Program Note
On his way to a marine resource development symposium in the coastal town of Harigaura, physicist Yukawa unexpectedly becomes entangled with an elementary school boy named Kyohei, whom he meets on the train. A murder occurs at the inn where Yukawa is staying—run by Kyohei’s aunt. The victim is a retired former detective from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, who had come to the region to uncover the truth behind a murder that occurred 15 years ago. Though the death initially appears to be a simple fall, it is soon revealed to be caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, prompting Yukawa to involve himself in the investigation.
Higashino Keigo’s ‘Detective Galileo’ series is known for juxtaposing the fiery crimes driven by passion and emotion with the cool rationality of physicist-detective Yukawa, who dismantles them one by one. Midsummer's Equation follows this pattern, unfolding as a heartrending melodrama about a family devastated by the secrets they keep—secrets born not of hatred, but of love too deep to speak of. Even Yukawa, who insists on examining every possibility to arrive at the most logical answer, finds himself hesitating in this case—crossing into the ambiguous grey area where logic falters and emotion takes over. (KIM Yong-eon)