{"product_id":"villain-a-novel","title":"Villain: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eA 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44964032479285,"sku":"ByrdShop_030737887X","price":39.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780307378873.jpg?v=1770446128","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/villain-a-novel","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}