Kuraudo no siro
Native title: クラウドの城
Translated title: Castle in the Cloud
Author: Ooya, Mutumi
Genre: Thriller / Crime
Year: 2024 | Pages: 456 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 88600
The winner of the Newcomer Award at the 25th Japan Mystery Literature Award. The protagonist, former mercenary Kashima Joe, lost his girlfriend in a suicide bombing in Iraq and has been heartbroken since returning to Japan. Thanks to Kana, whom he met two years ago, Kashima gradually recovers and gets a job at a data center in Hokkaido, where a series of locked-room murders occur. Kashima must confront the killer
Kowa i tomodati
Native title: 怖いトモダチ
Translated title: Scary Friends
Author: Okabe, Etu
Genre: Crime / Mystery
Year: 2024 | Pages: 240 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 88598
The true identity of this woman emerges from the testimonies of 16 people. Is she a villain or a saint? Who is telling the truth? Who is the victim, and who is the perpetrator? Who are you? Why are you snooping around about me? The more you read, the deeper the mystery deepens. This is a mystery created with the author's whole heart
Mattingu
Native title: マッチング
Translated title: Matching
Author: Eiji, Uchida
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Year: 2024 | Pages: 288 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 88605
While Wanka is fulfilled by her work as a wedding planner, she is shy when it comes to romance, so at the urging of a colleague, she reluctantly signs up for a dating app. From that day on, her life changes completely. When she matches with Tomu and meets up, the man who shows up is a gloomy man, completely different from his profile. Terrified, Wanka seeks help from Kageyama, a programmer at the company that runs the dating app and a business partner.
At the same time, a series of tragic incidents occur in which couples who have 'married through an app' are brutally murdered. The 'true faces' of the people surrounding Wanka are revealed one after another, and the evil hand of the incidents closes in on Wanka. Who is her friend, and who is her enemy? A new type of suspense thriller that depicts the fear hidden in encounters!
Onegai Omurice
Author: Nakagawa, Hinako
Genre: Short Stories
Year: 2023 | Pages: 304 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 85545
This collection of five interconnected short stories vividly portrays the unpredictable lives of the people gathered at the Gurufes festival through lighthearted dialogue and relatable characters. Stories include 'Onegai Omurice', depicting a man struggling to make ends meet despite unsuccessful job hunting; 'Carolina Reaper', portraying a sister grappling with the sad news of her older sister's death; and 'Fuchimochi no Uta', about a middle-aged man in his late fifties who is laid off and now juggles caring for his mother. Tears, healing, sadness, pain, laughter... this heartwarming and inspiring novel is packed with the struggles and challenges of human existence
Jenda kuraimu
Native title: ジェンダー・クライム
Translated title: Gender Crime
Author: Tendo, Arata
Genre: Crime
Year: 2024 | Pages: 336 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 88595
Everyone is a suspect. Everyone is involved. Sexual crimes...gender crimes are linked.
A man's body is found rolled at the bottom of an embankment. A message is left on his body, still bearing the scars of assault. 'An eye for an eye'.
The man's son was the perpetrator of a gang rape that occurred three years ago.
One after another, suspects appear, and a new murder occurs. You may be the one who should atone for your sins.
A monumental work that returns to Tendo Arata's roots!
Mayonaka no tazune bi to
Translated title: Midnight Visitor
Author: Tunekawa, Koutarou
Genre: Horror
Year: 2023 | Pages: 336 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 85565
Aki is a young girl orphaned by the earthquake who has lost her ability to speak. While moving from one vacant house to another, she meets an old fortune teller and they end up living together. The old woman calls the girl an 'angel' and asks her to retrieve something that has been sealed in a cave in a rock.
When Aki arrives at a place in her search, she hears the voices of the dead... Disasters, accidents, and unfathomable malice suddenly shatter her peaceful days. Aki, who has grown into a detective searching for people, leads her on a modern-day tale of those who are swallowed up in the middle of the night
Goka no ji / Haruki bunko ku 8-2
Translated title: Land of Hellfire
Author: Kusiki, Riu
Genre: Thriller
Year: 2023 | Pages: 328 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 85533
In order to deal with a series of arson and murder cases that have occurred in the Kita Ward of Shogo City, L Prefecture, Kyoichiro Torigoe and other members of the Violent Crimes Unit of the First Investigative Division head to Shogo Kita Police Station. Kyoichiro, along with his 'partner' Karasu, pursues the suspicious individuals who have come under their investigation.
However, the day after the investigation begins, a second arson incident occurs, resulting in six more deaths... With the redevelopment being promoted by the ward mayor looming, people are captivated by the 'fire' that lurks within the land...
Can Kyoichiro uncover the secrets of a decades-long chain of bloodshed and a town shimmering with flames?
Mingzhu qí bian
Translated title: Famous Novels and Oddities
Author: Hiiragi, Sanaka
Genre: Horror / Short Stories
Year: 2023 | Pages: 240 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 85516
'Night on the Galactic Railroad', 'The Moon Over the Mountain', 'Run, Melos!' etc. Those masterpieces are reborn as bizarre tales. Classic literature meets horror mystery. A new kind of short story that reaches into the darkest parts of the human heart
Toppa-ya - keishichososanika Gorai Taro
Translated title: Breakthrough Shop
Author: Higashino, Keigo
Genre: Crime
Year: 2023 | Pages: 460 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 85515
An anonymous tip comes in to Taro Gorai, a detective in the Fourth Intelligent Crimes Investigation Section 3 of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Second Investigation Division, known as the 'breakthrough specialist.' He
stakes out a restaurant and discovers a dinner party between a Ministry of Land Transport official and a construction contractor.
Could it be that information about bidding for a national-scale public works project is being leaked to a specific contractor?
The two parties continue their secret meetings, but the evidence of bribery is cleverly concealed.
After an incredibly painstaking investigation, the tense moment arrives when they finally catch the collusion between government and private sectors in the act! This is a classic police novel!
Mizumi
Native title: 水脈
Translated title: Water Vein
Author: Shun, Ioka
Genre: Thriller / Crime
Year: 2024 | Pages: 360 | Origin: JAP | BA Seq Num: 88602
The reckless detective duo, Makabe and Miyashita, first appeared in 'Tsuru' (Tokuma Bunko). Since then, the pair have gained popularity, and,
unusually for my work, their characters have taken on a life of their own, appearing in various works across publishers . (The total number of works in which they have made even a passing appearance exceeds 800,000 copies.)
The duo returns as the 'protagonists' in this new work, 'Mizumine'. And, as someone who doesn't write series, this marks my first attempt at a 'sequel'.
This time, while caring for the 'burden' of a returnee from an elite family, they take on an unknown darkness. Will they solve the case or destroy it?
