is a 1997 Japanese
crime novel written by Japanese author
Natsuo Kirino and published in English in 2004. The novel won the 51st
Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Novel. It is her
first novel to be published in the English language. The book is currently published by Vintage, part of
Random House, in Britain and has been translated into English by Stephen Snyder. The English translation was nominated for the 2004
Edgar Award for Best Novel.