Villain: A Novel

About this book

A young insurance saleswoman is found strangled at Mitsuse Pass. Her family and friends are shocked and terrified. The passwhich tunnels through a mountainous region of southern Japanhas an eerie history: a hideout for robbers murderers and ghostly creatures lurking at night. Soon afterward a young construction worker becomes the primary suspect. As the investigation unfolds the events leading up to the murder come darkly into focus revealing a troubled cast of characters: the victim Yoshino a woman much too eager for acceptance; the suspect Yuichi a car enthusiast misunderstood by everyone around him; the victims middle-aged father a barber disappointed with his life; and the suspects aging grandmother who survived the starvation of postwar Japan only to be tormented by local gangsters. And finally there is desperate Mitsuyo the lonely woman who finds Yuichi online and makes the big mistake of falling for him. A stunningly dark thriller and a tapestry of noir Villain is the English-language debut for Shuichi Yoshida one of Japans most acclaimed and accomplished writers. From desolate seaside towns and lighthouses to love hotels and online chat rooms Villain reveals the inner lives of men and women who all have something to hide. Part police procedural part gritty realism Villain is a coolly seductive story of loneliness and alienation in the southernmost reaches of Japan.