I became an instant fan of Higashino when I read The Devotion of Suspect X on the recommendation of my neighborhood bookstore. That was a fast-paced thriller and I went through it almost in one go. Journey Under The Midnight Sun differs from Suspect X in its pace but not in its impact. Here the pace is much more balanced it does not leave your heart pounding out of your chest as you get to the big reveal.
The impact however is still very strong because of how Higashino tells the story. He uses multiple characters scattered over space and time that are connected to the lead protagonist in some way. Sometimes the connections look so bleak, to begin with, but turn out to be massive in the end. Another thing that keeps things very interesting is how the story does not always run linearly. There are multiple instances of characters having flashbacks to reveal an additional aspect of the story just pulling back to another time to bring out a connection with a new character that is introduced. Since it was originally written in Japanese, the only problem I had was remembering the names of the characters. That took me some time to get used to.
The climax was satisfying and realistic so I loved every bit of the book. Basically, the bottom line is that if you don't mind reading a mystery where the pace is balanced, or if you do not like the frantic pace of certain mysteries because it gives you anxiety, this would be a perfect book for you. Grab it now.
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