First published 2018
Masako works the night shift at a boxed lunch factory in Tokyo's suburbs alongside three other women. All four struggle with debt, distant families, and jobs that drain their souls. When her youngest coworker snaps and kills her gambling, unfaithful husband, she turns to Masako for help. Masako agrees to assist her friend, recruiting the other women to dismember the corpse and scatter the remains. The police discover body parts and begin their investigation, but far worse threats emerge. A loan shark with yakuza ties learns what the women have done and sees opportunity for profit. Meanwhile, a nightclub owner becomes the prime suspect in the murder case. His business collapses and his life unravels as police focus on him. Consumed by rage, he vows to destroy the women who ruined him. The four factory workers find themselves trapped between law enforcement and criminals, all while their desperate act splinters their friendship and exposes the violence lurking beneath ordinary desperation.
Genres: fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Japan, Tokyo
Period: 21st-century
Unknown Binding · Vintage Digital
Content warnings: abuse, death, graphic-violence, murder, violence