Abstract

Winner of the 24th Haruhiko Oyabu Award.

The suspect in the case: a human that does not exist.
The author’s masterpiece with a heart-shaking and shocking ending.

While investigating an attempted murder case, Rihoko Morigaki, sergeant in the Violent Crimes Section of Kamata Police Station’s Criminal Investigation Division, discovers a community of people with no entry in Japan’s family registry, which is supposed to cover the entire nation. The leader of the community, which is known as “Utopia,” is Ryo, and the suspect in the case, Hana, is his sister.
When Rihoko learns of the situation surrounding these people, she is distressed that the investigation may destroy the only place where they can live in peace. However, she notices similarities with the “Birdcage Incident,” a child abduction case that shook the whole country. . . . With the help of the Special Investigation Office’s Hayama, she arrives at a heartbreaking truth. A masterpiece full-length work that is the apex of Tsujido’s mysteries.

Author’s Information

Born in the city of Fujisawa (Kanagawa Prefecture) in 1992. Graduate of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law. Debuted with Inakunatta watashi e (To Me, Who is no Longer Around; renamed ‘Yume no tobira wa izumi no naka ni (The door of dreams is in the spring)’), which won the 13th “Kono misuterii ga sugoi! (This Mystery is Amazing!)” Grand Prize for Excellence. Her books include Sotsugyo taimu rimitto (Graduation Time Limit), Akujo no hinkaku (Bad Girl’s Dignity), Ano hi no kokan nikki (That Day’s Group Journal), and Niju rasen no suitchi (Double Helix Switch). In 2021, To no wa o kuguru (Passing Through Ten Hoops) was nominated for the Eiji Yoshikawa Literary Newcomer Award. In 2022, she won the 24th Haruhiko Oyabu Award for Torikago (Bird Cage).