"Guilt" By Keigo Higashino: Review/Giveaway

Review by Linda Kay Hardie

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

My deadline loomed for this review, and I still had a third of Guilt to read. Despite being a fast reader, I found this daunting. Most murder mysteries are a quick afternoon read with the action, tension, and whodunnit suspense pulling me along. However, most mysteries aren’t 406 pages long. Doorstop books aren’t generally an edge-of-your-seat, can’t-put-it-down experience.

This one is.

---

➡ switch to KingsRiverLife.com for more articles ⬅

---

Image Source Minotaur

I hadn’t read Higashino before, but he’s acclaimed by critics and readers alike. A best-selling author in Japan, his books have been translated into more than 20 languages. He’s won or been a finalist for many prestigious writing awards.

Higashino’s writing (with Giles Murray’s translation) pulled me in immediately. Homicide detective Godai investigates the stabbing murder of respected attorney Shiraishi. Somehow this murder is related to one 40 years ago when a conman who specialized in scamming old people out of their life’s savings was stabbed to death. When Godai finds a familiar name in an old report, he interviews Kuraki, who’s connected to the current case, and out of the blue, Kuraki admits everything. Yes, he killed them both. He provides concrete details. Case closed.

Um, what? I’m only a quarter of the way through this heavy book and the crime is solved? What the heck can happen now? Kuraki’s guilt looks like a slam-dunk. Totally engrossed, I keep reading. The suspect’s and victim’s adult children (Kuraki’s son and Shiraishi’s daughter) find themselves reluctant allies. The confession’s details don’t match up with the personalities of their fathers. They hesitantly nose around. Detective Godai, uneasy himself, unofficially gives his blessing.

As the unlikely investigators talk to relatives, neighbors, and coworkers, clues unfold. Ah, I nod, so this is what’s going on. But a few pages later, I’m slammed against a literary concrete wall in this labyrinthine mystery. The writing and translation are excellent. Best of all, there’s no cheating by the author, no unfair withholding of important information to force a “gotcha” ending. Everything’s there, out in the open. Higashino treats us fair and square but still provides major shocks.

I finished Guilt, gulping down the final 135 pages of this hefty book in one sitting. Usually, I start jotting down notes for my review right away, but this time I was too shaken by Higashino’s genius to start writing. How could I attempt to write anything after reading literature that astounded and befuddled me so thoroughly? The labyrinthine story, my “aha!” moments that barreled me into blind alleys. Wow. And when I sighed for the great finale, he twisted the literary knife in me one last time.

After I finished staring at the walls, dumbfounded by this superb mystery, I texted my editor, Lorie Lewis Ham, to make sure she’s going to read this. She assigned Guilt to me, although she usually keeps Higashino for herself, but she’s busy finishing the next book in her terrific Tower District mystery series. It’s on her TBR list. Lorie’s already a fan of Keigo Higashino, and while this was my first exposure to his writing, it certainly won’t be the last! I highly recommend that you read Higashino’s Guilt, too.

To enter to win a copy of Guilt, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "guilt,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen June 6, 2026. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors!

You can click here to purchase this book.

Linda Kay Hardie is an award-winning writer of short stories in various genres, including crime, horror, and SF/fantasy (often with humor). She also writes essays (usually about cats but sometimes baseball), poetry, and is working on longer works. Her stories appear in many anthologies, including Lunatic Fringe, Gag Me With a Spoon, A Killing at the Copa, Sex & Violins, and The Perp Wore Pumpkin from White City Press. She’s a member of Horror Writers Association, Short Mystery Fiction Society, Queer Crime Writers, Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, and Cat Writers Association. Linda Kay is an Abyssinian Rescue Ranger, a volunteer foster mom in purebred cat rescue, and a professional teddy bear builder. See her portfolio at sierraarts.org/user/linda.kay.hardie

Tune in to the podcast Misti Media Live! on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 5 p.m. Pacific time/8 p.m. Eastern. Author Linda Kay Hardie joins Misti Media editor-in-chief Jay Hartman to talk, argue, and rant about writing and publishing. See more at youtube.com/watch?v=7JLJLrvP-5s

  Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.