03 May / Newcomer [Detective Kaga series] by Keigo Higashino, translated by Giles Murray [in Booklist]
P.J. Ochlan returns to voice the internationally bestselling Japanese author’s latest to arrive Stateside. Previously the voice of Detective Galileo in another series by Keigo Higashino, Ochlan assumes the second of the Detective Kyoichiro Kaga series following Malice in 2014.
With Higashino’s signature vast casts, Ochlan’s agile characterizations are undeniably entertaining; that said, although Ochlan’s Japanese pronunciation has improved significantly, his aural stumbles haven’t yet disappeared. Lucky for most listeners, Higashino’s ingenious, multi-layered plotting will entice and engage as unconventional Kaga – recently demoted from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Division to a local precinct – solves the murder of a middle-aged divorcee.
Since she was the “last person in the world to have any enemies,” Kaga must rely on the most unexpected neighbors and acquaintances to catch her killer. Wasabi-infused rice cakes, specialty kitchen shears, and the string from a spinning top will all help reveal quite the satisfactory whodunnit, howdunnit, and whydunnit.
Review: “Media,” Booklist, May 1, 2019
Readers: Adult
Published: 2001 (Japan), 2018 (United States)