppose to mean? That women are calculating, scheming and illogical?
"Maybe it was something more primal, a female need to bear a child." Hmm excuse me are women just reproductive machines?
And it would be more compelling and touching if the crime had been carried out as an act of vengeance for the deceased, rather than for the selfish attainment/ secure of love or as a god-like expression of power of the criminal exerted over her prey (as in Ayane took revenge for Junko, her dear friend who she confided in with all her dreams and worries rather than deciding to commit the crime because she was tossed aside). However, I also realize that if this had been the motive, then the time when the crime happened may need to change to maintain the logic to the story (why wait a whole year and right after the dinner party when she received the request to leave the marriage?). Anyway probably the motive used in the book was based on whatever the author's interpretation of "female love" in a heterosexual relationship can mean.
Overall, I would not recommend this read. Although every detail was a piece to make the final puzzle, the way the story was told felt lengthy at times. And even though Utsumi has always been right since the beginning, I do not enjoy the fact that the author decided to first explain her reasoning with random "female intuition" rather than
give her a scene to explain her thought process, which is actually rooted in realistic observation and logical deduction (the champagne glasses and more importantly, that Ayane didn't ask around for more information when was contacted by the police).
This book would be decent if not for the biased, or sexist even, depiction of women. It's one thing that the victim is misogynist and harbors extreme views regarding children, but it's another thing for the main characters, the physicist and the detective, to use words like "female hunch", "female intuition" to describe the line of reasoning of Utsumi, the only woman in the all-male team. And there are several statements, some made by female characters themselves, that really bother me:
"Isn't that straightforward maternal instinct?"
"Only a woman could come up with a trick so illogical, so full of contradictions, and so perfect." And what is this suppose to mean? That women are calculating, scheming and illogical?
"Maybe it was something more primal, a female need to bear a child." Hmm excuse me are women just reproductive machines?
And it would be more compelling and touching if the crime had been carried out as an act of vengeance for the deceased, rather than for the selfish attainment/ secure of love or as a god-like expression of power of the criminal exerted over her prey (as in Ayane took revenge for Junko, her dear friend who she confided in with all her dreams and worries rather than deciding to commit the crime because she was tossed aside). However, I also realize that if this had been the motive, then the time when the crime happened may need to change to maintain the logic to the story (why wait a whole year and right after the dinner party when she received the request to leave the marriage?). Anyway probably the motive used in the book was based on whatever the author's interpretation of "female love" in a heterosexual relationship can mean.
Overall, I would not recommend this read. Although every detail was a piece to make the final puzzle, the way the story was told felt lengthy at times. And even though Utsumi has always been right since the beginning, I do not enjoy the fact that the author decided to first explain her reasoning with random "female intuition" rather than
give her a scene to explain her thought process, which is actually rooted in realistic observation and logical deduction (the champagne glasses and more importantly, that Ayane didn't ask around for more information when was contacted by the police).
_fifi_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5