Newcomer: A Mystery (The Kyoichiro Kaga Series, 2)

Like all Higashino, expertly plotted with great characterization. Unlike most Higashino, in this one you don't know who the murderer is up front. Definitely a change of pace in Higashino's oeuvre. More quiet, which fits the story.I have to admit that I don't care for the Detective Galileo character; so I always look forward to Higashino's Detective Kaga books and while this one is definitely not my favorite, it is still exceptionally well done and I pretty much devoured it despite the holidays.The beginning may seem a little slow at first as Det. Kaga works his way through the bits and pieces in the murder of a 45 year old divorcee. The early chapters almost seem like little self-contained short stories, each lead by a clue (or a non-clue) in the murder that Kaga must investigate. So we get little stories about the people working in the shops of the neighborhood and their possible connection to the murdered woman. Here, the characterizations are really wonderful (although, I do admit, I find it far fetched at times that some of the people are so brusque -- verging on rude -- to a police detective) and what Kigashino does is weave the story of a neighborhood, how everyone in some way is interconnected, breathing life into the neighborhood. Each shop Kaga visits has some connection to the murder, though which are red herrings and which are legit clues you'll have to discover on your own. In this respect, Higashino really world-builds in amazing depth.Why I say it can be a little slow at the beginning is because, while many of these stories are charming, as a reader I started to worry that the entire novel was going to be nothing but these pastiches that almost seem to have morals to their stories or are tied up in neat little touching bows. Now, this may be in part to the translation which I found a bit heavy-handed at time. [It felt a bit like the translator needed to make sure we got the point. But that might be in Higashino's manuscript as well. As I haven't (and can't) read the Japanese original, I'll never know for sure. My gut says it is the translation, but I could be wrong.]I should have had more faith in Higashino, because just as I started to worry about the novel becoming nothing more that interconnected short stories (and, honestly, my interest had begun to wane a bit), the author turned to the meat of the story and hooked me with great central characters, an intricate plot and a really satisfying resolution.This really appears to be Higashino's homage to the Golden Age of mystery fiction....quiet, simple, intricate. What I ultimately liked most about this story is exactly what I found a little exasperating about it in the beginning. Higashino takes time to show use how all the people in a neighborhood are -- in some way or another -- connected or affected by what has taken place there. So, in that respect, the neighborhood becomes a really nuanced character in and of itself.The resolution (especially what can loosely be called an epilogue) I really enjoyed. Another reviewer commented that while many Higashino fans will love this, it is likely not to be their favorite and I generally agree with that. It still damn good and a great read, well worth the time. But as for landing in my list of Higashino favorites, it doesn't quite make it.But I'm darn ready for even more Detective Kaga.

Detective Kaga is a lowly precinct cop, newly demoted from Tokyo Homicide. He’s just supposed to assist the hot-shot metropolitan detectives with his local knowledge. But since he has no local knowledge as of yet, he prowls the neighborhood to acquire it – after the body of a 45-year-old single woman is found strangled in her apartment.While the lead detective on the case gets nowhere, Kaga drops in on all the small shops in the neighborhood, which is a bastion of pre-war Japanese culture. He buys rice crackers, wooden toys and sweets, all the while uncovering the personal dramas taking place in the background of the case.Although Kaga is a kendo champion, we don’t see him in action. His weapons are curiosity and compassion. He’s focused on comforting people beset by stress — but he does find the killer in the process.Kaga doesn’t dress to impress. He sometimes brings small gifts to the people he wants to question. His oddball charm and intense interest in people make this a feel-good novel, as well as an excellent detective story.Keigo Higashino is a fascinating writer, always presenting the reader with something new and original.

I like to read foreign authors because it's a wonderful way to get a view of other cultures and people. I"m at heart a mystery buff and that genre give one as curious as I the opportunity to experience all sorts of people in the culture. Having read a couple of translated Japanese mysteries I looked forward to this one based upon the write-up from the bookstore. What wonderful surprise it was. There's a good little mystery here, don't worry about that. But what is really here is a view of the many people party to, or peripheral to the story. Through the eyes of the somewhat maligned "newcomer" detective, you are presented with a cornucopia of characters, witnesses, and uninvolved alike, each having interesting stories that reveal, unsurprising to those who have traveled extensively, we are all pretty much alike filtered by the requirements of our cultures and societies. This story was a real treat...and with a good mystery as well.

Delightful series about a persistent smart observant homicide detective who seems to be a life coach and spiritual advisor at the same time.

The best way I can describe "Newcomer" is to ask you to imagine one of Agatha Christie's cozy village mysteries transposed to a neighborhood in Tokyo. A Japanese cop named Kyoichiro Kaga fills in for Miss Marple, but otherwise the vibe is almost exactly the same.Kaga solves the mystery the old fashioned way -- by asking questions and by knowing people. We see all the clues and meet all the witnesses and suspects. The whole novel flows smoothly and quietly -- no wild shootouts, just secrets gently raised to the surface like fingerprint whorls."Newcomer's" real charm comes from its setting. After you read the novel you'll feel like you could wander around Nihonbashi and not only recognize many of its residents but also know the way they live.Best of all, Kaga doesn't just solve the mystery -- he unravels a whole series of problems, small and large, that bedevil Nihonbashi's people. He isn't content with truth, but seeks justice. Highly recommended!

I see myself as a bit of a Higashino fan, after his standout novel, Suspect X, came along some years ago. The follow up, Salvation of a Saint was also great, as was the first Kaga book, Malice.All of those novels excelled within various crime genre conventions. Suspect X was a puzzling, suspenseful tail of murder, cat and mouse, as the reader eagerly awaited the resolution as to how the culprit had managed to evade detection. Salvation of a Saint was a brilliant howdunnit. And Malice, perhaps his strongest of all, was a story of motive switcheroo, as the crime was placed second to the implication and evil desire of the culprit.So when it comes to Newcomer, there's an obvious problem - the mystery is a whodunnit, and it's very bare bones and uninteresting.Now, there's nothing wrong with a whodunnit, even if it departs from Higashino's usual subversion of the crime genres. The problem is, it's just really average as a whole. The satisfying resolution isn't there, the progression of the plot is jagged and simply all over the place. Narrators come and go in a dizzying, confusing way across chapters, that by the end, you'll be struggling to remember half of the cast.[SPOILERS]Indeed, a cardinal sin here is simply the culprit doesn't appear in the book until the final third. This is just unforgivable for a whodunnit mystery. The first half of the book has some nice cosy-mystery reveals as the varying comings and goings of the cast are pieced together - and, admittedly, this all ties somewhat to the finale, but it's all very frivolous and trivial, and made almost intolerable by the meandering narration of the plot.All told, I expected better for Kaga #2, especially with how good Malice was.EDIT -I also forgot to mention there are numerous formatting problems. Some are perhaps down to translation. One incredibly jarring issue that occurs far too often is the dialogue is not split consistently. Anyone knows longform fiction requires that separate dialogue from different characters should start a new paragraph. Frequently, this is ignored, and small passages of dialogue from two characters are kept within one paragraph. This is made even worse by the author not signalling who is speaking too.

Just as Simenon gave readers a tour of Paris through his Maigret books so we get to know Tokyo, it's food and culture through the eyes of detective Kaga. And similar to Maigret Kaga has a calculating mind able to sift through multiple evidence to reach the truth while never losing his humanity .superb book and series

An intriguing story which seemed to be going nowhere fast but was quite compelling to read as it made me try to follow the lines of thought of the eccentric Kaga and ascertain which were relevant to the case. A nice gentle lesson to us all that things are not always what they seem.

The police investigation covers the scene in a particular area of Tokyo very well. To a western reader it highlights the great differences in life in Japan and is well written. The detective reminds me of Colombo in his way of investigating the crime and is very different from an often violent US or British crime novel. A satisfying read.

I'm a big fan of Japanese storytelling but this one droned along telling some kind of but I am not sure what or why. Very odd.