Butter (A Novel of Food and Murder)

BOOK SUMMARY

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer, and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story. There are two things that I simply cannot tolerate: feminists and margarine.

Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in the Tokyo Detention House convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, whom she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation's imagination, but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew, and Kajii can't resist writing back.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Asako Yuzuki was born in Tokyo in 1981. Her English-language debut, Butter, an international bestseller, was named Waterstones Book of the Year 2024 and took home the British Book Awards 2025 Debut Fiction Award. For Hooked, she received the Yamamoto Shūgorō Award.

PRAISE

"A tale of loneliness and desire, full of an urgency that is proof of the author diving down deep within herself to grasp the darkness there. Even descriptions like 'a perfect masterpiece' and 'crème de la crème' are inadequate for a book like this." — Michiko Mamuro, Croissant

"An indubitable masterpiece." — Daisuke Yoshida, Shosetsu Shincho

"With writing masterful enough that you gulp it down breathlessly despite its length, and full of the delight that comes from carrying you off to utterly unexpected destinations, this is a tour de force that will leave readers satisfied." — Ryo Asai (author), Yomiuri Shimbun

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Trade Paperback
464 Pages
Fiction
8 in H | 5.3 in W | 1 in T | 0.7 lb