Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by wjreadsbooks
Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino
4.0
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.