This is the story of an inconceivable murder!
I’m quite the mystery lover and have read my fair share of thrillers, but have never read a story like this. No gory details, no physical clues, no manipulating suspects, no suspect on the run, and still it keeps you hooked! It’s unputdownable!
The Dilema:
Yoshitaka has been murdered and all clues point to his wife Ayane. But Ayane has an alibi that leaves no scope for doubt. How could she have murdered him being miles away? And if it wasn’t her, who was it? How come there are no physical clues of the crime at all?
The Main Characters:
- · Yoshitaka – Victim
- · Ayane – Yoshitaka’s wife and prime suspect
- · Hiromi – Ayane’s colleague and student, also a suspect
- · Detective Kusanagi – Officer on the job for solving the case who has reason to worry because he is falling for Ayane and it could bias his judgement
- · Utsumi – Kusanagi’s new assistant
- · Yukawa – Scientist assisting the investigation, and Kusanagi’s friend turned cold-warring acquaintance
So the book begins with Ayane and Hiromi being considered possible suspects in a murder investigation of Ayane’s husband Yoshitaka. Throughout the book, the reader finds himself on a journey oscillating between guessing which of the two is guilty. Each chapter introduces a twist that results into a shift in judgement; and after a point the book gets intriguing enough to make you stop guessing and just read through as soon as possible to get to the end!
The book’s biggest win, I feel, is the basic plot of the actual murder story. It’s a kind that few would have read about before. The basic story itself is unique, and so the well-written narrative and building of characters only takes the book further on the scale of awesomeness!
The next best thing is the narrative. The way the story flows is fast-paced, yet understandable. Through sharply edited conversations among the characters, the writer aptly reiterates points mentioned earlier in the story, wherever they are relevant in the later stages. The characters are relatable and etched out well.
Another win for the book is the focus on psychological factors. This is a murder mystery where there are no clues popping up at random places, no suspects on the run, and no blood and gore. Analysis of the behaviour of everyone involved in the case, a great amount of insights and information gleaned from seemingly insignificant acts of the victim and suspects, and a reliance on scientific analysis are the only leads and clues for solving this mystery. No one seems to have done anything, suspects seem to have come out clean, but nevertheless, a murder has been committed! At one point the scientist Yuikawa even declares that he can come up with nothing other than a theoretical possibility of how the murder occurred; and if it cannot not be practically and physically proved, then it means that the murderer committed the perfect crime and got away!
I also liked how the relationships have been portrayed. Be it Yoshitaka-Ayane (husband wife), Kusanagi-Utsumi (senior and assistant put to prove her mettle), Kusanagi-Yukawa (warring friends), Ayane-Hiromi (mentor mentee); you know exactly what their relationship is like when you read the book. In a section where Ayane’s parents are describing her visit home, and her consequent fun escapade with her friend, I could actually relate it to my own self. As I was reading it I found myself thinking that if and when I came home for the first time after getting married, this is probably exactly how my parents would describe my visit!
On the downside, nothing really. Except that maybe the story is a little too far-fetched, and unlikely to happen in real life. But it’s a great read nevertheless!
I’d give it a 3.75 on a scale of 5!
Sunshine Smiles! :)
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