The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

The Devotion of Suspect X is a mystery thriller by Japanese author Keigo Higashino. The story is about a brilliant mathematics teacher Tetsuya Ishgami who inadvertently sees a woman in his neighbor, who he is secretly in love with, commit a murder.  Tetsuya Ishigami uses his intellect and wit to obfuscate the case to lead it away from his neighbor, Yasuko Hanaoka. Despite Yasuko being the primary and sole suspect for her ex-husband's death, Ishigami is able to make the case look such that she is not related to the murder at all. The plot is all about Ishigami trying to outwit the police and Dr. Yukawa aka Detective Galileo, who is a former university mate to Ishigami.


Keigo Higashino, Ishigami, Yukawa, lireshelf



PLOT
Ishigami is a math teacher in a private high school. He walks daily to dohis school observing  all the people he sees on his way. He lives in a serene neighborhood, where he secretly is in love with his neighbor Yasuko Hanaoka. Yasuko is a single mother who lives with her daughter and works in a nearby restaurant Benten-tei. Ishigami buys his lunch from this shop as a reason to see Yasuko, but avoids making any conversations with her. One day, Yasuko's ex husband Togashi comes to meet her and demands money from her in exchange for not bothering her again. A commotion starts between them as he threatens her for money and badmouths her daughter. Mother and daughter start fighting Togashi and kill him. Ishigami, being the neighbor contacts her to ask about the commotion but she denies any. Yasuko, having lost hope decides to turn herself in to the police when Ishigami convinces her to let him help her. 

"I want you to leave now."
"I'm going, I'm going. For today at least."
"Don't you dare come back."
"Oh? Don't think I can promise that."

Ishigami ponders it over and comes to the conclusion that no matter when the body is found, Yasuko will definitely be called in for questioning. So he asks her to hide the body in his house and not to worry. The next day when the police find the body they are unable to conclude anything with surety about it. So detective Kushanagi bring the case to Dr. Yukawa. The police find that all  the clues that they have from the crime scene lead to the conclusion that Yasuko is not involved with the case at all.

"Ms. Hanaoka, you will need an alibi."
"An alibi? but I do not have an alibi."
"That's why we have to create one"

When Dr. Yukawa finds out that Ishigami is a neighbor of the suspect, he decides to pay him a visit. With his several visits, Yukawa deduces that Ishigami has feelings for Yasuko Hanoaka. In the end, it is found that Ishigami had committed another murder and killed one of the homeless persons and posed him as the body of Togashi, while Togashi's body had been cut into bits and drowned in the river. Ishigami was sent for trial in the court and convicted of murder.

"I know you wanted us to be happy, but that's... that's impossible. I should pay for what I did, too. I'll take the blame with you Mr. Ishigami. That's the only thing I can do for you. I'm sorry. I'm so very, very sorry."

The Devotion of Suspect X is one of the very interesting reads of all time for me. The story is told in two perspectives, one of the current events, and one of the planning of Ishigami. If you love a good murder mystery and haven't read this book till now, I would surely recommend it. You can download an e-publication  version of the book at Library Genesis

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