Part of Series
Pembunuhan bisa terjadi di mana saja, termasuk di sebuah kota kecil, terpencil, dan nyaris terlupakan di tengah pandemi Covid-19. Seorang mantan guru SMP ditemukan tewas tercekik di halaman rumahnya sendiri. Polisi tidak tahu apakah ini pembunuhan terencana, pembunuhan tak disengaja, atau aksi pencurian yang berakhir dengan pembunuhan. Korban adalah guru yang disegani. Setelah pensiun pun, mantan murid-muridnya sering menghubunginya untuk meminta bantuan atau nasihat. Jadi, tentu saja para mantan muridnya, yang pulang ke kota itu demi menghadiri reuni, termasuk dalam daftar orang-orang yang dicurigai. Polisi kebingungan, dan si pembunuh lega karena identitasnya tidak akan pernah ketahuan. Namun, ia tidak menyangka bahwa putri korban akan muncul bersama pamannya—seorang mantan pesulap eksentrik—dan ikut menyelidiki apa yang sebenarnya terjadi dan mencari tahu siapa yang membunuh Kamio Eiichi.
Author
Associated Names: * Keigo Higashino * 東野 圭吾 (Japanese) * 東野圭吾 (Traditional Chinese) * ฮิงาชิโนะ เคโงะ (Thai) Keigo Higashino (東野 圭吾) is one of the most popular and biggest selling fiction authors in Japan—as well known as James Patterson, Dean Koontz or Tom Clancy are in the USA. Born in Osaka, he started writing novels while still working as an engineer at Nippon Denso Co. (presently DENSO). He won the Edogawa Rampo Prize, which is awarded annually to the finest mystery work, in 1985 for the novel Hōkago (After School) at age 27. Subsequently, he quit his job and started a career as a writer in Tokyo. In 1999, he won the Mystery Writers of Japan Inc award for the novel Himitsu (The Secret), which was translated into English by Kerim Yasar and published by Vertical under the title of Naoko in 2004. In 2006, he won the 134th Naoki Prize for Yōgisha X no Kenshin. His novels had been nominated five times before winning with this novel. The Devotion of Suspect X was the second highest selling book in all of Japan—fiction or nonfiction—the year it was published, with over 800,000 copies sold. It won the prestigious Naoki Prize for Best Novel—the Japanese equivalent of the National Book Award and the Man Booker Prize. Made into a motion picture in Japan, The Devotion of Suspect X spent 4 weeks at the top of the box office and was the third highest‐grossing film of the year. Higashino’s novels have more movie and TV series adaptations than Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum, and as many as Michael Crichton.
