Miyuki Miyabe Books In Order

All She Was Worth

Here is a deftly written thriller that is also a ‘deep and moody’ NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW journey through the dark side of Japan’s consumer crazed society. Ordinary people plunge into insurmountable personal debt and fall prey to dangerous webs of underground creditors so dangerous, in fact, that murder may be the only way out. A beautiful young woman vanishes, and the detective quickly finds she is not whom she claims to be. Is she a victim, a killer, or both? In a country that tracks its citizens at every turn, how can two women claim the same identity and then disappear without a trace? /Content /EditorialReview EditorialReview Source Amazon. com Review /Source Content Recovering from a leg injury, a 43 year old Tokyo police inspector named Shunsuke Honma realizes how out of touch he has become when a relative asks him to make some private inquiries into the disappearance of his fianc e. While he wasn’t paying attention, it seems that everyone in the country but Honma has been caught up in a consumer feeding frenzy going into heavy debt and declaring bankruptcy at a snowballing rate. This engrossing story of the search for happiness through shopping marks the first appearance in English of one of Japan’s leading writers.

Shadow Family

Shadow Family is a compelling murder mystery focusing on the murky world of Internet chat room populated by people from all walks of life attracted by the possibility of being whoever they want to be. Police investigating the double murder of a middle aged salary man and his college aged girlfriend discover email correspondence linking the victim with members of an online fantasy family, in which he plays the part of ‘Dad.’ Meanwhile, his real life teenage daughter is assigned police protection after complaining of being stalked. The investigation focuses increasingly on the Shadow Family, as there is evidence that the member emerged from the chat room and started meeting up offline. Veteran Desk Sergeant Takegami finds himself unexpectedly in center stage of the investigation after his colleague is hospitalized. Adding to his surprise, he is partnered with his old friend Detective Chikako Ishizu after a break of fifteen years. Working on a hunch, they collaborate to unravel the fine line between fantasy and the harsh reality of Murder. Shadow Family is excellent detective fiction that keeps you guessing until the end. Within a skillful web of intrigue, Miyabe sensitively explores the meaning of family and relationships, and the devastating effect of betrayal.

Crossfire

Young, pretty Junko Aoki has the extraordinary ability to start fires using just willpower. Furthermore, she believes it to be her duty to use her pyrokinetic powers to punish violent criminals who have evaded justice. A chance encounter one night sends Junko on a mission to rescue a young woman abducted by a vicious gang of youths. The trail of bodies she leaves across Tokyo attracts the attention of two very different groups: a secretive vigilante group that tries to recruit her, and the arson squad of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Hardly able to keep up with Junko’s killing spree, Detective Chikako Ishizu finds herself drawn deeper into a case that defies belief. Although on opposite sides of the law, both Junko and Chikako are committed to fighting evil, and both find their deeply held beliefs challenged. While Junko is increasingly disturbed by the innocent lives lost in the Crossfire, Chikako is gradually forced to accept the possible existence of paranormal powers. Crossfire takes us on a hair raising journey through the landscape of urban Tokyo a journey that challenges us, along with Chikako, to consider what’s right and what’s wrong in the name of justice.

Brave Story

A young boy finds his destiny in a world of fantasy. L to R Western Style. The Bravest Story Ever ToldYoung Wataru Mitani’s life is a mess. His father has abandoned him, and his mother has been hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Desperately he searches for some way to change his life a way to alter his fate. To achieve his goal, he must navigate the magical world of Vision, a land filled with creatures both fierce and friendly. And to complicate matters, he must outwit a merciless rival from the real world. Wataru’s ultimate destination is the Tower of Destiny where a goddess of fate awaits. Only when he has finished his journey and collected five elusive gemstones will he possess the Demon’s Bane the key that will unlock the future. Charity, bravery, faith, grace and the power of darkness and light: these are the provinces of each gemstone. Brought together, they have the immeasurable power to bring Wataru’s family back together again. Young Wataru Mitani’s life is a mess. His father has abandoned him, and his mother has been hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Desperately he searches for some way to change his life a way to alter his fate. To achieve his goal, he must navigate the magical world of Vision, a land filled with creatures both fierce and friendly. And to complicate matters, he must outwit a merciless rival from the real world. Wataru’s ultimate destination is the Tower of Destiny where a goddess of fate awaits. Only when he has finished his journey and collected five elusive gemstones will he possess the Demon’s Bane the key that will unlock the future. Charity, bravery, faith, grace and the power of darkness and light: these are the provinces of each gemstone. Brought together, they have the immeasurable power to bring Wataru’s family back together again.

The Devil’s Whisper

Three deaths come in quick succession: one girl jumps from the roof of a six-story building; another falls in front of a train; and a third is hit by a late-night taxi. But how are they related? And are they accidents, suicides — or murder?

Slowly, the answers are uncovered by sixteen-year-old Mamoru, the nephew of the taxi driver currently being held by the police on charges of manslaughter for the death of the third victim.

Determined to help his uncle, Mamoru discovers that the girl killed by his uncle’s taxi had participated in a devious scam to separate vulnerable men from their money, and that three of the four girls involved in the plot are now dead. When a powerful businessman reveals new evidence that could free Mamoru’s uncle, Mamoru decides he must go all out if he is to save the last of the four girls being targeted by the real killer.

And then the killer contacts him…

The Book of Heroes

L to R Western Style. A young girl travels into a magical world to save her brother from real world bullies. When her brother Hiroki disappears after a violent altercation with school bullies, the young Yukiro finds a magical book in his room. The book leads her to another world where she learns that Hiroki has been possessed b a spirit from The Book of Heroes. She visits the magical Nameless Land, where she is told how to save her brother, and is sent back to Earth with a young monk named Sora and the magical book, now a mouse named Azu. Yuri has to piece together the mystery of Horiko, and has a library of pwerful magic books at her disposal to do so! When her brother Hiroki disappears after a violent altercation with school bullies, the young Yukiro finds a magical book in his room. The book leads her to another world where she learns that Hiroki has been possessed b a spirit from The Book of Heroes. She visits the magical Nameless Land, where she is told how to save her brother, and is sent back to Earth with a young monk named Sora and the magical book, now a mouse named Azu. Yuri has to piece together the mystery of Horiko, and has a library of pwerful magic books at her disposal to do so!

The Sleeping Dragon

With The Sleeping Dragon, Miyuki Miyabe, Japan’s 1 best selling mystery author, returns to the spare, hard boiled style of her debut book in English, the cult classic All She Was Worth. Add in a touch of the paranormal, and this noir tale of suspense is on track to garner reviews as glowing as those she’s received in the pastand to win her a legion of new readers.A fierce typhoon strikes Tokyo one night, flooding the city streets. Someone has unlawfully removed a manhole cover, and a little boy out searching for a lost pet goes missing, possibly drowned in the sewers. Is it murder or accidental? These events bring together a struggling journalist named Kosaka, who is grappling with the ghosts of his past, and two young men who may or may not have psychic powers. The three form an unwilling team not only to search for the lost boy, but also to solve a second mystery involving Kosaka’s former fianc e. Kosaka’s career and personal life have stagnated since his breakup with Saeko a few years earlier, and locked him in an emotional impasse. Each of his two reluctant comradesShinji and Naoyais struggling to come to terms with his unique powers ‘the dragon within’. While Shinji wants to use his abilities to help others, Naoya seeks to hide his. Kosaka, meanwhile, doubts the young men’s ability, all too clearly aware that such claims of psychic knowledge of the crimes could in reality mask a criminal culpability. But then all three are forced into an unsteady alliance to try to save the life of someone close to Kosaka.