Confessions by Kanae Minato

Title: Confessions
By: Kanae Minato
Published: 2014
Call #: Fiction Minat.K

Revenge can have a long shelf life, and often leads to all sorts of unintended consequences. This twisty and often disturbing tale is full of surprises, revealed in the successive confessions of the protagonists involved in the murder of a middle school teacher’s four-year-old daughter.

Minato starts slowly and then gradually intensifies the suspense. She’s an expert at creating intricately plotted stories that dare you to predict the outcome.

The author clearly understands human nature, especially the often muddled and emotion tinged thinking of middle-schoolers, not to mention distraught mothers. The story casts light on the shadows beneath the perfect veneer of Japanese society, resonating across cultures and raising a host of moral issues.

On more than one occasion I found myself gasping, oh my god! You might gasp too as the revelations build and build to an explosive conclusion.

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Tags: mystery, Japan, murder, middle school students