Malice: A Mystery (The Kyoichiro Kaga Series, 1)

📚 Why We Recommend It​

Forget everything you know about mystery novels—Keigo Higashino’s Malice doesn’t just tell a story of murder. It dissects the most terrifying part of humanity: the quiet, unprovoked hatred that lurks in the shadows of friendship. When Kunihiko Hidaka, a beloved best-selling author, is found dead in his study, the case seems open-and-shut: his longtime friend Osamu Nonoguchi confesses to the crime almost immediately. But Detective Kaga isn’t satisfied. Why would Nonoguchi turn himself in? Why does his confession feel too “neat”? And what hidden scars from their past could drive a man to kill the friend who helped him launch his career?​
Higashino upends the classic whodunit by giving away the “who” early—then spends the rest of the book unraveling the “why.” Every chapter peels back a layer of deception: a forged manuscript, a twisted memory, a lie buried for decades. What makes Malice a masterpiece isn’t just its clever plot twists (though they’ll leave you gasping)—it’s how Higashino exposes the ugliness of human envy: the resentment that festers when someone else’s success feels like a personal failure, the bitterness that turns gratitude into hatred.​
Praised by Publishers Weekly as “a masterclass in psychological suspense” and adored by fans for its sharp character work, Malice is a must-read for anyone who loves mysteries that stay with you long after the final page. It doesn’t just challenge your logic—it challenges your understanding of human nature. By the end, you’ll realize: the scariest part of a crime isn’t the act itself. It’s the darkness in someone’s heart that makes it possible.