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mirrorofneptune's review against another edition
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
hoppyread's review against another edition
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
thaomi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Pedophilia
stories_of_the_soul27's review against another edition
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
asianfiles's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Murder, and Sexual content
arahuaj's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I'm a fan of Keigo Higashino's books but this book is the first one that angers me so much that I just want to finish it quickly. It's not because of the writing. The writing itself is impeccable as always. The plot is easy to follow. What angers me is the characters!
I know that sometimes hurted people hurt other people. Sometimes I can sympathize with someone whose past is dark/sad and understand why they do a certain thing. But not the characters in this book. It frustrated me so much how evil people in this book could be. And the worst thing was that they got away with all their evil acts! They ruined so many people's lives, they don't deserve my pity.
This book is told in multiple POVs of side characters. If you hate reading unrelated side characters details, I think this book is not for you. It's not a problem for me personally because I like reading about people's lives.
If you're going to read Keigo Higashino's work for the first time, I would not recommend this book. If you like complex crime tricks I would recommend Detective Galileo Series (The Devotion of Suspect X, Salvation of a Saint, A Midsummer's Equation). If you like reading/guessing people's motive and slice of life stories, I recommend Detective Kaga Series (Malice, Newcomer) and The Miracles of the Namiya General Store.
I know that sometimes hurted people hurt other people. Sometimes I can sympathize with someone whose past is dark/sad and understand why they do a certain thing. But not the characters in this book. It frustrated me so much how evil people in this book could be. And the worst thing was that they got away with all their evil acts! They ruined so many people's lives, they don't deserve my pity.
This book is told in multiple POVs of side characters. If you hate reading unrelated side characters details, I think this book is not for you. It's not a problem for me personally because I like reading about people's lives.
If you're going to read Keigo Higashino's work for the first time, I would not recommend this book. If you like complex crime tricks I would recommend Detective Galileo Series (The Devotion of Suspect X, Salvation of a Saint, A Midsummer's Equation). If you like reading/guessing people's motive and slice of life stories, I recommend Detective Kaga Series (Malice, Newcomer) and The Miracles of the Namiya General Store.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Pedophilia
equleart's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Whoever put 'Thriller' on the cover of this book did not read it. That was the slowest of slow burn murder stories. 30 years of occurences matter-of-factly told through a series of non-characters and always upfront about what is happening.
What was and is happening is never in doubt over the course of the book and the obvious, only conclusion you are presented throughout ends up being what happened, and it honestly doesn't feel like thrill or a thrilling reveal was ever what Higashino was going for.
I do have to say that it was original structurally, and even though all the stakes are kinda low, the story has a feel that's almost Kafkaesque. It has this never realy delivered-on ominous dread thing going on while never straying from mundanity and that's kinda cool.
That said, I would've liked a clearer thread tying everything together, like the 'main' detective, because it feels like a short story anthology but doesn't get in-depth enough for the length. At 300 pages, this would've been pretty good, but not at its 700.
What was and is happening is never in doubt over the course of the book and the obvious, only conclusion you are presented throughout ends up being what happened, and it honestly doesn't feel like thrill or a thrilling reveal was ever what Higashino was going for.
I do have to say that it was original structurally, and even though all the stakes are kinda low, the story has a feel that's almost Kafkaesque. It has this never realy delivered-on ominous dread thing going on while never straying from mundanity and that's kinda cool.
That said, I would've liked a clearer thread tying everything together, like the 'main' detective, because it feels like a short story anthology but doesn't get in-depth enough for the length. At 300 pages, this would've been pretty good, but not at its 700.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Pedophilia
chrisljm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is probably the best mystery (and Keigo Higashino) novel I’ve read so far.
Journey Under the Midnight Sun is told through multiple POVs and so you get to unveil the mystery alongside different characters. The interchanging POVs and large cast was a bit hard to keep up with, but the storytelling was incredible. Despite the story taking place over a span of 20 years, with Higashino taking you alongside the cultural and technological developments of 70/80s Japan, it never felt like a drag. Every event that happens plays a part in the overall story, and it felt so great seeing it all piece together. The story/characters are fucked up, but the end of every chapter had a way of enticing me to continue. The book was gripping from start to finish.
The only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is that you can definitely tell the female characters are written by a man. And despite how much I enjoyed the story, I completely understand the criticisms of Higashino’s use of sexual assault as a plot point. And if I’m being honest, I was truly enjoying the book until I got to the sexual assault parts, where I then had to pause and accept the fact that this is where Higashino was now taking the story and overlook my issues with that in order to keep enjoying the book.
The only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is that you can definitely tell the female characters are written by a man. And despite how much I enjoyed the story, I completely understand the criticisms of Higashino’s use of sexual assault as a plot point. And if I’m being honest, I was truly enjoying the book until I got to the sexual assault parts, where I then had to pause and accept the fact that this is where Higashino was now taking the story and overlook my issues with that in order to keep enjoying the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion
autumn_melon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault