Many thanks for the ARC! Once again Keigo Higashino delivers a solid read. The way this mystery came together was one of his more unpredictable ones, and I couldn’t figure out the mystery until it was revealed at the end. Although I enjoyed all of his books, this was one of the ones I liked more.

The Final Curtain is the tenth book in a Japanese detective series but the fourth one that has been translated into English. I don’t think you need to read the other books in the series to enjoy this one. I did not read any of the others and I still enjoyed it and don’t think it took away from my experience.

The body of a woman is discovered in an abandoned apartment. When another body turns up, a whole web of lies is uncovered spanning decades and it all seems to be connected to a famous actress and director. The police department has to investigate and find the killer.

I really enjoyed this book! I think it was an interesting detective book. It was a police procedural book and it kept me engaged (I feel like I get bored from those a lot). The story had a lot of twists and turns and it unfolded at a good pace. I liked all of the characters as well, some parts were very emotional and this book touched on a lot of stuff.

My only complaint is that some of the twists seemed a bit far fetched. Some parts of the story just didn’t seem realistic. However, I still liked it and would reccomend to people! Thanks so much to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I have been a fan of Higashino's work since I read the first one available in English translation. If this series had to end, it ended in style, going out on a high note. Higashino's writing is always right to the point, and while I appreciate gorgeous descriptive prose in literature, in a mystery such as The Final Curtain, straightforward prose is perfect for telling a mystery story filled with twists and turns. I navigated many of those twists well, but in the end I did not tie up all the loose ends on my own. Despite his prose style, Higashino has developed his ongoing characters well and has done equally well with those who appear in only one story. If I had to find fault it would be only that parts of this story stretch the American reader's imagination, for characters make choices that do not always comport with our culture. From the little I understand about Japanese culture, however, those choices make good sense. It's hard to imagine that many readers will not devour The Final Curtain and want to look for more books by this talented author.

Higashino manages to take the seemingly unrelated events mentioned in the book blurb and tie them all together, tying a bow on the Detective Kaga series. I've read Higashino's other two English releases, but it was years ago. I had no issues with jumping in to this universe again with this book. I appreciate how Higashino fleshes out his characters as human beings beyond what would be in detectives' notes. I was very satisfied with how it all wrapped up. While this book did have some DNA testing (outside of Kaga's usual very human detective work), it was not a central plot device. My only annoyances may be due to the unfinished nature of ARCs like having to describe a dorayaki instead of just calling it by name or using explanatory commas. In terms of content warning, there is a mention of suicide and coercive child prostitution at some point in the book.

Kaga is back and this time he has a personal connection to the mystery. Not my favorite Higashino. I felt like it took too long to get going.

Kudos to Detective Kaga again!!
Another wonderful read from Keigo Higashino. While you do not need to read the previous three novels in the Kyoichiro Kaga series in order to appreciate this one, it certainly helps to have some history and background on the detective and the locales. This is a prime example how complicated crimes are solved; through methodical, sometimes mind numbing procedures and tons of tire kickings. No details are too small or insignificant for the detective. If there is an unsolved crime I would want Detective Kaga working the case.

My thanks to Net Galley, St Martin's, and Minotaur for this excellent arc.

Two strangulation deaths occur. One, in an apartment building who was the mother of a police officer that abandoned him and his father years ago,and a homeless man. They are linked, but what is the connection?

Great book. Well written and structured. Intelligent read. I struggled with keeping the names straight but very good book and highly recommend.

Super impressed as always with this series! I could not figure out this complex mystery beforehand but when the end is revealed it made so much sense. I love how Keigo Higashino writes these extremely complex and nuanced characters and plot lines and always gives the story a satisfying ending. Would definitely recommend to all mystery thriller lovers!

Thank you to St Martin’s press and Netgallery for an arc of this book.

I read this book in a day and I never looked back! The twist and the plot were pretty easy to identify but the different POV's kept me intrigued to see how everything was going to unfold. A couple of the characters were so unlikable that it made it hard to feel bad or connect with them in any way. I do wish that the ending would've given a little more, I wanted to know how the characters dealt with the aftermath.

Overall I give this 5 out 5 because it really was a great book and I will definitely read more from this Author. I enjoyed the thrill of the plot and its twists.

*I received a copy of this eARC via NetGalley*

Brevity is also one of the things I love about Higashino. Words aren't wasted on fluffy descriptions. He gets straight to the point with each scene, briefly touching on character and setting details before letting the dialog and actions of his characters take the main stage. The solution was unexpected and fresh. We learn more about Detective Kaga's past and there's a hint at what's in store for his future.

Keigo Higashino is a master of suspense. His plots are twisty roads leading readers down a path unknown. I never know what I'll find at the end. The Final Curtain is no different from his other fabulous works of mystery.

As I love reading works in translation, I chose The Final Curtain, not realizing that it was the final chapter in the series, nor that there are only four out of ten of Keigo Higashino's Detective Kaga thrillers available in English. This did not detract from the truly baffling mystery, the personal details in Kaga's life, and the look into how the investigative system works in Japan.

"From the acclaimed author of Malice and Newcomer, a confounding murder in Tokyo is connected to the mystery of the disappearance and death of Detective Kaga's own mother.

A decade ago, Tokyo Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga went to collect the ashes of his recently deceased mother. Years before, she ran away from her husband and son without explanation or any further contact, only to die alone in an apartment far away, leaving her estranged son with many unanswered questions.

Now in Tokyo, Michiko Oshitani is found dead many miles from home. Strangled to death, left in the bare apartment rented under a false name by a man who has disappeared without a trace. Oshitani lived far away in Sendai, with no known connection to Tokyo - and neither her family nor friends have any idea why she would have gone there.

Hers is the second strangulation death in that approximate area of Tokyo - the other was a homeless man, killed and his body burned in a tent by the river. As the police search through Oshitani's past for any clue that might shed some light, one of the detectives reaches out to Detective Kaga for advice. As the case unfolds, an unexpected connective emerges between the murder (or murders) now and the long-ago case of Detective Kaga's missing mother.

The Final Curtain, one of Keigo Higashino's most acclaimed mysteries, brings the story of Detective Kaga to a surprising conclusion in a series of rich, surprising twists."

I know this has nothing really to do with the series other than it ending, but I have "My Way" stuck in my head now.

First of all, I love reading Keigo Higashino. I read nearly all of his books in English, and he manages to surprise and excite me every single time. So much so that, I want to improve my little Japanese to read his untranslated books, because due to some publishing choice or other, not all of his books belong to a series are translated.

This is unfortunately also true for Detective Kyoichiro Kaga series. Only four of the ten books that belong to this series are translated so far, and "The Final Curtain" is the tenth and the last book of the series. In the previous translation, "A Death in Tokyo" (which is the 9th book of the series) we learn about the details of Kaga's estranged relationship with his father, but in this final book, we learn about his mother in detail thanks to Kaga's own little personal investigation pursuing his mother -who abandoned him and his father when Kaga was only 13 years old. Aside from this, Kaga also needs to solve two different murders that seems totally unrelated, yet, somehow might be related.

All these mysteries unravel one by one as we follow Kaga and his colleagues, never really guessing the outcome. Once more, Higashino creates a great murder mystery that makes his reader keep turning the pages, and even sacrifice their sleep.

I couldn't put down this one either, though if I knew this was the last book in the series, and possibly my last reading of Kaga, I would surely savor it by reading it slower. Definitely recommended.

#MMDBookClub 2023 Fall Book Preview

Thank you to #StMartinsPress, #MinotaurBooks, and #NetGalley for providing this #ARC Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is December 12, 2023.

Crime • Mystery • Translated from the Japanese • 5 Stars

Throughout this series, I couldn’t help but think about Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot character. Detective Kaga is Poirot’s reincarnation in Japan. It becomes even more evident in the titles. Christie’s last Poirot novel was named Curtain. Higashino’s last Kaga novel is called The Final Curtain. Coincidence? I think not.

Both detectives, solve their cases by slowly unfolding details, piece by piece, and finding missing pieces along the way until the completed puzzle is finally revealed. I sure hope that my conclusions are incorrect because I would truly miss the impeccable Mr. Kaga.

“The Final Curtain” is the fourth book in the Detective Kaga series. The story revolves around the murder of Michiko Oshitani, who was found dead in a rented apartment in Tokyo. The case is connected to the disappearance and death of Detective Kaga’s mother, which happened years ago. As the police investigate Oshitani’s past, they reach out to Detective Kaga for advice.

#Bookstagram #DetectiveKaga #KeigoHigashino

I always enjoy Keigo Higashino’s books, and “The Final Curtain” did not disappoint. Unlike some of his other books where the reveal happens all at once, this time he lets the reader piece together the case bit by bit. For fans of Keigo Higashino, this book will also delight you with some more insight into detective Kaga and his past.

cultural-differences, cultural-exploration, cultural-heritage, due-diligence, unputdownable, thriller, suspense, Japan, law-enforcement, procedural, multiple-murder, murder-investigation, religious-practices, relationships, theatre, detective, crime-fiction, sly-humor, contemporary, family*****

Detective Kaga is a Homicide Detective in Tokyo who is meticulous and exceptional. At the beginning he is made aware of the demise of his estranged mother by apparent natural causes. Then the story moves forward a number of years and centers on several murders in Tokyo which seem related to one another but are otherwise inexplicable. So he begins his meticulous investigation and follows through some peculiar twists and devious red herrings. The publisher's blurb is really very helpful in this case. What is best here--the investigation, the insight into Japanese life and customs, insight into religious practices? Maybe all of the above plus just how alike people (esp law enforcement) are regardless of all else.
I requested and received an ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you! And many thanks to translator Giles Murray (Japanese to English).
Looking forward to getting an audio copy because of the pronunciations which defy me.

A woman is found strangled in an apartment where she had no known reason to be.

When Michiko Oshitani is found dead in a Tokyo apartment, her friends and colleagues are beyond confused. She lived and worked far from Tokyo, and no one has any idea why she would be there in the first place. As the police investigate, they find that the man who rents the apartment has disappeared….and he had rented the apartment under a false name. Elsewhere in Tokyo another person is found strangled to death, but it is a homeless man in an encampment. The police don’t feel that the two deaths are connected at first, with nothing but proximity of date in common, but they may need to reevaluate that position.
Investigating Michiko’s murder is Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department detective Matsumiya. The more he and his partner look into the victim’s life, the less sense her death makes. She seemingly had no reason to be in Tokyo, and lived the sort of life that would give no one cause to want to kill her. Finally, a connection is discovered….Michiko was friendly as a child with classmate Hiromi Asai, who survived a tumultuous childhood to become a well known and respected actress, playwright and theatre director. Hiromi’s latest play had opened at a famed Tokyo theatre on the same weekend that Michiko was murdered….could the reason for Michiko’s death be buried in the past? Matsumiya turns to his cousin Kyoichiro Kaga, formerly a detective with the TMPD and now with the detective bureau in Nihonbashi Precinct, for advice. Kaga is legendary within the department for his abilities in solving crimes with little evidence available, and Michiko’s case certainly seems to fall into that category. Interestingly, Kaga has a connection to Hiromi Asai; will it be a help or a barrier to solving the crime? The past weighs heavily on this latest mystery, and may hold clues to some of the mysteries of Kaga’s own past.
The Kaga mysteries are police procedurals that are reminiscent of the golden age of detective fiction….Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and more recently P. D. James. No car chases, no tough guy antics, not even any foul language….just people committed to doing the necessary painstaking work to find justice for the victims of a crime. Kaga is searching for answers about his own family as he helps others to find clarity, and in this fourth book in the series he may just find some. This is the second novel in the series that I have had the opportunity to read, and i enjoyed it tremendously. The interactions between Kaga and Matsumiya, the pull that the past has over people in the present, and the role of family in framing life in Japan combine to make an intriguing mystery that unfolds gradually and holds its fair share of surprises. I highly recommend both The Final Curtain and the other books in the Kaga series to lovers of classic detective fiction. Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy of this fantastic installment in a terrific series.

Coming into this series later on, I was surprisingly pleased with the ease in which I was able to jump in. The translation has also been done extremely well, and it is written as a straightforward police procedural. Through the twisted maze of Michiko Oshintani's death, Detective Kaga puts bits and pieces together from different people and timelines to create one big picture that is beyond shocking. I was surprised by the ending of this story and the intricacies that went into making and unraveling it.

I liked this even better than the previous entry I'd read from this author (The Devotion of Suspect X)! Though it is the finale to the series, I do not think you need to have read anything prior to it to enjoy. It was a true mystery in the police procedural style, and all around just well written, entertaining crime fiction

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for this ARC of The Final Curtain! What a riveting mystery book! I really enjoyed it! For me this was not a quick read. I really had to take my time because I wanted to pay close attention to details and to the rich complexities of the plot. Worth every second I spent! Be prepared to think critically. Keigo Higashino's intelligence is on full display with The Final Curtain. This book has great twists & turns and well-developed characters, which will keep any mystery lover hooked until the end. I just wish I was able to read it in its original language. I definitely think this translation is pretty good in that I found the book to be well-written & engaging, but obviously I can't make a comparison between it and the original. Definitely recommending The Final Curtain to any fans of a good mystery novel.