A complexly plotted mystery, aided by character depth not often found in such novels. Readers are left to puzzle about identities and motivations along with Detective Kusanagi and his team as they seek to solve the murder of an abusive young man who seems to have deserved his fate. And then there is the question of the relationship of his abused girlfriend to several other older women we meet. Despite all the police's hard work, as is usual for this series, Professor Yukawa, the brilliant physicist, taking time off from caring for his ailing parents, solves the murder and other mysteries with seeming ease, largely keeping his police friends in the dark.
There has always been something disturbing to me about characters like Yukawa (and Sherlock Holmes), whose intelligence and moral consciousness so far outweigh that of the average person, let alone a dedicated police investigative team. While the attraction of a super rational detective is considerable, Yukawa's decision at the book's end about what he will reveal and who will go punished or unpunished all rubbed me the wrong way. That he is called Detective Galileo in this series, suggests he should know better, as opposed to feeling he knows better.

Detective Galileo is back in Keigo Higashino's “Invisible Helix”, another fine Japanese mystery set in and around Tokyo.

We start off with a bit of history, an unwed mother with little hope of a career and life, of a girl being left at the gates of an orphanage with nothing but a handmade doll in her basket. Zooming to the present day, the body of Ryota Uetsuji is found floating offshore with a bullet hole in its head. Uetsuji was reported missing by his live-in girlfriend, Sonoka Shimauchi, a week before, but now when the police come to find her she has disappeared, leaving with a suitcase. Even though she has an alibi for the time of the murder, an airtight alibi, Detectives Kusanagi and Utsumi believe she is somehow connected to the killing, especially when stories of domestic abuse start to surface.

Digging deeper, we soon learn of Sonoka’s ties to the orphanage where her mother was raised and where she ended up working. We also find an older lady who wrote childrens’ books, a close friend of Sonoka’s mother, who it seems is helping Sonoka and is also an acquaintance of “Detective Galileo”, the physicist Manabu Yukawa who has helped Kusanagi and Utsumi in the past but seems even more reluctant than usual to provide any information, although he is heavily involved. Throw in a mysterious older woman who is the owner of a hostess club and has her own reasons for finding Sonoka, and the detectives have an intricate web of old secrets and motives to unravel to catch a killer.

Another intricate puzzle box of past histories and decisions that have a profound effect on the present. Yukawa’s hidden side is exposed a bit more as we see him caring for his aging parents and we learn more about his personal history (a lot more really). This latest novel seems a bit rushed, less character development, and is a quick read. As I have said before, I think I enjoy the Kyoichiro Kaga series a bit more than Detective Galileo, there's a stronger sense of place in them, which is part of the joy of these novels.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

A Japanese mystery novel that delves into the intricate world of genetic engineering and its ethical implications. The story revolves around a series of mysterious events and crimes linked to groundbreaking genetic research. The protagonist, who is often a detective or a scientist in Higashino's novels, must navigate through a complex web of corporate secrets, scientific discoveries, and human motivations to uncover the truth. The investigation reveals intricate connections between the crime and hidden historical events, threading together elements that appear almost invisible. The novel explores themes of identity, the power of genetic information, and the moral dilemmas faced by those who wield such power. Overall, "Invisible Helix" is a gripping tale that combines scientific intrigue with Higashino's signature style of mystery and suspense.

Invisible Helix is a perfect title. The reader has to pull out all the strands to untangle the mystery. Reading this book is a process and the first third is slow and confusing. However there comes a point where the story jumps from police procedural to amateur sleuths and the plot and pacing makes sense.
Everyone has a story to tell, especially unwed mothers. And everyone has a lie to tell, especially unwed mothers. Mothers will go to improbable lengths to protect their child, whether the child is biological or not.
The layers of Helix peel like an onion. There is no one simple conclusion to any of the stories but the murder is eventually solved, to no one's satisfaction.
My struggle with Helix is the translation which is often stilted and uses English phrases that are awkwardly out of true. The story is rich and layered, the dialogue is trite or corny. I just can't quite reconcile two brilliant middle-aged men concluding a conversation at a funeral with a fist bump.
I was provided this ARC from NetGallery for an independent review.

I like this Detective Galileo Novel that is created by Keigo and I hope all of you can enjoy it also.

This well-written and very well crafted book had layers upon layers of secrets and labyrinthine relationships and connections. There were intricate and deeply hidden past intersections among some of them. Despite all the complexity, I never felt lost as the layers were revealed over the course of the book’s events. I enjoyed not only the storyline itself, but the social and behavioral mores that are clearly depicted; I enjoyed that aspect a great deal.

I normally assume anyone reading reviews has first read the book’s synopsis, but at the time I write this there isn’t one yet so I will take a shot at it, and do my best to keep it succinct.
The essential elements are:
- a police investigation into a missing person;
- a great deal of shared history among various characters (much of which is slowly revealed – to the reader and, sometimes, to the characters);
- we get some nice travelogue, and even depiction of the changes in neighborhoods over time (more interesting than I am making it sound).

I highly recommend this book. I recently read another by this author, not from this series, and it was equally well characterized and meticulously plotted. I will definitely seek out more by Keigo Higashino.

My appreciation to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance review copy; my opinions are my own, and freely given.

Great read!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one! This book had fantastic characters! It had great suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and some chilling moments! The storyline was very interesting and had me glued to my kindle! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

As a longtime fan of Keigo Higashino's books, I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of his latest book, thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Although this could be read as a standalone book, I highly recommend reading the entire Detective Galileo series. Not only does the author write complex mysteries, but he also provides a fascinating look at contemporary Japan and its culture. The books are translated beautifully.

In Invisible Helix, Higashino does a great job bringing the characters involved in the mystery to life. They have interesting backstories which are important to the plot. Readers also get to learn more about the backgrounds of the detectives. This book is an unconventional mystery which I found intriguing. I flew through the book, unable to put it down. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next installment.

Rating: 2.5/5


Invisible Helix is my 11th Keigo Higashino read; and including Invisible Helix, this is my fifth Professor Galileo read.

And I am surprised at how disappointed I am with Invisible Helix. There is no charm in the story telling, there is no character development, the plot arc is totally as per convenience and the mystery was almost non-existent; without the prologue, I could have taken out the 'almost' from the preceding part of this sentence. The only suspense in the novel is the identity of the mother, and twice this issue has been handled with just out of the blue solutions. Readers do not get the opportunity to use their brains for figuring out any part of the mystery. When I tried to use my brain, it was just a waste of time because actually there was no clue strewn in the plot for readers. Surprisingly, even a character like Professor Galileo was lackluster in this book.

The only okay part in Invisible Helix is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, which still delivered, comparatively, in terms of action and character portrayal, almost akin to its earlier performance. Detective Sergeant Utsumi have always felt like a favourite of Higashino to me, and in Invisible Helix too, I felt the same. Which means, her character shines. On the other hand, Detective Inspector Kishitani has been reduced to a one-dimensional character. I liked how readers could feel the burden of responsibility on Chief Inspector Kusanagi.

To me, the biggest joy of reading a Keigo Higashino is that, irrespective of their genre, the books always come with a subtle but distinct exploration of life and human nature. This is what uplifts the books so much. This is absolutely missing in Invisible Helix, despite having ample opportunity for this exploration.

Another saving grace I can add to this review of Invisible Helix is that despite everything, it's a fast read, so I don't feel like I wasted too much of my reading time. Also, till the first half or so, I had no idea that the author would choose such a lazy way to unravel the mystery, so till then the book was okay.

The book has all the ingredients to make it everything that makes a Keigo Higashino book a Keigo Higashino book, what it needs is a good story telling technique (so much of the story is just told!) and a better way of presenting and solving the mystery.

If this was just a run of the mill mystery or thriller, I would have still rated it 3/5, but my expectations from a Keigo Higashino book is too high too rate this anything beyond 2.5/5, and given my reading experience, I cannot round it of to 3. So where decimal rating is not possible, the rating seen will be 2/5.

I have been stark in my review here as I understand that the copy I am reading is an Uncorrected Digital Galley. I hope my feedbacks help in the finalisation of the published version, and if so, I will be the happiest as Keigo Higashino is a favourite author of mine. I hope the final published version of Invisible Helix will be different than what it currently is in its galley form, though for translated works, I have no idea how this can work.


My heartfelt thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this opportunity to read a favourite author again, so early in the making of the book. Despite my gratitude, the review is not influenced by any such emotion, and solely reflects my own reading experience.

Q: Do I recommend Invisible Helix by Keigo Higashino to my fellow readers?
A: Sadly, no.

Keigo Higashino never disappoints. I read this in one day. He writes smart, propulsive mysteries that are some of the best out there.