The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Agatha Christie
Like Higashino's novel, it is built on a carefully fair puzzle in which the reader is led to misjudge who is hiding what. Its structure rewards close attention in the same way.
11 books to read next
Books Like The Devotion of Suspect X
If you loved The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
Readers who love The Devotion of Suspect X usually come for the puzzle: a murder that looks like it has been planned on paper, and a brilliant amateur who hides behind an ordinary life. They also respond to its quiet tone, its focus on a single act of loyalty, and the slow, methodical pace of the investigation. The picks below share that mix of tight plotting, moral unease, and the sense that a clever mind is always one step ahead.
Same mind-bending twists
The Chalk Man
C. J. Tudor
It uses a tightly controlled reveal across two timelines, much as The Devotion of Suspect X does with its shifting viewpoint. Readers who enjoy being misdirected will find the same pleasure.
Battles of wits with a sharp mind
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky
A brilliant man commits a murder and then fences with a shrewd investigator, which mirrors the cat-and-mouse contest between Ishigami and Yukawa. It also explores the moral cost of a calculated crime.
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Patricia Highsmith
Its protagonist is a cool, rational planner who keeps covering his tracks, much like Ishigami. Readers drawn to a meticulous killer who stays calm under pressure will find it gripping.
The Silent Patient
Alex Michaelides
A psychotherapist becomes obsessed with a case and pursues the truth with growing determination. The layered, psychological cat-and-mouse feels close to the intellectual duel at the heart of Higashino's novel.
More Japanese crime fiction
Out
Natsuo Kirino
A group of women in Tokyo help one of their own dispose of a body, and the cover-up spirals out of control. Its grounded, morally complicated take on a domestic killing echoes The Devotion of Suspect X.
Confessions
Kanae Minato, BookSource Staff
Its chapters are told by different characters in a way that keeps the reader questioning motive and guilt. Fans of Higashino's careful, character-driven plotting will appreciate its precision.
The Woman in the Dunes
Kobo Abe
A man is trapped in a sandpit with a woman and must find a way to live with an unsettling situation. Its spare, existential tone shares the quiet intensity and sense of a life shaped by one isolated choice.
Quiet devotion and sacrifice
The Remains of the Day
Kazuo Ishiguro
A devoted, self-controlled narrator reflects on a life of loyalty and restraint, much like Ishigami's quiet devotion to Yasuko. Its measured prose and emotional undertow will suit readers who loved the novel's restraint.
A Man Called Ove
Fredrik Backman
A stubborn, lonely neighbour slowly reveals a deep capacity for care, which echoes Ishigami's hidden kindness next door. Its warmth and gentle humour offer a lighter but emotionally resonant companion read.
The Little Stranger
Sarah Waters, Jaime Zulaika Goicoechea
A quiet, uneasy story set in a fading household where a rational man struggles against forces he cannot fully explain. Its restrained, slow-building suspense rewards readers who enjoyed the careful pace of Higashino's novel.
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