The Devotion of Suspect X: Book Review

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The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino is the latest book I was offered to review and I'm glad that I got to read this novel.

Review: 

First, the facts - This novel was originally written in Japanese and translated into English by Alexander O Smith and Elye J Alexander; in my opinion it's quite a good translation with very minute detailing. 

The novel is a thriller with an unusual plot, the murder happens in the first chapter and the reader knows fully well how the murder was committed, the circumstances behind it, leading to it and also the murderer. The interest of the reader is aroused by this to a great deal, I mean everything is clear...so what next?????

Well, the story then takes very interesting twists and turns, when the police investigation of the murder starts.....and every event, right from location of the victim's body to the clues are totally different from what the reader knows in the first chapter; it becomes an exciting read, like a jigsaw puzzle for the reader to fill in the gaps between what he/she has already read in the first chapter and the subsequent chapter. Each character has been fleshed out very well with backgrounds and well rounded characterizations, even the minor characters. The characters, the circumstances and the plot are very very believable, the murder is committed by one of the main characters as a spur of the moment act, which is very believable, given her background and circumstances. In fact, the reader may even be sympathetic to her. The interactions between the various characters have been etched out very well and it reads like interesting everyday conversations. Also, every character is not black or white, all of them area bit of grey..all have thier everyday problems, worries and setbacks ..and each one has a past which has a shade of the usual unhappiness. It is on the basis of this very past, each individual character acts the way he/she does. In fact,  the brilliance of the whole plot after the murder lies in the action of another main character, who has behaved in the most natural way for him based on his emotions and feelings for the actual murderer.  As the investigations move forward, the plot becomes more and more complex and the police find themselves against the wall, all their clues lead to nowhere. Then, one of the main characters decide to confess to the crime and it becomes even more complex, the police cannot are suspicious of the story and so is the reader.  However, the confession is also very believable and not only that, it seems very very logical and one is almost sure it is the actual thing that did happen. The story then throws an interesting googly and it is the most bizarre one, which is the final piece of this thrilling murder jigsaw puzzle plot!! The ending is very exciting and also a bit painful, one does feel a bit for the devotion of suspect X, that he perhaps could have had a bit love requited back.  

The ending left me completely well satisfied having read a good thriller in a long time and I would recommend it to everyone who's interested in thrillers to grab a copy of this novel.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!