Keigo Higashino has become one of my favourite authors in the detective crime genre. His (translated) books around Detective Kaga and Inspector Galileo have yet to disappoint me. When I found this other book of his which wasn’t associated with either series I was aware of, I was justifiably curious and a little bit excited.

The Name of the game is a kidnapping leaves little to the imagination with such an apt title. The book is about how two unlikely individuals find themselves set against a common opponent and stage a kidnapping. While one person wants the ransom to help start a new life, the other just wants to show his opponent they aren’t as intelligent as they assume themselves to be.

I’m not going to lie. This book is a bit of a slow burn. I expected a bit of a rollercoaster ride with twists and turns, but it turned out to be more a docile experience, slow enough that at times it was like I was standing still. It is also fairly evident in which direction the story plays out but despite this Higashino’s writing managed to keep me interested enough to stick it out. I found it hard to empathize with the characters and the motives / justifications given for certain actions. The main protagonist is very hard to like, and I really hope that was the intention.

This book was a little disappointing considering the high hopes I came into it with, but that’s more my fault than the book’s. Maybe a future re-read, without any lingering bias from the author’s other works, may provide me with a better appreciation for the story. It’s not a bad book as such, and should anyone want a slow cozy read then by all means go for it. For the moment though, I wouldn’t really recommend this book to anyone unless they would like to read something else by the author, after having exhausted his other books.

That’s it from me. Until next time!

Rating: 3/5

Links:

• Goodreads: The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping