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A popular young girl disappears without a trace, her skeletal remains discovered three years later in the ashes of a burned out house. There's a suspect and compelling circumstantial evidence of his guilt, but no concrete proof. When he isn't indicted, he returns to mock the girl's family. And this isn't the first time he's been suspected of the murder of a young girl, nearly twenty years ago he was tried and released due to lack of evidence. Detective Chief Inspector Kusanagi of the Homicide Division of the Tokyo Police worked both cases.
The neighborhood in which the murdered girl lived is famous for an annual street festival, featuring a parade with entries from around Tokyo and Japan. During the parade, the suspected killer dies unexpectedly. His death is suspiciously convenient but the people with all the best motives have rock solid alibis. DCI Kusanagi turns once again to his college friend, physics professor, and occasional police consultant Manabu Yukawa, known as Detective Galileo, to help solve the string of impossible-to-prove murders.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
December 14, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781666142853
- File size: 361191 KB
- Duration: 12:32:28
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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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.
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