The Final Curtain Book Review

The Final Curtain

by Keigo Higashino & translated by Giles Murray

Publisher: Minotaur Books 
Ginasbookreport Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Suspense
Read This If You Love: Police procedural books / Jonathan Kellerman novels

“She’s an actor. She plays whatever role the circumstances demand.”

The Final Curtain by Keigo Higashino is a Japanese police procedural. Written as an old-style hit-the-pavement investigative, it wraps up the Detective Kaga series by unraveling the deaths in the present and past. Woven together across decades, how are all of these people connected and who is responsible for the killings and why? Can Kaga and his cousin unravel the case and put all the pieces together before the victim count rises?

I didn’t love this book but think many will. It was too predictable to me and I’m starting to realize I’m just not a big procedural fan. The trope in this sub-genre seems to place the detectives as connected to the case, which can be boring. However, if you love a traditional police procedural thriller, you would enjoy this new novel. My favorite part of the novel was getting to know Japanese culture a bit through this fictional work. If you are looking for additional Japanese mysteries, check out the House Murders series by Yukito Ayatsuji.