Newcomer

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 charming * Sunday Times (Crime Club Star Pick) *
An 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 life * Guardian *
This charming, gentle mystery, with its dogged, insightful investigator whose unorthodox approach spreads calm rather than confusion, is a thing of joy * Irish Independent *
Higashino is the ideal choice for anyone who fancies an elegantly written traditionalmurder mystery in a fresh and fascinating setting * Morning Star *
Kyoichiro 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 read * Western Gazette *
For those who like their crime fiction layered with riddles within enigmas, [Keigo Higashino] is a master * Irish News *
A unique take on the genre . . . mesmerising . . . this is a different kind of mystery novel. A delight to read * Spectator *
One 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 -- Jeff Noon * Spectator (Books of the Year) *