Silent Parade

May 1, 2021

In this latest from Edgar finalist Higashino, Chief Inspector Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police confronts two remarkably similar murders, committed decades apart. The suspect is the same in both cases but for lack of concrete evidence has never been indicted. When he is himself dispatched during a local parade, Kusanagi seeks help from physics professor and sometime police consultant Manabu Yukawa, famously known as Detective Galileo. With a 35,000-copy first printing.

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September 15, 2021
Physics professor Manabu Yukawa's fourth round of criminal investigation leads from a discovery of corpses old and new to a series of mind-boggling theories about their connection. Three years after gifted singer Saori Namiki disappeared from the Tokyo suburb of Kikuno, her parents, Yutaro and Machiko Namiki, must face the news that her body has been found. The circumstances of the discovery are even more disquieting: Saori's corpse has turned up in the charred skeleton of the house of Yoshie Hasunuma, along with that of the homeowner. Director Mamiya, the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Division, instantly senses that he's in deeper waters because Yoshie's son, Kanichi Hasunuma, was the leading suspect in the murder of Yuna Motohashi, a schoolgirl whose dismembered remains were discovered in the nearby mountains 23 years ago. Shortly after Hasunuma, who maintains a surly silence when the police question him, puts in an appearance at Namiki-ya, the restaurant the Namikis own, to blame them for the way the police have been pressing him and demand recompense for his inconvenience, he's smothered to death during the town's annual civic parade, and most readers will breathe a sigh of relief. Not Chief Inspector Kusanagi's old friend Detective Galileo, as Yukawa is nicknamed. In a rousing triumph of the scientific method, the supersleuth, insisting, "I'm just a regular physicist," spins out a series of increasingly intricate hypotheses about this latest murder, tweaking each one when he's confronted with contrary evidence, then generating newly refined and revised theories that are even more impressive in their ability to cover the sprawling network of new data. Fans of golden age puzzles will wish this one could go on forever.

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Starred review from October 11, 2021
In Higashino’s stellar fourth mystery translated into English featuring physics professor Manabu Yukawa (after 2016’s A Midsummer’s Equation), the Tokyo police call in Yukawa to consult on a baffling case. The remains of Saori Namiki, a budding singing star who disappeared at age 19 three years earlier, have been found in a burned-down house. The house also contained the body of the stepmother of Kanichi Hasunuma, the prime suspect in the murder of a 12-year-old girl 23 years earlier. Charges were brought against Hasunuma, but were ultimately dismissed, leaving him free, and possibly the killer of Namiki as well. The challenge of finding more than circumstantial evidence against Hasunuma intrigues Yukawa, who must also crack a new homicide whose victim may have been killed in a sealed room. Higashino never allows plot to overwhelm his characterizations and explores the unintended consequences of law enforcement reliance on confessions to obtain convictions. In addition to brilliant twists, he provides shout-outs to impossible crime fiction classics. Golden age fans will welcome this flawless blend of police procedural and fair-play detection.

December 1, 2021
Tokyo Chief Inspector Kusanagi and his partner, Utsumi (last seen in A Midsummer's Equation, 2016) revisit an infuriating old case when the body of missing young woman, Saori Namiki, is discovered beneath a notorious suspected killer's family home. Years ago, Kusanagi found key evidence that Kanichi Hasunuma murdered a girl, but Hasunuma was acquitted. Now, Kusanagi hopes that Hasunuma's connection to Saori's death will finally convict him. Unfortunately, before forensics has even cleared the evidence, Hasunuma succumbs to a suspicious death, and Kusanagi and Utsumi have two mysteries to solve. Fortunately, their friend Yukawa, a physics professor whose insightful deductions have helped solve previous cases, jumps on board. Noting that Hasunuma's body bears signs of asphyxiation, Yukawa tests his suspicion that the killer somehow removed the oxygen from the murder scene while the detectives dig into the alibis of Hasunuma's many victims. Higashino skillfully combines Yukawa's intriguing scientific reasoning with empathetic portrayals of Hasunuma's victims, and both enhance the intricate murder plot's leisurely paced unraveling.

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Starred review from December 3, 2021

Realistic characters and beguiling descriptions of Japanese culture, food, and drinks in the fourth "Detective Gallileo" title (after A Midsummer's Equation) illustrate why Higashino is one of Japan's most popular authors. Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Homicide Division worked on two murder cases, 20 years apart. The suspect in both cases was Kanichi Hasunuma, but he was not convicted due to lack of evidence. The outraged friends and family of the latest victim, Saori Namiki, decide to avenge her murder during a massive annual parade. Their ironclad alibis challenge Kusanagi, who calls in his old friend, physics professor Manabu Yukawa, aka Detective Galileo. Galileo's eccentric theories mesh with Kusanagi's more traditional methods and are spot-on. Kusanagi's compassion, particularly for those who suffer when the guilty go free, is palpable. Subtle humor adds levity to a roller coaster of emotion. VERDICT Readers will frequently think, "I've got it, '' only to have to begin again because of the brilliant twists in this unique story. Those looking for an uncommon mystery will be delighted.--Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.