I had not read any murder mystery series from Japan, so for me this was an introduction to this author, series and subcategory of murder mysteries. In can be tricky maintaining good style in translated crime series, especially when there may also be cultural quirks that readers could be confused by. This was a good example of how to maintain the integrity of the original story while making it accessible to an English audience. I will be looking for more books in this series. It was fun and a well told story.

A young man is found dead in Tokyo Bay. Ryota Uetsuji, a budding filmmaker, was shot and his body was found floating in Tokyo Bay. He had been reported missing a week earlier by his girlfriend Sonoka Shimauchi, who works in a flower shop. When homicide detectives arrive at her and Uetsuji's apartment, they find her missing, with her clothing and personal items gone.

The more the Homicide team, led by Detective Kusanagi, dig into the circumstances of Sonoka's relationship with Uetsuji, they discover that she was a victim of domestic abuse, giving her ample motive. But, she had an alibi for her boyfriend's murder: she had been in Kyoto when her boyfriend disappeared. Detective Kusanagi is stumped.

So, he consults with his brilliant friend, physicist Manabu Yukawa (known by the team as Detective Galileo).

The homicide team, meanwhile, digs into Sonoka's character, past and other relationships, and trace her now deceased mother to an orphanage, which connects them with an elderly writer of children's books and, strangely, an elderly hostess/owner of a high-end bar.

Manabu has his own slight connection to the writer, which prompts Kusanagi to get the physicist, who is preoccupied with his ailing mother and frail father, to explain. The connection is indeed slight, as Manabu only provided some background to the writer for one of her books.

The orphanage proves to be a bigger connection, and the detectives do their best to parse through many years of history and possible relationships, yet, no matter how strongly they feel Sonoka is responsible, Kusanagi can't get past her alibi, or catch up with the elusive young woman.

What does a naïve, easily-led and sensitive flower arranger, the writer of children’s books, and captivating hostess/owner of a high-end bar have in common?

An action, we’re privy to, provided in the prologue, of a woman leaving her daughter at an orphanage is critical to understanding part of the basis for this complex case.

Kusanagi makes his own leaps in understanding motives, but it is Manabu who figures out what was really going on, and it's surprising and affecting when the details come to light. Kusanagi does figure out who is the murderer, but it's almost irrelevant, considering what is revealed about the person.

The whole story is tragic, and unfolds slowly, giving us the identity of the woman in the prologue, and how things unfolded from there.

I enjoyed this, having read other instalments of the Detective Galileo stories, as well as other mysteries by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I found it too slow paced and it seemed to drag on.

I feel like a lot of Japanese crime that I’ve read tends to be on the slower side and that’s just not my taste.

I hope others love this one.

I had heard that this could be read as a standalone, and I think that’s probably true, but it probably works better if you’ve read something from the series already. This being my first of this author, I’m not sure I would try another. I’m not sure if it was the writing or the translation but it was pretty dull for a murder mystery.

Invisible Helix is the 10th modern procedural mystery featuring physicist consultant Manabu Yukawa (aka "Detective Galileo") by Keigo Higashino. Released 15th Aug 2023 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same publisher in 4th quarter 2025. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a very well written and translated modern procedural with a contemplative and intelligent protagonist, an ensemble cast, and a cleverly plotted puzzle. The story is mostly character driven and the characters are three dimensional and interestingly well rounded. It's a touch more cerebral than many modern procedurals and lands more on the Christie, Horowitz, or PD James end of the spectrum than more modern action driven thrillers. Readers are expected to bring a modicum of concentration to the read, there is no spoon feeding. The author doesn't overexplain or simplify.

It's a wistful and melancholy story, and sensitive readers should be aware there are descriptions of domestic violence, fraud, abandonment, and child/infant adoption.

The translation work by Giles Murray is seamless, and not intrusive, and there's no wonky scansion, however, it does definitely read like literature in translation and readers who aren't used to the rhythm of Japanese names and places (lots of both in this book) will need to bring extra patience and possibly a notepad.

With several volumes in the series translated into English at this point, it would make an excellent choice for a binge or buddy read. The author is talented enough to provide the necessary backstory, so it works well enough as a standalone. The books are wonderfully written with compelling and complex storylines, so reading them in order is recommended, but not absolutely necessary. The author/publisher have included a dramatis personae list at the beginning of the book which is quite useful.

Four stars. Very very well written.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is the fifth English translation of Keigo Higashino's Detective Galileo series. Higashino is one of Japan's bestselling novelists. I have read a previous entry into this series. The book totally works as a stand alone in the series. The series is a police procedural where the police are aided by the friend of the Chief Inspector, a professor of physics (hence the nickname Detective Galileo). Professor Yukawa loves to solve complex puzzles ( and he is quite skillful at this). Invisible Helix is a series of twisty puzzles. This book is an exploration of what is family and the importance of relations. The way the multiple twists unfold is masterful, and never feels forced. I am always impressed how the stories in this series surprise you after you think you have solved the mystery. I recommend both the series and this book.

If you enjoy murder mysteries set in Japan, you will certainly enjoy this one! I don’t want to say too much as you just need to read it! You do not need to have read the previous books with the detective to enjoy this one.

The Tokyo police have one mystery to solve, for the reader there are several. This is a wonderfully constructed procedural that addresses connections past and present. Chief Inspector Kusanagi and his team use the help of Kusanagi’s friend, physics professor Manabu Yukawa. Naturally, the more they uncover, the more confusing the case becomes. Keigo Higashino has written an enjoyable book and Giles Murray’s translation is smooth. This book is well along in the Detective Galileo series, but reads as a stand-alone (I’ve not read any of the others.)

Synopsis:
The body of a young man is found floating in Tokyo Bay. But his death was no accident—Ryota Uetsuji was shot. He'd been reported missing the week before by his live-in girlfriend Sonoka Shimauchi, but when detectives from the Homicide Squad go to interview her, she is nowhere to be found. She's taken time off from work, clothes and effects are missing from the apartment she shared. And when the detectives learn that she was the victim of domestic abuse, they presume that she was the killer. But her alibi is airtight—she was hours away in Kyoto when Ryota disappeared, forcing Detectives Kusanagi and Utsumi to restart their investigation.

Thoughts:
This book is apart of a series, but it worked so well as a standalone! The characters were good and the mystery was even better. I recommend it if you’re looking for a mystery!

Some books entertain you, some books stay with you—this one does both. Every page pulls you further in, every moment lingers just enough to make you think. When it’s over, you’ll wish you could read it for the first time again.

A young man has been found dead and his girlfriend is missing. After discovering that the man was abusive, the police suspect that the girlfriend is the murderer. However, she has an unshakable alibi.

I have now read three books in this series, and the only one that I really liked was “The Devotion of Suspect X”. The description of this book is misleading. There is zero detection by Detective Galileo. In fact there is very little police work at all. The book is primarily about the backstories of several adopted children and their birth parents. Yes, there is a murder. But the murderer just confesses in the end. The book is slow, and definitely not a good example of a police procedural.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

A great police procedural. Full of twists and turns and an easy read to jump into if you haven't read any other of the Detective Galileo books.

Thanks for the arc, Netgalley!!
amazing amazing amazing, truly. Keigo always amazed me! Will never stop reading his writing.

A clever blend of mystery, and human drama. The characters are complex with many layers and struggles, and I enjoyed the plot. This translation was very good and I will be seeking more of this author’s work.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

MY VERDICT: A corpse in Tokyo Bay unveils Detective Galileo’s most personal case yet: a skillful weaving of murder’s surface simplicity into profound revelations about family bonds.

Invisible Helix (透明な螺旋) is volume 10 in the original Japanese series, but alas English speaking publishers once again have decided to translate only a few, so that’s volume 5 for us. And the books are not available in any other European language either. So so sad.
Anyway, it was neat getting to meet Galileo again in Invisible Helix, even though they hardly ever call him that in this book – possibly a translator’s choice? The two other books in that series I read were not translated by Giles Murray.

Invisible Helix is is a slow mystery on family ties and relationships, with focus on characters and their lives, leading to a murder, and then to identifying who did it and why.
In fact, we don’t meet Professor Yukawa, aka Detective Galileo, until 26% of the book, and for a while he remains mysterious, preferring to do his own investigations on his own without too much collaboration with his friend Chief Inspector Kusagani.

As in other books with him, there’s some type of competition between them, a rather kind one, all in the service of finding what happened, even though sometimes the police department has a hard time understanding the doings of Yukawa’s smart mind.
And we meet again Kusagani’s assistant, the female Detective Sergeant Kaoru Utsumi.

Socially speaking, there were interesting details on orphanages, on flower shops, and on hostess clubs.
And I didn’t know that in some edges of Tokyo, people turn their property into some type of farm to bring down their annual property taxes, for instance planting chestnut trees, that don’t require much work (cf. chapter 11).

I had guessed some connections between the Prologue and the rest of the plot, but the final twist totally took me by surprise, as is often the case with Higashino: you are almost at the end of the book, you feel almost disappointed that the case was too easy, and then everything ends up ultimately different from what you thought!
And it was definitely much more personal that I would have ever guessed.
So this was a satisfying novel by Higashino, but not the best to start with if you want to discover this author.

If you're searching for a crime thriller that grips you from the first page and doesn't let go, "Invisible Helix" is the novel for you. When homicide detectives investigate a plausible murder: a man floating in Tokyo Bay, shot in the back, they think it will be open and shut. The victim, Ryota Uetsuji was physically abusive to his live-in girlfriend, Sonoka Shimauchi who reported him missing about a week prior to the discovery. Though she has an alibi, she cannot be found when they later try to question her. Add to that, they discover that she is on the run with children’s book author, Mae Matunaga.

A lot here doesn’t make sense to Chief Inspector Kusanagi, so he pays a visit to his friend, Physics Professor Manabu Yukawa, who often consults the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

One of the book's strengths lies in its storytelling. Every detail, no matter how seemingly insignificant, serves the larger mystery. The author crafts a world where lies are rampant, truth is elusive, and nothing is as it appears. Even the layered backstory, including family history, kept me hooked until the last revelation.

I thought "Invisible Helix" was a superb stand-alone novel, but I discovered that it is the fifth installment in the “Detective Galileo Series”. Detective Galileo is Professor Manabu Yukawa, though he plays only a supporting character in this novel. Heads up: We learn a surprise about him, too.

"Invisible Helix" is such a page-turner that fans of intricate crime thrillers are sure to enjoy it. I hope to read more translated works by author Keigo Higashino.

This is the third of Higashino's books I've read, and I've thoroughly enjoyed all of them. I've always appreciated the sort of "non-police detective" character and the way they approach problems, and Professor Galileo is no exception. I think having read a couple of the series previously also allowed me to focus more on the intricacies of the story and less on who the characters are, and that made the experience even more enjoyable. If you like mysteries that are unusual and a bit cerebral, I think you'll enjoy this series.

This story started with a single mother, whose partner died suddenly and she is unable to work, with the infant. She drops off the child at an orphanage with a hand made doll.
50 yrs later, we met Sonoka Shimarchi, whose mother just passed away from a brain hemorrhage. Sometime later, she meets a man, Ryota Uetsuji, a video producer, when he has her make some floral arrangements for a video that he is producing. They begin dating, and he moves in with her.
When Sonoka returns from a girls trip, Ryota is missing so she files a police report. A few days later, his body is found floating in Tokyo Bay with a bullet in his back. However, Sonoka is nowhere to be found.
This was my first Japanese police procedural and it was quite a puzzle to unravel. The author dropped many clues, described the characters and possible motives, and wove their links into the story as he revealed a slew of long buried secrets. Keeping in mind the meaning of the double helix which refers to DNA, made this mystery even more complex and interesting.
This was a pretty fast read, and I liked reading about the ways that the Japanese police investigated the murder. The conclusion was a surprise and I thought that the twist was unique.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and am leaving my opinions voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

My first Japanese mystery! A fast-paced book that seemed predictable at times but still threw me for a loop. Running to libby to check out the earlier books in the series.