Journey under the midnight sun by Keigo Higashino

Name of Book: Journey Under the Midnight Sun 

Author: Keigo Higashino 

ISBN: 978-1-4087-0411-0

Publisher: Little Brown 

Type of book: Japan, 1973-1992, crime, murders, rape, mysteries, pedophilia, friendship, survival, career, technology, bubble burst, detective, lies, secrets, tradition, marriage, no tying up loose ends 

Year it was published: 1999 (Trans 2015)

Summary:

When a man is found murdered in an abandoned building in Osaka in 1973, unflappable detective Sasagaki is assigned to the case. He begins to piece together the connection of two young people who are inextricably linked to the crime; the dark, taciturn son of the victim and the unexpectedly captivating daughter of the main suspect. Over the next twenty years we follow their lives as Sasagaki pursues the case - which remains unsolved - to the point of obsession.

Stark, intriguing and stylish, Journey Under the Midnight Sun is an epic mystery by the bestselling Japanese author.

Characters:

So a lot of secondary characters are at the front, but focus isn't on them but instead on Ryo and Yukiho. Ryo, at least in the book, is a silent, aggressive, brilliant and moody young man who has a lot of odd predilections ( unable to orgasm inside a woman for instance,) and is always on the dark side of life. It is hinted that he works with Yukiho and the two are often called goby and the shrimp. Yukiho is a startlingly beautiful woman who has thorns behind her eyes and who also has people she knows fall into misfortunes. She is often the schemer and uses people to suit her needs, having LITTLE to no compulsions on what she puts people through. 

Theme:

Silence can lead to murder 

Plot:

The story is written in third person narrative from a lot of character's points of views, aside from Ryo and Yukihos. There is also lack of completeness when it comes to some plots and some characters are pretty much thrown aside, never letting the reader get closure. The two main characters are seen through the eyes of friends, lovers and spouses as well as workers, and conclusions are mere speculations rather than something definite. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

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

Opinion:

Years and years ago, I was a huge fan of Japanese dramas. One of the dramas that I watched and enjoyed was JOURNEY UNDER A MIDNIGHT, which, yes, was based on this book. Thus I was excited about reading the actual novel and reliving with the characters those moments. However, in a rare instance, I will easily admit that drama is better than the book. This book was disappointing. While I loved learning about post WWII Japan as well as seeing history of technology and the bubble burst, it was a disappointing read. At first I thought that perhaps it was because it wasn't from the villains points of view, that we are seeing and learning things third hand information. But then I recall Riku Onda novel and how better written it was even if it was from second or third hand information, so I knew it couldn't be it. I think more than anything what I found disappointing is that it wasn't as good as a drama I remembered, and literally there is very little depth to any of the characters, considering the conclusion. Most of it was painted with words, but almost no depth or souls. 

2 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)