Abstract

What happened to the five? Why did the crime occur?
This breathtaking psychological drama unfolds through the testimonies of those involved. A new milestone for the author of "Scream" and "A Catalogue of Follies."

The crime occurred at a summer resort villa. The five who have been friends for over twenty years since meeting at an international school , Shigenari, Soya, Ria, Natsumi, and Hinano, now approaching thirty, gather at Soya's villa in Hayama to say goodbye to Shigenari, who was being posted overseas.
Late at night, however, Hinano is found dead, bleeding from her head. Ria then confessed, "I killed him," and was taken into custody by the police.

Overnight, the relationship between the five turned tragic, with one becoming a victim and the other a suspect. The suspect refuses to meet with his childhood friend and refuses to discuss his motive for the murder. The lawyer gathers testimony from the three remaining people involved. However, even though they are recounting the same events, each of the three people involved has different intentions, and with each testimony, the characters and their relationships change dramatically. What really happened between the five of them? Why did the incident happen that night? The conclusion of this breathtaking psychological drama unfolds from the testimonies of those involved.

Author’s Information

Born in Tokyo in 1968. Graduated from Waseda University. Debuted in 1993 with "Scream." In 2010, won the 63rd Mystery Writers of Japan Award for "Diffused Reflection" and the 23rd Yamamoto Shugoro Prize for "The Color of Regret and Truth." His many works include "The Temptation of Light and Shadow," "Prism," "A Catalog of Follies," "The Sunset of Mijas," "The Sky of Tomorrow," "Tales of the New Moon," "Domino Toppling," "Someone Like Me," "The Island of Kantan is Far Away," and "Paper Owl: Hirsch Society."