By: Keigo Higashino, Alexander O. Smith (translator)
Series: Detective Galileo, Book 2
By: Keigo Higashino,Alexander O. Smith (translator)
By: Keigo Higashino, Alexander O. Smith Translated by
Yasuko Hanaoka is a divorced, single mother who thought she had finally escaped her abusive ex-husband Togashi. When he shows up one day to extort money from her, threatening both her and her teenaged daughter Misato, the situation quickly escalates into violence and Togashi ends up dead on her apartment floor.
Slow but worth it for the end!
By Rebecca Rashleigh on 11-06-2019
Kyoichiro Kaga
By: Keigo Higashino
Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
Acclaimed best-selling novelist Kunihiko Hidaka is found brutally murdered in his home on the night before he's planning to leave Japan and relocate to Vancouver. His body is found in his office, a locked room, within his locked house, by his wife and his best friend, both of whom have rock solid alibis. Or so it seems.
By: Haruki Murakami
Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Oliver Le Sueur
Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at 15, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down.
An Audiobook Can Be Better Than Reading
By Michael on 15-03-2015
The Silent Dead
Reiko Himekawa, Book 1
By: Tetsuya Honda
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
When a body wrapped in a blue plastic tarp and tied up with twine is discovered by the bushes near a quiet suburban Tokyo neighborhood, Lieutenant Reiko Himekawa and her squad take the case. The victim was slaughtered brutally - his wounds are bizarre, and no one can figure out the "what" or the "why" of this crime. At age 29, Reiko Himekawa of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police's Homicide Division is young to have been made lieutenant, particularly because she lacks any kind of political or family connections.
Six Four
By: Hideo Yokoyama
Narrated by: Richard Burnip
Six Four. The nightmare no parent could endure. The case no detective could solve. The twist no listener could predict. For five days in January 1989, the parents of a seven-year-old Tokyo schoolgirl sat and listened to the demands of their daughter's kidnapper. They would never learn his identity. They would never see their daughter again. For the 14 years that followed, the Japanese public listened to the police's apologies. They would never forget the botched investigation that became known as Six Four.
Couldn't finish
By Bridget Schaumann on 25-06-2017
By: Nicolás Obregón
Narrated by: Nicolás Obregón
Tokyo Inspector Kosuke Iwata, newly transferred to Tokyo's homicide department, is assigned a new partner and a secondhand case. Blunt, hard as nails and shunned by her colleagues, Assistant Inspector Noriko Sakai is a partner Iwata decides it would be unwise to cross. A case that's complicated - a family of four murdered in their own home by a killer who then ate ice cream, surfed the web and painted a hideous black sun on the bedroom ceiling before he left in broad daylight.
By: Fuminori Nakamura
Narrated by: Lucie Kondo
Yurika is a freelancer in the Tokyo underworld. She poses as a prostitute; carefully targeting powerful, high-profile men - who she then drugs and takes incriminating photos of to sell for blackmail purposes. She knows very little about the organisation she's working for and is perfectly satisfied with the arrangement, as long as it means she doesn't have to reveal anything about her identity. But when a figure from Yurika's past emerges, she finds herself in a trap that she can't seem to find a way out of....
Reykjavik Noir, Book 1
By: Lilja Sigurdardottir
Narrated by: Suzannah Hampton
After a messy divorce, attractive young mother Sonia is struggling to provide for herself and keep custody of her son. With her back to the wall, she resorts to smuggling cocaine into Iceland and finds herself caught up in a ruthless criminal world. As she desperately looks for a way out of trouble, she must pit her wits against her nemesis, Bragi, a customs officer whose years of experience frustrate her new and evermore daring strategies.
By Amazon Customer on 09-09-2019
Salt Lane
DS Alexandra Cupidi, Book 1
By: William Shaw
Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow
She always went to far. DS Alexandra Cupidi has done it again. She should have learnt to keep her big mouth shut after the scandal that sent her packing - resentful teenager in tow - from the London Met to the lonely Kent coastline. Murder is different here, among the fens and stark beaches. She was the one who found the killers. The man drowned in the slurry pit had been herded there like an animal. He was North African, like many of the fruit pickers that work the fields. The more Cupidi discovers, the more she wants to ask - but these people are suspicious of questions.
The Last Train
Detective Hiroshi, Volume 1
By: Michael Pronko
Narrated by: Robbie Belgrade
Detective Hiroshi Shimizu investigates white collar crime in Tokyo. He's lost his girlfriend and still dreams of his time studying in America, but with a stable job, his own office and a half-empty apartment, he's settled in. When an American businessman turns up dead, his mentor Takamatsu calls him out to the site of a grisly murder. A glimpse from a security camera video suggests the killer was a woman, but in Japan, that seems unlikely. Hiroshi quickly learns how close homicide and suicide can appear in a city full of high-speed trains just a step--or a push--away. Takamatsu drags Hiroshi out to the hostess clubs and skyscraper offices of Tokyo in search of the killer. She's trying to escape Japan for a new life by playing a high-stakes game of insider information. To find her, Hiroshi goes deeper and deeper into Tokyo's intricate, ominous market for buying and selling the most expensive land in the world. When Takamatsu inexplicably disappears, Hiroshi teams up with ex-sumo wrestler Sakaguchi. They scour Tokyo's sacred temples, corporate offices and industrial wastelands to find out where Takamatsu went, and why one woman would be driven to murder when she seems to have it all.
The Defence
By: Steve Cavanagh
Narrated by: Adam Sims
The truth has no place in a courtroom. The truth doesn't matter in a trial. The only thing that matters is what the prosecution can prove. Eddie Flynn used to be a con artist. Then he became a lawyer. Turned out the two weren't that different. It's been more than a year since Eddie vowed never to set foot in a courtroom again. But now he doesn't have a choice. Olek Volchek, the infamous head of the Russian mafia in New York, has strapped a bomb to Eddie's back and kidnapped his ten-year-old daughter, Amy.
Washington Poe, Book 2
By: M. W. Craven
Narrated by: John Banks
After The Puppet Show, a new storm is coming. Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath. He's currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found, and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe. So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career.
From the author of the internationally best-selling, award-winning The Devotion of Suspect X comes the latest novel featuring "Detective Galileo".
In 2011, The Devotion of Suspect X was a hit with critics and listeners alike. The first major English language publication from the most popular best-selling writer in Japan, it was acclaimed as "stunning", "brilliant", and "ingenious". Now physics professor Manabu Yukawa - Detective Galileo - returns in a new case of impossible murder, where instincts clash with facts and theory with reality.
Yoshitaka, who was about to leave his marriage and his wife, is poisoned by arsenic-laced coffee and dies. His wife, Ayane, is the logical suspect - except that she was hundreds of miles away when he was murdered. The lead detective, Tokyo Police Detective Kusanagi, is immediately smitten with her and refuses to believe that she could have had anything to do with the crime. His assistant, Kaoru Utsumi, however, is convinced Ayane is guilty. While Utsumi's instincts tell her one thing, the facts of the case are another matter. So she does what her boss has done for years when stymied - she calls upon Professor Manabu Yukawa.
But even the brilliant mind of Dr. Yukawa has trouble with this one, and he must somehow find a way to solve an impossible murder and capture a very real, very deadly murderer.
Salvation for a Saint is Keigo Higashino at his mind-bending best, pitting emotion against fact in a beautifully plotted crime novel filled with twists and reverses that will astonish and surprise even the most attentive and jaded of listeners.
©2008 Keigo Higashino; Translation © 2012, Alexander O. Smith (P)2012 Macmillan Audio
Verdächtige Geliebte
The Secrets We Kept
My Lovely Wife
Audible.com.au reviews
David W McLeod
Misses the beat
I thoroughly enjoyed The devotion of Suspect X and looked forward to this follow up.
However, it doesnt match Suspect X for originality, succinct and terse writing style, or character development.
A bit boring
I usually love Japanese crime novels but I found this pretty boring. Not enough going on.
Appealing but not Compelling
Nice narration by David Pittu, however the characters in "Salvation of a Saint," tended to be without much depth, even one dimensional. The book was still interesting enough to listen to. I never felt the need to stop in disgust, but was able to listen all the way through. Just not a first class work of fiction and not much mystery there either.
Molly Gordon
Love Higashino's work
Would you consider the audio edition of Salvation of a Saint to be better than the print version?
I haven't read the book, so I can't say. I can say that the narrator brought the story to life.
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
Hmmm. Edge of my seat? Engaged would be a better word, and I was thoroughly engaged throughout.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Nope. Though I did spend hours at a time listening quite happily. It's a longish listen, so the idea of one sitting (or, more accurately, one puttering) is daunting. I do think I finished it in less than three days.
Here is more proof Higashino weaves fabulous tales
This is a simpler story than the excellent Devotion of Suspect X, but the same caliber that is way beyond a traditional police procedural. Higashino has the same dedication to creating a story as his characters have in fulfilling their important roles in his eloquent stories. Salvation of a Saint is a quality story and I'm sure you will also enjoy listening to this Japanese import.
Excellent New Translation of Japanese Mystery
I have no idea; I didn't buy the print version. I just bought the audiobook edition. But the performance is absolutely wonderful and really brings the various characters to life. So if you have a job that gives you plenty of room for audiobooks, like I do, this is a great option.
Not in the same way as, say, an action movie, but yes it did. It was an engaging battle of wits where you know who the killer is but not how it was done.
What about David Pittu's performance did you like?
It was an all-round excellent job, with the characters really coming to life.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Yes, there were several such moments, but there we wander into spoiler territory.
Voice for professor doesn't sound fit well
If you could sum up Salvation of a Saint in three words, what would they be?
I assume the narrator imagined "professor" is old man because of his occupation, but actually his character is supposed to be "young" and "good looking" man. The narrator's voice for professor sounds like an old man and it didn't sound right to me. Besides that, I liked the book. The trick was little bit more than possible in real life, but it actually was a part of the story.
Have you listened to any of David Pittu's other performances before? How does this one compare?
No, but I hope he understands what the each character's is like. He made Professor Yukawa's voice sound like an old man, but he supposed to be a young and good looking guy.
nigel cooper
Amazing Storyteller!
Deep character, another great story . I can't wait to start the next book in the series.
Cheryl Waters
Good Plot, Slow Development
Good view of modern Japanese culture and influence of Western criminal procedure. Relies on feminine intuition, both in motivation and detection.
Great narration
David Pittu is fantastic as the narrator of this book. Makes it an even better story.
Lisa "Nose in a Book" Martin
A wonderful mystery
This is the second book by this author that has captivated me with fascinating descriptions of Tokyo and believable characters. The plot was engaging and kept me guessing until the end. I also very much appreciated the excellent translation- I wish I could read it in Japanese, but the translation was so well done, I felt like hearing it in English wasn't a loss. The only thing I would want is a little more development of the detective characters. They are all brilliant but I want to know them better!
Excellent Listen
This is a masterfully written story. The pacing is excellent--the story begins by revealing the murderer but the reader is left to follow along with the police in figuring out how it was done. As a lover of intellectual mysteries, the fact that the murderer is revealed in the beginning allows the reader to set about solving the real puzzle. In many mystery stories it is easy to determine the murderer anyway-this style allows the reader to follow along with the ideas, leads and missteps of the police. Very entertaining and clever.
N. Toofany
I loved it so much. I do wish the ending was different e.g. the perpetrator not being found 🙈🙈