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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It took me a while to get into this book, but in the end I really enjoyed it. A detective follows a case of murder and software piracy into a mesh of uncoverable lies. But all along there is one chief puppet master and it take home almost 20 years to pin her down. At least he tries to pin her down, but still 20 years on really has nothing on her at all.
Easily the darkest book I've read by Higashino. I understand why it's considered to be one of his best works - and like the others it's the psychological dimensions that generate the propulsion.
Journey Under the Midnight Sun is probably not a book that I would've picked up for myself, because despite the hype surrounding [b:The Devotion of Suspect X|8686068|The Devotion of Suspect X (Detective Galileo, #1)|Keigo Higashino|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312051518l/8686068._SY75_.jpg|13558363] a few years back, I never really found myself being very drawn into the book. It's a similar case with this book, except that it was lying around at home and I was bored - so I thought that I would just give the story a chance, given the strong ratings on Goodreads. And Journey Under the Midnight Sun is certainly unlike any other story that I've read before, as it ambitiously spans across the 1970s to the 1990s following the lives of two young people whose lives appear to be inextricably linked together due to a mysterious death in their community.
The story begins in the 1970s, when the body of a pawnbroker is found in an abandoned building in Osaka. Detective Sasagaki is assigned to the case, to find out who could've killed him and why they would want to do that. What seems like an initially simple case becomes increasingly convoluted as the detectives are left flummoxed by a series of dead-ends. Their main suspect seems to have an ironclad alibi, but a young man that they believed to be her lover doesn't. However, he eventually dies in a tragic accident while their main suspect appears to have died in an accidental gas poisoning. With all their leads dead, the detectives seemingly have no longer ground left to cover. Eventually, the case is eventually just forgotten as a cold case even though Sasagaki remains determined to solve the crime and he starts to piece together the connection between the son of the dead pawnbroker, Ryo and the daughter, Yukiho, of their main suspect, a single mother who had used the pawnbroker's services.
Following this initial murder, the story switches between the perspectives of various individuals that surrounding Ryo and Yukiho, as it becomes clear that the two of them are connected. Strange things happen around Ryo and Yukiho, as the two of them spin a complicated web that causes tragedy and destruction around them. And to be honest, I found both Ryo and Yukiho to be quite terrifying in their pursuit of their own goals and how they mercilessly break down those around them to achieve their goals.
Lastly, I would certainly classify the story as more of a thriller than a mystery.
The story begins in the 1970s, when the body of a pawnbroker is found in an abandoned building in Osaka. Detective Sasagaki is assigned to the case, to find out who could've killed him and why they would want to do that. What seems like an initially simple case becomes increasingly convoluted as the detectives are left flummoxed by a series of dead-ends. Their main suspect seems to have an ironclad alibi, but a young man that they believed to be her lover doesn't. However, he eventually dies in a tragic accident while their main suspect appears to have died in an accidental gas poisoning. With all their leads dead, the detectives seemingly have no longer ground left to cover. Eventually, the case is eventually just forgotten as a cold case even though Sasagaki remains determined to solve the crime and he starts to piece together the connection between the son of the dead pawnbroker, Ryo and the daughter, Yukiho, of their main suspect, a single mother who had used the pawnbroker's services.
Following this initial murder, the story switches between the perspectives of various individuals that surrounding Ryo and Yukiho, as it becomes clear that the two of them are connected. Strange things happen around Ryo and Yukiho, as the two of them spin a complicated web that causes tragedy and destruction around them. And to be honest, I found both Ryo and Yukiho to be quite terrifying in their pursuit of their own goals and how they mercilessly break down those around them to achieve their goals.
Spoiler
By the story's end, we learn about their connection and what led to the pawnbroker's murder and it was actually quite tragic. And the ways in which actions of the past caused massive ripple effects and destroyed the lives of so many others in the present was also quite terrible as well.Lastly, I would certainly classify the story as more of a thriller than a mystery.
Spoiler
And this is simply because in some ways, there isn't really a mystery in terms of who were the ones that were behind the initial murder and the series of terrible crimes that followed thereafter. So it was really more a thriller to learn when everyone else would figure out what the two of them had done and their motivations behind it.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Ein 700 Seiten Klopper in dem man schon recht früh ahnt was passiert ist bzw. wer der Mörder ist. Es werden überall kleine Hinweise gestreut um den Leser auf die Bösewichte aufmerksam zu machen. Ca 70% der Geschichte machen Episoden über einen Zeitraum von 20 Jahren aus, in denen es um viele andere Menschen geht, die das Leben von den 2 Hauptprotagonisten berühren. Vieles hat mit dem eigentlichen Mord nichts zu tun, sondern unterstreicht den Charakter und die abgründigen Machenschaften dieser Personen. Welch schwere Dunkelheit auf ihnen lastet wird am Ende aufgedeckt.
Mich haben die Zeitsprünge teils etwas aus dem Flow gebracht, da diese erst während des Lesens des Kapitels klar wurden. Ich habe das Buch gerne gelesen uns fand es spannend obwohl mich zum Schluss nicht viel überrascht hat.
Es gab für mich die ein oder andere Episode die mich nicht ganz so interessiert hat, die aber dennoch wichtig für die ganzen Zusammenhänge war.
Für mich war es das westlichste Buch dass ich von den Autoren gelesen habe. Ich finde seine anderen Bücher, was die Zeichnung der Japanischen Gesellschaft angeht gelungener.
Mich haben die Zeitsprünge teils etwas aus dem Flow gebracht, da diese erst während des Lesens des Kapitels klar wurden. Ich habe das Buch gerne gelesen uns fand es spannend obwohl mich zum Schluss nicht viel überrascht hat.
Es gab für mich die ein oder andere Episode die mich nicht ganz so interessiert hat, die aber dennoch wichtig für die ganzen Zusammenhänge war.
Für mich war es das westlichste Buch dass ich von den Autoren gelesen habe. Ich finde seine anderen Bücher, was die Zeichnung der Japanischen Gesellschaft angeht gelungener.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Every book by Higashino will always be loved by me. But this book really surpassed them all. I was numb after I finished this. What a story. What incredible plot. I mean it when I say that for me it’s a masterpiece.