Riku Onda

On a stormy summer day the Aosawas, owners of a prominent local hospital, host a large birthday party. The occasion turns into tragedy when 17 people die from cyanide in their drinks. The only surviving links to what might have happened are a cryptic verse that could be the killer's, and the physician's bewitching blind daughter, Hisako, the only person spared injury. But the youth who emerges as the prime suspect commits suicide that October, effectively sealing his guilt while consigning his motives to mystery. The police are convinced that Hisako had a role in the crime, as are many in the town, including the author of a bestselling book about the murders written a decade after the incident, who was herself a childhood friend of Hisako' and witness to the discovery of the murders. The truth is revealed through a skilful juggling of testimony by different voices: family members, witnesses and neighbours, police investigators and of course the mesmerizing Hisako herself.

«Una escalofriante obra maestra. Hokkaido Shimbun Seleccionado por The New York Times como uno de los mejores libros de 2020 y ganador de varios premios, El asesinato de los Aosawa es la obra m s emblem tica de Riku Onda y uno de los grandes referentes de la novela de misterio, en la l nea de Rashomon y A sangre fr a.Mientras un sofocante calor estival aletarga la ciudad japonesa de K, en la mansi n de los Aosawa se celebra una gran fiesta de cumplea os de varios de sus miembros, entre ellos el del cabeza de la familia, m dico de reconocido prestigio y propietario de una importante cl nica. La velada parece transcurrir con la normalidad de esas ocasiones, hasta que todo da un repentino vuelco cuando los asistentes empiezan a sentir mareos y convulsiones. En pocos minutos, diecisiete cuerpos, seis de ellos de ni os, yacen en el suelo, presuntamente envenados con cianuro en las bebidas. La nica superviviente es Hisako, la hija peque a, y la nica pista, un papel con un poema quiz dejado por el asesino. Hisako, que perdi la vista tras un accidente, se halla entre los pocos testigos de la masacre, pero apenas recuerda nada: en su confuso interrogatorio s lo habla de una habitaci n azul, peque a y en penumbra, y flores blancas. Unos meses m s tarde, el joven que entreg el sake aparece muerto, con una nota en la que se declara culpable del crimen masivo. La investigaci n se cierra de forma abrupta, pero muchos est n convencidos de que hubo otras personas implicadas.Caleidosc pica visi n de la sociedad japonesa contempor nea, El asesinato de los Aosawa es un thriller ingenioso y atmosf rico, y tambi n una l cida reflexi n sobre la naturaleza del mal y los insondables surcos de la memoria. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Selected by the New York Times as one of MOST NOTABLE BOOKS of 2020. On a stormy summer day the Aosawas, owners of a prominent local hospital, host a large birthday party. The occasion turns into tragedy when 17 people die from cyanide in their drinks. The only surviving links to what might have happened are a cryptic verse that could be the killer's, and the physician's bewitching blind daughter, Hisako, the only person spared injury. But the youth who emerges as the prime suspect commits suicide that October, effectively sealing his guilt while consigning his motives to mystery. The police are convinced that Hisako had a role in the crime, as are many in the town, including the author of a bestselling book about the murders written a decade after the incident, who was herself a childhood friend of Hisako' and witness to the discovery of the murders. The truth is revealed through a skillful juggling of testimony by different voices: family members, witnesses and neighbors, police investigators and of course the mesmerizing Hisako herself.

THE MILLION-COPY AWARD-WINNING JAPANESE BESTSELLER "Onda's rich descriptions capture often elusive topics--music and longing--and bring the classical repertoire to vivid life." --People, BEST NEW BOOK Tender and intense, Honeybees and Distant Thunder is the unflinching story of love, courage and rivalry as three young people come to understand what it means to truly be a friend. In a small coastal town just a stone's throw from Tokyo, a prestigious piano competition is underway. Over the course of two feverish weeks, three students will experience some of the most joyous--and painful--moments of their lives. Though they don't know it yet, each will profoundly and unpredictably change the others, for ever. Aya was a child prodigy who abruptly gave up performing after the death of her mother, and is now trying for a comeback; Masaru, a childhood friend of Aya who came to the piano through her insistence that he learn to play, is now reunited with her after many years, and is equally invested in both his and her success; Akashi, who is older and married, works in a music store and is the "old man" of the competitors, hoping for a final chance at success; and Jin, a sixteen-year-old prodigy, the free spirited son of a beekeeper who travels constantly, and has no formal training (and doesn't even own a piano) yet whose mesmerizing insight into music has brought him to the attention of one of the world's most celebrated pianists, the late Maestro Von Hoffman. Each of them will break the rules, awe their fans and push themselves to the brink. But at what cost? Beloved in Japan, Riku Onda immerses us in the world of music--from piano masterpieces to the buzz of bees and the rumble of thunder--which crescendos to a surprising ending in this rich and vibrant novel.

From the author of The Aosawa Murders, one of the NYT Notable Books of 2020. The WSJ commented: "Part psychological thriller, part murder mystery-it is audacious in conception and brilliant in execution." The Globe and Mail said the book was "emerging as one of the most praised novels of the year." Set in a Tokyo flat over the course of one night, Aki and Hiro spend one last night together before going their separate ways. Each believes the other to be a murderer and is determined to extract a confession before the night is over. Who has been killed and why? Which one is the killer? In an intense battle of wills over the course of a night, the true nature of the pair's relationship and the chain of events leading up to this night are gradually revealed in this gripping psychological thriller that keeps the reader in suspense to the very end. The thriller--buried in a literary whodunit--explores the mysteries of romantic love, memory and attaining self-knowledge. Like the best Japanese crime writing, it is an unflinching foray into the darker recesses of the soul, quietly suspenseful and elegantly constructed.