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_shilpita_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Trafficking, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Stalking
mirrorofneptune's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A very long, well-thought-out mystery spanning decades. Less a question of who is the perpetrator and more about their motives and means, and whether they’ll eventually be found out. The author explains a lot of the mystery but also leaves some details up to readers to notice and interpret, which I enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
Minor: Murder
shannonlipp's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
hoppyread's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’ll start by saying, if you’re looking for a mystery where the joy comes from trying to solve it yourself, this isn’t the one for you. I don’t think the point of it is to figure out what happened as much as it is an exploration of how far the criminals are willing to go and why.
I read this one so quickly despite the length, and was genuinely interested in knowing what happened next. The writing and translation read very smoothly.
Story-wise, I was surprised that we were given basically the crimes and circumstances from the characters involved rather than following the detective as he tried to solve them. I don’t read many mystery books, so I wouldn’t know if this is typical. I was expecting a lot more of the detective, but I didn’t mind following the many side characters instead. It felt very easy to meet each new character because Higashino introduces them in such a natural way with enough information to keep them feeling unique and realistic. Sometimes with many character perspectives it gets confusing, but here it wasn’t. I also appreciated how we never got the perpetrator’s perspectives, only those of the outsiders.
I should have read content warnings, though, because I was very disturbed by the sexual violence, personally.
Overall, I found the story very compelling. I could recommend this to people as long as they check the content warnings. I’m definitely interested in checking out some of Higashino’s other books.
I read this one so quickly despite the length, and was genuinely interested in knowing what happened next. The writing and translation read very smoothly.
Story-wise, I was surprised that we were given basically the crimes and circumstances from the characters involved rather than following the detective as he tried to solve them. I don’t read many mystery books, so I wouldn’t know if this is typical. I was expecting a lot more of the detective, but I didn’t mind following the many side characters instead. It felt very easy to meet each new character because Higashino introduces them in such a natural way with enough information to keep them feeling unique and realistic. Sometimes with many character perspectives it gets confusing, but here it wasn’t. I also appreciated how we never got the perpetrator’s perspectives, only those of the outsiders.
I should have read content warnings, though, because I was very disturbed by the sexual violence, personally.
Overall, I found the story very compelling. I could recommend this to people as long as they check the content warnings. I’m definitely interested in checking out some of Higashino’s other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Kidnapping, Rape, Trafficking, Abortion, Suicide, Stalking, Pedophilia, and Death
daepyonimst's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Pedophilia
Minor: Infidelity, Abortion, and Domestic abuse
stories_of_the_soul27's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book made me feel a lot of things. Firstly I really like a story where antagonists are the main characters. Secondly so much of this book was tragic. Thirdly I was very angry at the said antagonists.
Keigo Higashino thinks a lot while coming up with a story and to me this book felt like the darkest one he has written so far. The acts being committed throws so much light on the two antagonists that you are left to wonder about all the little details the author has mentioned about these two.
I can’t help being angry and sad at the same time. It was how Sasagaki described them as : full blown deadly poisonous flowers who should have been nipped at the bud. And this makes me think about how Higashino sensei portrays crimes in his book, about how each crime has a deep backstory to it and that pushes people to the edge and often times it just keeps pushing people to be the nastiest version of themselves and mostly about how the effect of a single crime isn’t limited to just one person but ends up engulfing a lot more people on the way.
I don’t know what genre to call this book specifically; is it a thriller or mystery or detective one. But what I can say is that, it most definitely is a great book to study the psychology of two people. So much of what happens in this book ( and I tell you that a lot of things happen ) throws so much of light on their characters and it’s brilliant the way it is done. Ryo and Yukiho’s minds are twisted and dark. They were the smartest, the cruelest and the most cunning. It felt like they did it all for the sake of love, guilt, having everything after so much was robbed from them but mostly because maybe they wanted to take a long walk under the real sun.
P.S.: However I am still left here wondering who among them was the goby and shrimp. And just a few snippets of their conversation with each other was needed because honestly I want to know more about them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
angelie_jelly's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
candiemarsh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Well, that was frustrating. It took me a longgg time to find my way around all the characters appearing in the span of 20 years for the conclusion to be as such. I do feel some feeling towards the main character but wow the amount of lives ruined?? Plot-wise it was really thought out and explained well. I'd recommend absolute focus and commitment to this book, which I was unable to provide at this time and may have somewhat hindered me to fully enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
chyneyee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
One-Sentence Summary: The death of a pawnbroker drives two young people to dark and sinister life.
Despite the confusion due to the lacking of transition stage and too many characters involved in the story, I found the writer's idea is unconventionally brilliant. It keeps pushing the readers to continuously pursue the truth with detective Sasagaki. It's just getting darker and keep readers wondering who Yosuke's murderer is. The entire story mainly focuses on the life of the young people, and the reader is wondering how their lives related to Yosuke's death. There weren't many hints can be extracted by the readers because the writer left the truth until the last page. There were so many plot twists throughout the story. It can be anything beyond our imaginations because the writer is telling another unrelated account which the reader can't connect the dots to the main plot.
Book Review: Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino.
Despite the confusion due to the lacking of transition stage and too many characters involved in the story, I found the writer's idea is unconventionally brilliant. It keeps pushing the readers to continuously pursue the truth with detective Sasagaki. It's just getting darker and keep readers wondering who Yosuke's murderer is. The entire story mainly focuses on the life of the young people, and the reader is wondering how their lives related to Yosuke's death. There weren't many hints can be extracted by the readers because the writer left the truth until the last page. There were so many plot twists throughout the story. It can be anything beyond our imaginations because the writer is telling another unrelated account which the reader can't connect the dots to the main plot.
Book Review: Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Abortion, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship
jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Keigo Higashino is one of the best mystery writers around. This book was very long and convoluted, with multiple characters, yet it never lagged. The main characters are fleshed out, complex people who are deeply damaged from traumatic childhood experiences.
The book is told over a period of twenty years with each chapter moving the plot along a couple of years or so. What I especially liked was the detailed descriptions of computers and related technology as an chronological indicator. The book begins in 1973, and computers - the kind with the software on cassette tapes - and video games begin showing up several chapters later. By the end we've gotten to fancier computers we know we're in the 1990s.
If you're looking for an intelligent, absorbing, well-written tale, this book is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Caveat: If you're not too good with multisyllabic names and your memory isn't top notch, it helps to read on a Kindle or tablet so you can keep looking up people (whom you should certainly know already!)
The book is told over a period of twenty years with each chapter moving the plot along a couple of years or so. What I especially liked was the detailed descriptions of computers and related technology as an chronological indicator. The book begins in 1973, and computers - the kind with the software on cassette tapes - and video games begin showing up several chapters later. By the end we've gotten to fancier computers we know we're in the 1990s.
If you're looking for an intelligent, absorbing, well-written tale, this book is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Caveat: If you're not too good with multisyllabic names and your memory isn't top notch, it helps to read on a Kindle or tablet so you can keep looking up people (whom you should certainly know already!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicide, and Sexual assault