Guilt: A Mystery

A tour de force crime novel from one of the international masters of the form, where a simple murder case questions the simple notions of good and evil, guilt and redemption.

Homicide Detective Godai of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is assigned to investigate the death of a lawyer, Kensuke Shiraishi, whose body was found on a Central Tokyo riverbank. His investigations leads him to one Tatsuro Kuraki, who claims to have had limited contact with Shiraishi - but, surprising the investigators, Kuraki not only confesses to the lawyer's murder, but another one from thirty years ago - for which another man was arrested and died in custody before trial. This brings unexpected resolution to two cases but there is one problem: to Detective Godai the confession rings false.

And Godai is not the only one who cannot accept Kuraki's explanation of both murders and his professed motives. The confessed murderer's son and the victim's daughter both feel strongly that both the act and the motive claimed are untrue.

As Godai investigates further, he discovers that the relation between the murder of thirty years ago and the recent one is complex, raising multi-faceted questions of guilt and innocence. Guilt is a rich novel about crime and its aftereffects on those left behind by both the victim and perpetrator, a twisting, compelling work that will surprise and astonish.

Author: Keigo Higashino
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 04/07/2026
Pages: 416
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.34lbs
Size: 9.25h x 6.12w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781250877543


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2026
Booklist 03/01/2026
Library Journal 01/01/2026 pg. 36

About the Author
KEIGO HIGASHINO is one of Japan's best-selling novelists, his works translated into more than twenty languages. He's best known for this Detective Galileo mystery series (The Devotion of Suspect X) and his Kyoichiro Kaga series (Malice, A Death in Tokyo). His work has been a finalist for both the Edgar Award and the CWA Dagger, along with many awards in his home country. He lives in Tokyo, Japan.