Just watched: Brutus no Shinzou

This is the second of three recent crime thrillers from the pen of Keigo Higashino (Galileo, Shinzanmono) and, as far as I can tell, the only one to be subbed.

It’s a story of two halves, with the first part neatly setting up the murder and the unexpected twist, and the second half being a bit vague and unexciting as the story never really goes anywhere. It all gets a bit complicated as clues from an old murder from two years ago come to light. Meanwhile, those people connected to the murder are found dead one by one.

If it sounds like a deep and involving story, well, in many ways it is. It’s full of nice touches and style. The trouble is, the police aren’t interesting or clever enough to be a threat. The only one who suspects the truth seems to be the enigmatic one who’s killing those involved in the original murder. This means there’s no clever detective logic, no clues to discover, no battle of wits between cop and criminal. We’re just expected to accept that someone already knows.

As such, it’s fairly flat and boring. And the final explanation is kind of disappointing after the cleverly devised opening half hour.

Not bad, but not great.