A contemporary Japanese crime thriller unravels an intricate web of deception and greed, inspired by recent land-fraud scandals.

Takumi, grieving the tragic loss of his family, is drawn into a real-estate swindle masterminded by fabled land scammer Harrison Yamanaka. The target is an unprecedented $70-million property. During his pursuit, Detective Tatsu, upright as ever but nearing retirement, discovers Harrison's strange connection to Takumi's past. As the high-stakes fraud unfolds, the convergence of motives leads to a shocking outcome in this intense game of deception versus truth.

Author: Ko Shinjo
Ko Shinjo was born in Tokyo in 1983. He made his debut in 2012 with Narrow House, which won the 36th Subaru Literature Award. In 2020, Shinjo’s book Jimenshitachi--which has been adapted into Netflix’s live-action Tokyo Swindlers--was nominated for the 23rd Haruhiko Oyabu Prize.

Translator: Charles De Wolf
Charles De Wolf, a resident of Japan for more than 40 years, is an accomplished translator of fiction and nonfiction as well as scholarly works. His English-translated works include In Pursuit of Lavender by Akiko Itoyama, ME by Hoshino Tomiyuki, and the forthcoming Eclipse by Hirano Keiichiro. He is currently a professor emeritus at Keio University in Tokyo, where he held faculty positions for more than 20 years.