I read my first John Grisham book at the beginning of this year. While I know there are many who worship the ground he walks on, for some reason while the book was interesting and fast-paced the ending was so anticlimactic I was completely disappointed. I realized I haven’t been disappointed by a book in a long time. So later if you have a favorite John Grisham that you think might change the way I currently feel about him, please do let me know.

This review is about Malice by Keigo Higashino a Japanese mystery legend and translated by Alexander O Smith with Elye Alexander. This is the first book in his Detective Kaga series. My friend lent me a copy of this book and said it was an easy pleasurable read. I won’t argue with her, it really was. 

The book is structured quite differently. There are two narratives through which the entire plot is unraveled. One is through the lens of the murderer Osamu Nonoguchi and the other through the lens of Detective Kyoichiro Kaga.  We learn mid-way that the first account Osamu Nonoguchi has given us is riddled with false information in order to steer the readers and detective onto a different path. Detective Kaga picks up on this quite quickly and we see the process of him breaking down what seems like an already solved case.

The reader is torn through the book as to whether Kunihiko Hidaka the author found dead is the victim or if the circumstance that led Osamu to kill him makes Osamu in fact the ultimate victim. I won’t reveal anything further except that I recommend this book for its easy but suspense-filled style.

Detective Kaga’s hunch is based on something quite simple. Osamu and Hidaka were portrayed by most people as being friends. But the events each are accused of, make the detective question whether such malicious things can be committed by those who value someone as their friend.

Friendships are hard for some and not given a second thought by others. I personally have struggled with friends in both making and maintaining them. I’ve never been part of a big group of friends, I have always felt out of place in big groups, and while I’m quite sociable I’ve shied away from conversations in my early years when exposed to big groups of people. I realized then that I was never gonna be a big group person. I like having people I can trust and count on and be able to extend myself in the same way. I don’t want so many people with so much access and vice versa.

Of course not like this theory has protected me from loneliness or the heartbreak of losing friends. Some friends that were lost took me over two to three years to get over. I can think of three in particular. Two of which happened the year before the pandemic. I’m not sure why they turned malicious and at what point did I allow myself to get lost and let them take over my decisions but it happened. When I stepped out with whatever will I think my mother prayed for, I realized that while they started out as friends, their actions and need for constant agreement turned the relationship into toxic friendships.

I’ve finally healed from the ugliness of what happened. I am also grateful to share that I actually have a lot of great friends in my life now and Im okay if we don’t agree on everything. I have people who are 5 years old and some at 82 years old and many in between!

I guess the point I’m making is what my dad always told me, learn to tell acquaintances from friends. Not everyone who says they have your back does and not everyone who doesn’t keep in touch won’t be available for that emergency 3 am call or a fun night out.

The book Malice triggered many memories of past failed friendships but it also reminded me to be grateful for the ones that stayed and continue to stay.