Keigo Higashino

was a Japanese author chiefly known for his mystery novels. He served as the 13th President of Mystery Writers of Japan from 2009 to 2013. Higashino won major Japanese awards for his books, almost twenty of which have been turned into films and television series.

Early life and education Higashino was born in the Ikuno-ku ward of the city of Osaka in Osaka Prefecture. The logographic characters that make up the family name were initially read as "Tono", but Keigo's father changed the reading to "Higashino".

Growing up in a working class area, Higashino's childhood was challenging because of the lower class to which his family belonged. He attended Shoji Elementary School, Higashi Ikuno Junior High School, and Hannan High School. During his high school years he started reading mystery fiction.

He studied Electrical Engineering at Osaka Prefecture University, where he became captain of the archery club. He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree.

Career Higashino started writing while in high school and university, showing his manuscripts to friends.

In 1981, he began working as an engineer at Nippon Denso Co. (presently DENSO), and married a high school teacher. He continued to write in the evenings and on weekends,

Higashino was one of the most popular authors in Asia and, reportedly, the most popular novelist in China. Translation rights for his books, like Suspect X, were sold as far afield as China, Thailand, France, Russia and Spain. His popularity drew the attention of Asian academics, with papers and master's theses on his work published in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Taiwan, for example, and also stimulated United States scholars.

He was elected president of the Mystery Writers of Japan (MWJ) in 2009, and served until 2013. From 2002 to 2007 he served on various MWJ selection committees, and fulfilled a similar role for the Edogawa Rampo Award from 2008 to 2013. In 2014, he became a selection member for the Naoki Prize.

After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, Higashino donated the royalties of 100,000 copies of the reprint of , the sequel to Newcomer, to relief efforts in affected areas.

Higashino reportedly avoided publicity, as he preferred people not to recognize him on the street. Kodansha, his publisher, announced his death via X. He had a private funeral per his family’s wishes. Condolences were paid via social media by some of the actors who played his characters.

Contents and style Higashino admitted in 2015 that his content and style had changed from his earlier writings, in which he treated motivation as the most important element.

In addition to mystery novels, Higashino wrote essays and story books for children. His style of writing the latter differed from his novels, and he did not use as many characters as in his novels. Higashino's works often included scientific elements, such as nuclear power generation and brain transplantation. Sports references, such as archery and kendo, ski jumping, and snowboarding, also occurred often.

Suspect X inverts the classical whodunit structure, as the reader learns early on who the murderer is. Andrew Joyce writes in The Wall Street Journal that Higashino explores how "feelings of loyalty and the oppressive weight of human relations" are "catalysts for murder and dark pacts between neighbors or co-workers to dispose of bodies". Higashino claimed that Japanese people prefer this format, and that rather than explaining the significance of everything at the end of the book, he wanted to describe the characters' actions and intentions at the beginning so he could better portray their feelings of guilt and anguish.

Awards

Japanese Mystery Fiction Guide Rankings

2006 – The Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year (Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 2006): The Devotion of Suspect X 2010 – The Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year (Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 2010): Shinzanmono (The Newcomer) 2012 – Ranked as the No. 13 novel on the Top 100 Japanese Mystery Novels of All Time: The Devotion of Suspect X 2012 – Ranked as the No. 18 novel on the Top 100 Japanese Mystery Novels of All Time: Journey under the Midnight Sun 2018 – Ranked as No. 1 novel on the Weekly Bungeishunjū Mystery Best 10: