Translated from the Japanese by Alexander O. Smith with Elye J. Alexander
Five words from the blurb: Tokyo, ex-husband, shattered, Police, genius
I hadn’t heard of this book until one of my sister’s friends recommended it to me, but I love Japanese thrillers and so decided to give it a try. I’m pleased that I bought a copy because I’ll be recommending this intelligent thriller to everyone.
The Devotion of Suspect X begins with a woman murdering her ex-husband with the help of her daughter. Their neighbour hears the crime and offers to help dispose of the body, beginning a gripping narrative that centres on the question: Will they get away with it?
The premise is very similar to Out by Natsuo Kirino (my favourite thriller), but The Devotion of Suspect X is a much lighter novel. It is quicker and easier to read and doesn’t contain the same level of violence or dark emotion. For this reason I’d recommend it to those trying Japanese fiction for the first time.
The plotting in this book is perfect. There are no unnecessary scenes and the pace is relentlessly intriguing throughout. The main battle of wits is between the neighbour, a maths genius, and a friend of the police officer who happens to be a physics genius. I admit that this scenario is unlikely to occur, but I didn’t care because it led to one of the cleverest series of twists I’ve come across.
The characters were all well formed, with interesting flaws. I didn’t develop an emotional attachment to any of them, but this ended up being a positive as I found myself rooting for both sides equally. This is quite unusual in a police procedural as I normally find myself less interested in one of the plot threads.
The Devotion of Suspect X is a perfect thriller. It isn’t particularly deep or meaningful, but it is endlessly entertaining. I can see why it sold 2 million copies in Japan and I hope that word-of-mouth spreads it around the world.
Highly recommended.
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I keep meaning to start this, since downloading it to my Kindle last year as I think I saw it posted on Nihon Distractions. Thanks for the reminder.
Parrish, It is great to hear that you have a copy already. I’m sure you’ll love it!
Glad you enjoyed it, Jackie. It made my top 10 reads for 2011.
Kim, Yes. I think you posted about it a few weeks after I bought my copy. I think I probably skipped your review as I planned to read it soon. It would have made my “best of 2011″ list too.
I, too, have a copy. Thrilled to hear it’s like Out but not as heavy. I love Japanese thrillers! Well, Japanese literature period.
Bellezza, I enjoy all Japanese literature, but I’m coming to the conclusion that the Japanese write the best thrillers in the world. I’m going to ensure I read many more in the future.
Oops, didn’t I comment already?
It sounds like a great book and one I would like but I’ve already got Out and have not read it yet. I put this one on the wish list though.
Caroline, Out is a much more literary novel and I’m sure you’ll love it. I hope you decide to read it soon.
Out is a great thriller, but is also much more loved it when I read it, in fact of the three Natsuo Kirino’s I’ve read, out is easily the best
Parrish, I agree that Out is the best – and is so by a long way. In fact I can barely remember what happened in the others. I did enjoy them, but Out is out there in a league of its own.
Jackie, you are exactly right about a lack of emotional attachment to the characters. For that very reason, I found it difficult to enjoy the book despite a compelling plot.
Donovan, That is normally a big problem for me, but for some reason it didn’t bother me this time. Perhaps my appreiciation of the maths/science allowed me greater tolerance?
I’d just borrowed this book recently from the library, based on another blog review I read. Now I can’t wait to read this!
Christa, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
You know I’ve had some problems with Out (mostly with the unrelenting darkness), so this might be much more to my taste. And I’m a sucker for good twists!
Alex, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this more than Out. There is no graphic violence in this and the characters are surprisingly happy (considering the fact they’ve just murdered someone!) I hope you decide to give it a try.
The cover of this one is so eye catching. I don’t think I have read any Japanese thrillers before. Based on your review, I am going to bookmark this for future reference.
Happy Reading.
Monique, Japanese thrillers can be very dark, violent and disturbing so this is a gentle introduction to the genre. I hope that you enjoy it.
You finally read it! and love it too! That’s great because now I really really have to get a copy to read it.
Have you observe that the three thrillers that I know Villain by Shuichi Yokoda, Out and this one have Japanese women as cover? Just wonder why….
Jo, I haven’t read Villian (although I’ve had it on my shelf for years) but the central character in a lot of Japanese thrillers is female. I wonder why Japanese thrillers are far more likely to have female leads than books from other countries? Or is it just coincidence that I’ve read all the ones that do?
Based on your review, I know I will enjoy this one. I’ve read little Japanese fiction so appreciate you saying that this is a good book if you are not already familiar with the genre.
Kathleen, I’ve heard complaints that this book isn’t Japanese enough and I can see that, but if you aren’t familiar with Japanese culture some of the other books can be difficult. This one gives just enough to create a sense of place, but not so much that you’d be confused. I hope you enjoy it.
there is some great fiction coming out Japan lately ,very dark thrillers ,all the best stu
Stu, The Japanese have always created great fiction
and yes they do dark (and scary!) very well.
By coincidence, I read this in the past couple of days. I found it boring and flat. I particularly hated the Americanised text which removed a sense of atmosphere. I much preferred Villain which for me conveyed real issues, immediacy and emotion – though that, too, could have done without colloquial Americanisms and the use of the Japanese terminology in translation rather than substitute American terms.
Maxine, I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy it, but your reasons are justified. I would have preferred a few more Japanese terms to have been used (I cringed everytime I saw the words ‘boxed lunch’ instead of ‘bento’) but I didn’t think this book was that bad compared to some others I’ve read.
The American point is interesting too. I started off the book thinking it had the feel of an American translation, but then I saw that British words were used throughout. “Maths” was especially evident. I wonder if the book was initially translated into US English and then a second translator went through to change it into UK English? This would account for the slightly strange hybrid.
This book had enough Japanese atmosphere for me. It was obviously set in Japan and as a fast-paced thriller I don’t think it would have worked with any more.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it more.
This sounds great!! I’m going to have to check this one out. I’m always on the lookout for a smart but fun thriller.
Jenners, I think you’ll love this one. Enjoy!
I don’t read much Japanese literature and I think I could get on with this one. I like the sounds of the plot so on my to-read list it goes!
Christy, Yay! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!
I’ve never read a Japanese book and I’d love to read this one as I have a penchant for plots with crime/murder/investigations themes.
celestine, This is the perfect introduction to Japanese literature – enjoy!