NEWCOMER [Paperback] Higashino Keigo

Keigo Higashino is the single bestselling, best-known novelist in Japan and around Asia, with numerous television and film adaptations of his work appearing in several languages. He's the author of The Devotion of Suspect X, which was the finalist for the Edgar Award for best novel, and Malice, among many others. He lives in Tokyo, Japan.

Shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association International Dagger Award

Spectator Best Books of 2019

'An intriguing mashup of police procedural and golden age puzzle mystery' Guardian

International bestseller Keigo Higashino returns with his latest mindbender - Newcomer - as newly transferred Tokyo Police Detective Kyochiro Kaga is assigned to a baffling murder.

Detective Kyochiro Kaga of the Tokyo Police Department has just been transferred to a new precinct in the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo. Newly arrived, but with a great deal of experience, Kaga is promptly assigned to the team investigating the murder of a woman. But the more he investigates, the greater number of potential suspects emerges. It isn't long before it seems nearly all the people living and working in the business district of Nihonbashi have a motive for murder. To prevent the culprit from eluding justice, Kaga must unravel all the secrets surrounding a complicated life. Buried somewhere in the woman's past, in her family history, and the last few days of her life is the clue that will lead to the murderer.

This is the second appearance in English of Police detective Kyochiro Kaga, the protagonist of the critically acclaimed Malice.

'Detective Kaga pursues the case of a murdered woman from suspect to suspect, through a nostalgia-tinged Tokyo of family-run shops and Ginza bar girls. Clever and charming' Sunday Times

[Back cover]

'An intriguing mashup of police procedural and golden age puzzle mystery' Guardian

A woman is discovered strangled in the business district of Nihonbashi, Tokyo. Newly transferred Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga has been assigned to the case. But the more he investigates, the greater number of potential suspects emerges. To prevent the killer from eluding justice, Kaga must unravel a multitude of secrets. Buried somewhere in the dead woman's past and in the last few days of her life is the clue that will lead to the answer.

'Clever and charming'
Sunday Times

From the international bestseller Keigo Higashino, author of The Devotion of Suspect X.

From the international bestselling author of The Devotion of Suspect X. A Sunday Times Crime Club pick. Detective Kaga has something of Columbo about him, zeroing in on the awkward inconsistency with seemingly artless accuracy. In a series of chapters that could almost be short stories, Kaga pursues the case of a murdered woman from suspect to suspect, through a nostalgia-tinged Tokyo of family-run shops and Ginza bar girls. Clever and charmingAn intriguing mashup of police procedural and golden age puzzle mystery. When fortysomething divorcee Mineko Mitsui is discovered strangled at her home, Detective Kyoichiro Kaga [...] begins tracing items found in the dead woman's flat to shops in the neighbourhood, using a mixture of Sherlockian deduction and legwork to lead him to the killer. What initially appears to be a chain of short stories coalesces into an investigation, as Kaga, in a delightfully low-key style, painstakingly builds up a picture of the dead woman's past and the events of the last days of her lifeThis charming, gentle mystery, with its dogged, insightful investigator whose unorthodox approach spreads calm rather than confusion, is a thing of joyHigashino is the ideal choice for anyone who fancies an elegantly written traditional murder mystery in a fresh and fascinating settingKyoichiro Kaga joins an illustrious list of much-loved fictional detectives . . . The plot [of Newcomer] is as intricate and delicately poised as an antique three-sided clock Kaga encounters during his investigations. A charming, evocative and rewarding readFor those who like their crime fiction layered with riddles within enigmas, [Keigo Higashino] is a masterA unique take on the genre . . . mesmerising . . . this is a different kind of mystery novel. A delight to readOne new mystery that stands out this year is Newcomer . . . its plotting is so unusual: a criminal investigation conducted through a series of tangential vignettes, each one connected by a wonderful sense of small-scale humanity