MYSTERY

Invisible Helix

Minotaur: St. Martin’s. (Detective Galileo, Bk. 5). Dec. 2024. 352p. tr. from Japanese by Giles Murray. ISBN 9781250875563. $29. M
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Ryoto Uetsuji’s dead body was found at the base of a cliff by the sea. The cause of death was one bullet. His live-in girlfriend, Sonoka Shimauchi, reported him missing. Now she has disappeared along with a longtime family friend, Nae Matsunaga. Both are persons of interest with Sonoka being a prime suspect. Every time the police think they have tracked Sonoka down, she eludes them. How is she always one step ahead of them? As police detectives investigate, they learn that Ryoto had a violent streak and was physically abusing Sonoka. When a search of Nae’s phone records shows she recently spoke with Professor Manubu Yukawa, also known to the police as “Detective Galileo,” they get in touch for two reasons: first to learn the gist of the conversation and second to ask for his help, as he has worked with the police previously and solved many cases.
VERDICT Higashino’s fifth Detective Galileo procedural (after Silent Parade) relies too much on coincidence and contrivance to solve Ryoto’s murder, which may cause readers to wonder how Professor Galileo comes to puzzle out the case.
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