Keigo Higashino is a Japanese author chiefly known for mystery novels. Born in Osaka, he started writing novels while still working as an engineer at Nippon Denso Co.　He won the Edogawa Rampo Prize, which is awarded annually to the finest mystery work, in 1985 for the novel Hōkago (After School) at age 27. Subsequently, he quit his job and started a career as a writer in Tokyo.