A tour de force crime novel from one of the international masters of the form, where a simple murder case questions the simple notions of good and evil, guilt and redemption. Homicide Detective Godai of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is assigned to investigate the death of a lawyer, Kensuke Shiraishi, whose body was found on a Central Tokyo riverbank. His investigations leads him to one Tatsuro Kuraki, who claims to have had limited contact with Shiraishi - but, surprising the investigators, Kuraki not only confesses to the lawyer''s murder, but another one from thirty years ago - for which another man was arrested and died in custody before trial. This brings unexpected resolution to two cases but there is one problem: to Detective Godai the confession rings false. And Godai is not the only one who cannot accept Kuraki''s explanation of both murders and his professed motives. The confessed murderer''s son and the victim''s daughter both feel strongly that both the act and the motive claimed are untrue. As Godai investigates further, he discovers that the relation between the murder of thirty years ago and the recent one is complex, raising multi-faceted questions of guilt and innocence. Guilt is a rich novel about crime and its aftereffects on those left behind by both the victim and perpetrator, a twisting, compelling work that will surprise and astonish.

Autorentext

Keigo Higashino

Klappentext

A murder case challenges the notions of good and evil in this tour de force crime novel from one of the international masters of the form

A body has been found on a Central Tokyo riverbank, and Homicide Detective Godai of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is assigned to investigate. The victim is identified as a lawyer, Kensuke Shiraishi, and Godai's investigations lead him to one Tatsuro Kuraki, who ends up confessing to not only to the lawyer's murder, but also another one from thirty years ago - for which another man was arrested and died in custody before trial. Kuraki's confession neatly resolves two cases, but there is just one problem: Detective Godai doesn't believe him.

What's more, there are two other people who can't accept Kuraki's confession. One is the son of Kuraki, the professed murderer; the other is the daughter of Shiraishi, the victim.

As they get closer to the truth it becomes clear that the link between the two murders is murkier and more complicated than they could possibly have imagined - and so is the line between innocence and guilt ...

'Keigo Higashino combines Dostoyevskian psychological realism with classic detective-story puzzles reminiscent of Agatha Christie and E.C. Bentley' Wall Street Journal

'The Japanese Stieg Larsson' The Times