A gripping thriller about the dark heart of Japan. Now a major motion picture

"A psychological puzzle. . . . Engrossing and unsettling."
--"The Wall Street Journal"
"A ripping good story of murder and secrets. . . . Yoshida writes with the cool confidence of a seasoned storyteller."
--Jessa Crispin, "Books We Like "(NPR.org)
"A complex portrait of contemporary Japan. . . . A place where families have begun to fragment but old bonds still remain, and where loneliness drives people to acts they wouldn't otherwise consider."
--"The Columbus Dispatch"
"Powerful. . . . Set in the sterile world of online dating and love hotels, "Villain" is a moving and disturbing novel about loneliness, lies and the gap between expectation and reality. Highly recommended."
--"The Guardian" (London)
"A compelling examination of loneliness and desperation."
--"Newark Star-Ledger"
"A convincing portrait of today's Japan."
--"The Week"
"Shuichi Yoshida, Japan's Stieg Larsson? . . . "Villain "is more than a typical 'Whodunnit?'

Shuichi Yoshida was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1968. He is the author of numerous books and has won many Japanese literary awards, including the Akutayawa Prize for Park Life, and the prestigious Osaragi Jiro Prize and the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award, both of which he received for Villain. Several of his stories have been adapted for Japanese television, and a film based on Villain is due to be released in 2010 in Japan as Akunin. Yoshida lives in Tokyo.