The Devil's Whisper

Sixteen-year-old Mamoru Kusaka has not had an easy life. His dad allegedly embezzled money from the company he worked for and then abandoned him and his mother when Mamoru was a small child. He and his mother stayed in their same small town and endured the rumors and rudeness of the people there towards them. Then his mother dies and he is sent to live with an aunt and uncle he doesn't even know. Just as he is adjusting to life in Tokoyo with his new family, his uncle who drives a taxi hits and kills a young woman one night and is charged with manslaughter. Mamoru sets out to prove his innocence. While attempting to prove his uncle's innocence he comes across some information about the young woman which is not very flattering. Evidently she and other young ladies would pretend to fall in love with lonely men and scam them of their money. It just so happens there were 4 of these young women and 3 of them are dead by the time Mamoru investigates. He is torn with what to do with the information as he knows this will only further devastate the family of the young woman run over by his uncle, yet he must get his uncle out of jail. About this time a powerful businessman comes forward as a witness and states the light was green and the girl came out of nowhere, thus setting Mamoru's uncle free. This stranger adds another layer of deception to the story. Meanwhile Mamoru is determined the save the 4th woman's life and thus sets out to find her. He does rescue her at the last minute but then the killer contacts him. He finally meets the killer and it is not at all what one would expect. The same unexpectedness comes from the powerful businessman as well. I won't tell you the details here so you can read for yourself. But this was a beautifully written book with some brilliant plot twists and some very unique characters. Read it for yourself and find out.

I've been intrigued by all Miyabe's books, but this is my favorite. The Devil's Whisper is a highly original thriller, an edgy exploration of morality - and an inside look at Japanese society. The author is Japan's best selling mystery writer. The narrative starts with the shocking deaths of three beautiful young women - two suicides and an accident. While the suicides take place in front of witnesses, the accident victim is struck down by a taxi driver late at night on a deserted street. It seems that accidents are taken very seriously in Japan. Drivers who hit pedestrians are expected to apologize and recompense the family. They may be jailed and fined. In this case, the driver had a green light, and the young woman ran in front of his taxi as if being chased by the devil. But he can't prove his innocence. He's held in jail. The protagonist of the novel is his nephew, sixteen-year-old Mamoru Kusaka. Mamoru lives with his uncle's family because his mother died and his father disappeared after embezzling five million yen. This brings up another interesting revelation about life in Japan. The families of criminals are often quite unfairly ostracized. Mamoru is tormented at school, and he and his mother are shunned by their neighbors. Mamoru, however, is honest, compassionate, courageous and resourceful. And he has a superpower. As a young kid he was befriended by a retired locksmith, who taught him how to pick locks. When circumstances lead Mamoru into the heart of the mystery of the three dead women, his lock picking skills come in handy. He can go where others can't to investigate. The plot is full of surprises, with a wonderfully twisted villain and plenty of social evils for Mamoru to wrestle with.

This is the second Miyabe novel I read, the first being Shadow Family. First thing I should note that if you've read All She Was Worth/Kash and Shadow Family first, please read Devil's Whisper with an open mind and no expectations. One thing I realized about Miyabe's novels, is that although in US she is categorized as a Mystery author, in reality she's a "jack of all trades." She writes every genre, and often mixing them. For example, Crossfire is more like an action/thriller/paranormal type where as Shadow Family is purely mystery to the core (and a short study on family and nature of humans). In the case of Devil's Whisper, it is definitely a mix, with a prominence in mystery, and some leaning toward other genre. Therefore, PLEASE read this with an open mind. That said, unlike Shadow Family, Devil's Whisper does have a main character who gets developed as the story goes on. Mamoru is a 16 year old boy who has a slightly "dirty" past regarding his parents and where he came from. Despite all the pain he went through as a child, he grew up as a fine boy and has a strong character. When a girl got killed by his Taxi-driver Uncle (whom he lives with along with his Aunt and cousin after his mother's death), he decided to help his Uncle by researching into the girl who died. What he found out was more than just what happened with the girl who died, or her past, but also what happened in his own past. Weirdly enough, despite Mamoru being a well fleshed out character, I find myself unable to truly connect with him. Even now after reading the novel and finding out the truth, I find myself unable to accept or sometimes even understand the choices he made. Maybe it's something that's lost in translation, but Mamoru also came across as someone without emotion, except a bit of anger, and a lot of fear at one point in the novel. What I received from him was slightly more on the "depressing" side, which perhaps is what made it very difficult for me to connect with him. So oddly enough, rather than connecting with him as a "friend" or "another side of me" (which is what books usually try to do, in order to pull in the viewer), I find myself feeling like his "older sister," wanting to reprimand him on some of his decisions, and feeling perplexed as to the choices he made. But again, maybe this is something that was just lost in translation. The resolution is also a bit on the unconventional side of mystery. I don't want to give anything away, but I do suggest the reader to view with open mind and give the book a chance, and make your decisions at the end after everything's said and done. At the very least, the first 3/4th of the book was extremely enjoyable, with the last 1/4th of the book slightly on the unconventional but still interesting side.

I've so far read all but one of Miyabe's books (the brave story), and have not been disappointed yet. Her first person narrative is almost as amazing as Natsuo Kirino (nobody's perfect), as you find yourself completely absorbed in the protagonists' struggle to find (or hide) the truth. There are no bad guys here; only people in pain, trying to find their way out. The killer gets alot of sympathy here, and the victims are not as innocent as the fictional newspapers have you believe (not a spoiler. It's explained early on). Every clue to the many mysteries undertaken in this book pulls you in, and you find yourself racing against time with the characters to solve the case before it's too late. By the way, there are quite a few plot twists that lead to a breath-taking climax. It's not just a story about a murder, but a web of intrigue surrounding a murder, a missing father, and the honor of a cab-driving family man.

The Devil's Whisper is one of the earliest published works of Miyabe's, and arguably her first popular hit in Japan. In many ways this is a fairly representative work of hers--it has the classic Miyabe formula of a scattered collection of mysterious clues faithfully collected, assembled, and slowly solved by the main character. Miyabe is skilled at creating full-fledged and interesting characters, and this novel's "boy sleuth" Mamoru is no exception. Indeed, Miyabe is often at her best with young but complex protagonists like Mamoru in this book. Miyabe has a fascination with the paranormal, and this appears in many of her early works, including this one. For people expecting a genre-typical mystery or detective story in the vein of "All She Was Worth", this book might stretch the limits of the reader's ability to suspend belief just a little. In Japanese fiction all the way from the Tale of Genji to the works of Haruki Murakami, the line between the ordinary and the extraordinary tends to be blurred more than in Western works, so this is not necessarily a unique aspect from that perspective. Still, the reliance on the paranormal in this book may not appeal to all readers, so be warned that this is a slightly genre-bending work. As is often the case in Miyabe's works, the journey tends to be a little better than the destination, although this book's climax is a unique one that extends beyond the formal "solution" to the mystery. As is also common with Miyabe, this book delves a little into social commentary, as becomes apparent as the book's mysteries unravel. I will reveal no more so as to not give anything away! Miyabe's works are always fun and engaging, and The Devil's Whisper is no exception. Not Miyabe's best, but still an entertaining read despite being a little rough around the edges. If you like Miyabe's other works, this book should not disappoint. If you are new to Miyabe, you might start with another book such as All She Was Worth which is arguably her best-known (and highest quality) work translated into English.