Keigo Higashino, one of Japan’s most renowned, bestselling authors, has passed away from colorectal cancer on July 23.
His death was announced by his official X account adding, ‘’We respectfully express our deepest condolences and inform you of this news.’’ Fans and colleagues including Masaharu Fukuyama, Agnes Chow, and Tsuyoshi Sonoda extended their condolences across social media. After the announcement many bookstores in Japan set up displays in tribute. His funeral was held privately.
The X announcement included a collage of all his 106 books (excluding co-authored works). This collage included his novel ‘’Eternal Memory’’, scheduled for release on August 5. Higashino’s works have been translated into 41 languages and published in 41 countries and regions. According to publishers 109 million copies of his books have been released in Japan.
Before his literary debut Keigo Higashino was an engineer. His experience as an engineer provided him with technological insight while writing his science-based mysteries. He combined classic detective fiction with his scientific perspective. All this led him to transform and modernize the mystery genre with authentic plots and deep portrayal of human characters. He dabbled in a range of genres, from science-fiction to dark comedies.
Keigo Higashino was a defining figure of our era. With bestselling novels like The Devotion of Suspect X, Malice and Salvation of a Saint he reached many people across the globe. As the announcement post said ‘’The stories he created will continue to captivate many readers, I believe.’’
Source: The Japan Times
