The Aosawa Murders - by Riku Onda (Paperback)

About the Book

Selected by NYT as one of MOST NOTABLE BOOKS of 2020. In the 1960s 17 people die of cyanide poisoning at a large party at the Aosawas, owners of a prominent clinic in an ancient castle city on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The only survivor is their teenage daughter Hisako, blind, beautiful, admired by all, but soon suspected of masterminding the crime.

Book Synopsis

Selected by NYT as one of MOST NOTABLE BOOKS of 2020.

On a stormy summer day the Aosawas, owners of a prominent local hospital, host a large birthday party. The occasion turns into tragedy when 17 people die from cyanide in their drinks. The only surviving links to what might have happened are a cryptic verse that could be the killer's, and the physician's bewitching blind daughter, Hisako, the only person spared injury.

But the youth who emerges as the prime suspect commits suicide that October, effectively sealing his guilt while consigning his motives to mystery. The police are convinced that Hisako had a role in the crime, as are many in the town, including the author of a bestselling book about the murders written a decade after the incident, who was herself a childhood friend of Hisako' and witness to the discovery of the murders. The truth is revealed through a skilful juggling of testimony by different voices: family members, witnesses and neighbours, police investigators and of course the mesmerizing Hisako herself.

Review Quotes

Selected by NYT as one of MOST NOTABLE BOOKS of 2020.

'Plunge into the dark, intoxicating world that Onda conjures...a strange, engrossing novel.'

PW STARRED REVIEW: ' An enigmatic and haunting crime novel. Onda's unusual
narrative technique, which presents differing perspectives by giving only
the responses to the interviewer's questions, enhances the nesting-doll
plot. American readers will appreciate why this puzzle mystery won the
annual Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Fiction.'

TIMES (London): '
The hot and humid atmosphere of the coastal town almost becomes a character in itself. The fascinating result is rich and strange, utterly absorbing.
Onda makes you aware of "another, different world below the surface of this
one.'

KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW: '
The domino effect of the murder on the community and the nation, as well as
the swirl of uncertainty concerning the way its narratives are shaped,
gives the book a striking resonance. This dark and dazzling novel defies
easy categorization but consistently tantalizes and surprises.'

Mrs Peabody Investigates: '
The minute I saw this ravishing book cover, I wanted a copy. And - oh happy
day - it's turned out to be one of my most satisfying crime reads of the
year.'

ForeWord Reviews: '
Intoxicating details and shiver-inducing propositions hold the full story
at a careful distance; when the truth emerges, it's both partial and
staggering. The Aosawa Murders is an intricate and devastating
search for the facts behind a complicated crime.'

NY Journal of Books: '
The genius of this novel is that it cultivates a nonstop air of menace.
Practically every character comes off like a potential murderer.'