I’ve found that whenever I read triller/murder mysteries, I lean more towards the detectives and not the suspects but that wasn’t the case with this book.
Maybe it’s because we had seen when the murder happened in the beginning. I mean we already knew who did it and how they’d handle it but I think it all made it more intriguing. 

Then there was the whole friendship thing between Ishigami and Yukawa which just made it so much better. I mean it only made sense that his genius friend would be the one to actually figure out what happened yet he was also the only one that had his best interest at heart. Even Ishigami himself didn’t have his own interest at heart. It was all just about Yasuko with him. Which is probably why the ending scene was just too heartbreaking! 

————-A cry of confusion and desperation. A cry that tore at the hearts of all who heard it.
Two guards ran over to restrain him.
“Leave him alone,” Yukawa barked, appearing between them and Ishigami. “The least you can do is just let him cry.”
Yukawa turned toward Ishigami, laying his hands gently on the bigger man’s shoulders.
Kusanagi watched as Ishigami screamed, and it seemed to him as if the mathematician was shouting out his very soul. - ———-

I didn’t really connect much with detective Kusanagi. In fact I thought that Yukawa would have made a better detective than him but I think that’s just what made this so perfect. I mean he’s a detective and we got to see how not all detectives could be complete geniuses. Rather with this case, it was actually quite the opposite. We had a genius suspect and then the genius informant who also happened to be friends with said suspect. Then the whole thing with Yukawa bringing about the plot twist. It was all done brilliantly. 

Then there was also the whole thing with Yasuko. I didn’t actually think she’d turn herself in after everything that happened but I guess she couldn’t deal with all that guilt. I also kept thinking about her daughter, Misato. I felt that the whole ordeal must be affecting her so much too, yet we didn’t see much of her. Which is why I believe what happened to her at the ending kind of made sense at least. 

Overall, this was such a great read and I’m hoping I’d be able to give the other books in the series a try too. The fact that I didn’t really connect much with detective Kusanagi is what’s holding me back. With Yukawa though, it was different but maybe it’s because he was someone from Ishigami’s past?