This February, in his first major U.S publication, Minotaur Books is proud to publish one of Japan’s most popular biggest selling fiction authors—as well known in Japan as Stephen King or James Patterson are in the West. Keigo Higashino’s THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X, (Minotaur Books; On-Sale: February 1, 2011, Price: $24.99), translated from the Japanese by Alexander O. Smith, is a top-notch crime puzzler, a gutsy cat-and-mouse game, and a story of devotion verging on obsession all rolled into one unforgettable tale. Amidst a battle between two of the finest intellectual minds as one seeks love, the other seeks truth, THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X will dazzle even the most clever of crime fiction readers.

When a visit from an abusive ex-husband goes terribly wrong and ends in violence, Yasuko, a divorced, single mother accepts an offer of help from her quiet, nearly invisible neighbor, Ishigami. A brilliant scientist turned high school math teacher, Ishigami disposes of the body and constructs the perfect cover up. The body turns up on the Tokyo side in the Old Edogawa River and it isn’t long before Yasuko comes under suspicion. Detective Kusanagi is unable to find any obvious holes in Yasuko’s alibi and yet is still sure that there is something wrong. Kusanagi brings in Dr. Manabu Yukawa to help, a physicist and college friend who frequently consults with the police. Yukawa went to university with Ishigami, and after learning that Ishigami is the prime suspect’s neighbor, becomes convinced he had something to do with the murder. As Ishigami tries to protect Yasuko by outmaneuvering and outthinking Yukawa, the investigators realize they are facing their most nimble and determined opponent yet.

With a final twist that readers will not see coming, THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X is a masterpiece of crime fiction by one of Japan’s best-loved and bestselling novelists.

Born in Osaka and currently living in Tokyo, Keigo Higashino (pronounced KEE-go HEE-gah-shin-oh) is one of the most widely known and bestselling novelists in Japan. He is the winner of the Edogawa Rampo Prize (for best mystery), the Mystery Writers of Japan, Inc. prize (for best mystery) and the prestigious Naoki Prize for The Devotion of Suspect X.  His novels have routinely topped the annual bestsellers lists, have been adapted more than a dozen times into movies or TV series, and translated widely throughout Asia.

Alexander O. Smith has translated a broad variety of novels, manga, and video games, for which he has been nominated for the Eisner Award, and won the ALA's Batchelder Award (for his translation of Miyuki Miyabe's Brave Story), and been recognized for his localizations of the video games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XII.  He lives with his family in Vermont.

Early Praise for Keigo Higashino’s THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X

“What's in an alibi? In The Devotion of Suspect X, Keigo Higashino weaves a web of intellectual gamesmanship in which the truth is a weapon that leads both police and readers astray. The ingenious conclusion is so unexpected that is difficult to imagine anyone seeing it coming. Smart, smart characters.”

—Jacqueline Winspear, New York Times bestselling author of Maisy Dobbs and The Mapping of Love and Death

“The Devotion of Suspect X has all the brilliant intricacy of the best Golden Age mysteries - puzzle within puzzle, twist after twist - with a modern sensibility.  It is a wonderful, fresh take on the classic mystery's intellectual struggle between protagonist and antagonist, adds to it all the right amounts of tension and pacing, places it in a fascinating setting, and gives all of this plenty of heart - enough to make me hope we haven't seen the last of Yukawa and Kusanagi."

—Jan Burke, New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award winning author of Kidnapped and Bones

“Japanese crime writers excel at many things: one is the slow tightening of the noose that's at the fast-pounding heart of the police procedural.  The Devotion of Suspect X is a terrific book in that tradition and it's about time American readers got a crack at it.”

—SJ Rozan, Edgar Award winning author of On the Line

“The Devotion of Suspect X is elegant and spare and gripping and vivid. Most of all, however, it is deeply moving, and this is what sets it apart!”

—Jesse Kellerman, bestselling author of Trouble and The Executor

“Irresistible! A mind-twisting story that will have readers plunging in to try to solve the crime before the math genius, the physics professor, or the cop get there first.”

—Nancy Pickard, New York Times bestselling author of The Scent of Rain and Lightning and The Virgin of Small Plains