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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Higashino really is such an incredibly diverse writer that it is mind boggling. Newcomer is nothing like it's predecessor, it's a slow thriller that works through the stories of the people connected to the victim. If Malice is a whiplash, why-dunnit read, Newcomer is like a cozy murder mystery if that makes sense xD
I really enjoyed this approach to a murder mystery novel as it was something very new to me and something I didn't realise I could enjoy in a thriller.
Can't wait to read the rest in the series!
I really enjoyed this approach to a murder mystery novel as it was something very new to me and something I didn't realise I could enjoy in a thriller.
Can't wait to read the rest in the series!
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed the way this story was told through vignettes with the locals. Overall a bit of a cozy and satisfying mystery. I did think that the resolution of the mystery was just presented to the reader without much foreshadowing, but it was fun in a passive reader sort of way.
This has got to be the most wholesome murder mystery novel I’ve ever read! Get ready to feel your eyes water up and be touched throughout the entire book. If you are looking for a gory and twisted tale then the Newcomer may not be for you. I personally enjoyed it as I was going through a hectic week at work and was feeling moody.
The compassion Kaga showed to his suspects shone through the pages; the culprit was treated with sympathy and concern... overall if there’s one lesson learned from this story, it is that you should never take your loved ones for granted and often times, forgiveness is the one cure to a bitter argument that could forever spoil your love for another.
The compassion Kaga showed to his suspects shone through the pages; the culprit was treated with sympathy and concern... overall if there’s one lesson learned from this story, it is that you should never take your loved ones for granted and often times, forgiveness is the one cure to a bitter argument that could forever spoil your love for another.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A surprisingly cozy mystery, with storytelling elements similar in style to some of the “healing fiction” novels coming out of Japan and South Korea. Each chapter is a vignette focused on a different cast of characters within a neighborhood, and threads of the murder mystery story are woven throughout. These threads are pulled together by Detective Kaga, who takes community policing to a whole different level.
I really enjoyed this mystery, and really enjoy Kaga as a character. Interestingly, we’re never in his head, and only see him through the eyes of other characters, tinged with their judgement of him. Ultimately, he shows himself to be not only a fantastic detective, but also a keen observer of the human condition with a compassionate heart. Despite being centered around a murder, this story is quite wholesome.
I really enjoyed this mystery, and really enjoy Kaga as a character. Interestingly, we’re never in his head, and only see him through the eyes of other characters, tinged with their judgement of him. Ultimately, he shows himself to be not only a fantastic detective, but also a keen observer of the human condition with a compassionate heart. Despite being centered around a murder, this story is quite wholesome.
Keigo Higashino is a Japanese crime writer who likes to spin his tales in a completely different way to most crime writers. He basically takes the rules of the genre, rips them up and throws them away — and then does things completely on his own terms.
Newcomer, which is set in Tokyo, is a whodunnit but the narrative is structured in an unusual way: each phase of the police investigation into the homicide of a 40-something woman is told as if it’s a standalone short story. With each new story, or chapter, we learn something new about the case as the list of suspects grows longer and longer.
The investigation is led by Detective Kyochiro Kaga, a sharp-minded, highly experienced policeman who has just been transferred to the Tokyo Police Department and who was first introduced to readers in Higashino’s previous novel Malice. (Newcomer is billed as book 2 in the Kyochiro Kaga series but you don’t need to have read the first to enjoy this one.)
As his investigation into the murder of divorcee Mineko Mitsui proceeds, more and more potential suspects enter the fray to the point where you wonder whether he is ever going to be able to weed out the real culprit.
The evocative setting — the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo, which is dominated by family-run shops and all-night bars, and is, I believe, one of the original areas of the city — lends an olde-worlde charm to the tale as Kaga slowly but surely traces a series of items found in the dead woman’s home back to the shops in which they were purchased.
His logical and methodical inquiry eventually allows him to rule out several suspects, and the denouement comes in the form of a final chapter that reveals who did it, how they did it and why.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
Newcomer, which is set in Tokyo, is a whodunnit but the narrative is structured in an unusual way: each phase of the police investigation into the homicide of a 40-something woman is told as if it’s a standalone short story. With each new story, or chapter, we learn something new about the case as the list of suspects grows longer and longer.
The investigation is led by Detective Kyochiro Kaga, a sharp-minded, highly experienced policeman who has just been transferred to the Tokyo Police Department and who was first introduced to readers in Higashino’s previous novel Malice. (Newcomer is billed as book 2 in the Kyochiro Kaga series but you don’t need to have read the first to enjoy this one.)
As his investigation into the murder of divorcee Mineko Mitsui proceeds, more and more potential suspects enter the fray to the point where you wonder whether he is ever going to be able to weed out the real culprit.
The evocative setting — the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo, which is dominated by family-run shops and all-night bars, and is, I believe, one of the original areas of the city — lends an olde-worlde charm to the tale as Kaga slowly but surely traces a series of items found in the dead woman’s home back to the shops in which they were purchased.
His logical and methodical inquiry eventually allows him to rule out several suspects, and the denouement comes in the form of a final chapter that reveals who did it, how they did it and why.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.