Book Review: Silent Parade

Twenty years ago, a girl was kidnapped and murdered in a Tokyo suburb. The suspect, Kanichi Hasunuma, was released due to insufficient evidence, but new evidence has emerged linking him to a more recent case, the disappearance and murder of Saori Namiki, a young woman with a rising musical career. Detective Kusanagi, who worked the first case, is quickly assigned to the second, but his investigation goes awry when Hasunuma is suddenly found dead in his rented bedroom, with no signs of struggle or violent injury. Was the murder suspect murdered? If so, how was it done? And which of the many people who had a motive - Saori’s parents, her boyfriend, her agent or someone connected to the older case - might have killed him?

Silent Parade is the latest entry in the Detective Galileo series, named for the physics professor that Detective Kusanagi consults for his most difficult cases - someone who never quite believes the first story he's told. The novel is full of twists and red herrings, each new discovery building an even more complicated crime that's never fully revealed until the final chapters. Award-winning author Keigo Higashino is one of the most popular writers in his native Japan, with the first title in the Detective Galileo series becoming the second-highest selling book in the country the year it was published. This standalone novel is a great introduction to a new world of mystery. - Michelle (Sunset)