BookDragon Books for the Diverse Reader

The Salvation of a Saint [Detective Galileo 2] by Keigo Higashino, translated by Alexander O. Smith with Elye J. Alexander

Salvation of a SaintJust like last year’s The Devotion of Suspect X, mega-award winning Keigo Higashino will expertly manipulate you, making you constantly rethink your suspicions. While the final exposition might not be as drop-jaw shocking as Devotion, Salvation is still unquestionably an addictive page-turner, enticingly paced to keep you reading just one more page, and one more, and one more … until you’re left bereft with nooooo, it can’t be finished already!

Ayane Mashiro leaves her husband for a few days to visit her parents in Sapporo; her father is not well and she hasn’t seen her parents since she married Yoshitaka almost a year ago. Being the devoted, attentive wife, she leaves a key with her assistant Hiromi just in case he might need anything while she’s away. But then Hiromi finds her boss’s husband sprawled on the floor – dead.

Enter Tokyo Police Detective Kusanagi, known for solving the most challenging cases. Something about the elegant widow shakes Kusanagi’s heart. Uh-oh. The department’s new recruit, Utsumi, is not as … shall we say … distracted, trusting her own intuition even when it doesn’t agree with the more experienced Kusanagi. When the investigation seems to reach an impasse, Utsumi turns to the legendary physicist, Professor Yukawa – also known as ‘Detective Galileo’ for all his uncanny erudition. Even though Yukawa and Kusanagi are old college pals, they’ve been rather wary of each other lately; it’s up to Utsumi to navigate around their contentious, prickly male egos. Men!!

In the midst of all the (interlinked) subplots (a one-year-plan, unwitting accomplices, a children’s book artist, patchwork quilting, rat poison, and so much more), do they solve the impossible, perfect crime? I’m not saying anything more …!

Except to add that Higashino’s third title in his Detective Galileo series, A Midsummer’s Equation, is listed as “forthcoming” on one of Salvation‘s opening pages. Soon can’t be soon enough! As always, patience is soooo not my virtue!

Readers: Adult

Published: 2012 (United States)

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