The Devotion of Suspect X (Detective Galileo #1) [B2070]

2012 PB in nice clean condition. One of the great mystery and thriller books of all time! (Time). One of the best mysteries of the century! (Bookriot). Yasuko Hanaoka is a divorced, single mother who thought she had finally escaped her abusive ex-husband Togashi. When he shows up one day to extort money from her, threatening both her and her teenaged daughter Misato, the situation quickly escalates into violence and Togashi ends up dead on her apartment floor. Overhearing the commotion, Yasuko's next door neighbor, middle-aged high school mathematics teacher Ishigami, offers his help, disposing not only of the body but plotting the cover-up step-by-step.

When the body turns up and is identified, Detective Kusanagi draws the case and Yasuko comes under suspicion. Kusanagi is unable to find any obvious holes in Yasuko's manufactured alibi and yet is still sure that there's something wrong. Kusanagi brings in Dr. Manabu Yukawa, a physicist and college friend who frequently consults with the police. Yukawa, known to the police by the nickname Professor Galileo, went to college with Ishigami. After meeting up with him again, Yukawa is convinced that Ishigami had something to do with the murder. What ensues is a high level battle of wits, as Ishigami tries to protect Yasuko by outmaneuvering and outthinking Yukawa, who faces his most clever and determined opponent yet.

From recent mixed Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "At first, I thought I knew exactly where the story was going. The criminal is revealed early, and I kept wondering what could possibly be left to uncover. Keigo Higashino somehow turned my certainty into curiosity, and then curiosity into complete fascination. And then there's Yukawa. As my first Detective Galileo novel, he immediately won me over.. intelligent, calm, and observant, he was the perfect counterpart to Ishigami. The ending left me reflecting on devotion, sacrifice, and whether some acts of love are simply too costly. A memorable read and an excellent introduction to Detective Galileo."; "This was such a unique book!"; "Just kind of boring with nothing interesting after first 50 pages"; "Impressive that the author kept me so engaged even when the murder happened in the first few pages and the characters were, in many ways, unlikeable."