Suspicion : a novel / Seichō Matsumoto ; translated by Jesse Kirkwood ; introduction by Alafair Burke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Matsumoto, Seichō, 1909-1992, author.

Contributor:

Kirkwood, Jesse, translator.

Burke, Alafair, writer of introduction.

Standardized Title:

Giwaku. English

Language:

English

Japanese

Subjects (All):

Journalists--Fiction.

Journalists.

Murder--Investigation--Fiction.

Murder.

Organized crime--Fiction.

Organized crime.

Traffic accidents--Fiction.

Traffic accidents.

Yakuza--Fiction.

Yakuza.

Genre:

Thrillers (Fiction)

Detective and mystery fiction.

Novels.

Physical Description:

xiv, 106 pages ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : The Modern Library, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2025.

Language Note:

In English, translated from the Japanese.

Summary:

A taut psychological thriller about the hidden demons that guide our convictions, our biases, and our deepest desires, available in English for the first time from "Japan's Agatha Christie." (The Sunday Times) In the middle of the night, a car drives off a pier. An elderly man drowns, but his young wife lives. The wife's name is Kumako Onizuka, and with a past stained by yakuza entanglements and criminal activity, she is accused of orchestrating the accident for a large insurance payout. Onizuka's guilt seems obvious to local journalist Moichi Akitani, and while he enjoys newfound success after writing a series of articles about the crime, his portrayal of her as a devious femme fatale turns the community against her. Onizuka's lawyers are hounded by the press, yet all the reporters can glean is her unwavering declaration of innocence. This amuses Akitani, who continues to bask in his journalistic renown. But when a surprisingly scrupulous public defender takes on her case, Akitani begins to doubt himself, and he fears what might happen if Onizuka ever gets wind of the contempt he spread.

Notes:

*A Modern Library trade paperback original*--title page verso.

*Originally appeared in the February 1982 issue of ALL Yomimono with the title of "Noburo Ashioto." Subsequently published in Complete Works of Matsumoto Seicho, vol.66, 1996, This English translation published in the United Kingdom by Penguin Classics, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, London, in 2025. English-language edition published by arrangement with Bungeishunju Ltd., Tokyo, through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.*--Title page verso.

ISBN:

9780593979068

0593979060

OCLC:

1523186429