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Now a major Netflix series!
"This is masterful"—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"...no one comes out unscathed."—Jake Adelstein, author of Tokyo Vice and Tokyo Noir
"An unflinching deep dive into the darkness of humanity."—The Japan Times
"Pulls back the curtain on the high-stakes world of land fraud in Japan."—Asian Review of Books
A contemporary Japanese crime thriller unravels an intricate web of deception and greed, inspired by recent land-fraud scandals.
Takumi, grieving the tragic loss of his family, is drawn into a real-estate swindle masterminded by fabled land scammer Harrison Yamanaka. The target is an unprecedented $70-million property. During his pursuit, Detective Tatsu, upright as ever but nearing retirement, discovers Harrison's strange connection to Takumi's past. As the high-stakes fraud unfolds, the convergence of motives leads to a shocking outcome in this intense game of deception versus truth.
“A crime novel that doesn’t just skirt the surface but dives deep into its characters’ psyches while exposing the gritty realities of Tokyo’s economic underworld. Part con, part drama, and all tension—Tokyo Swindlers is a high-stakes game where no one comes out unscathed.”
—Jake Adelstein, author of Tokyo Vice and Tokyo Noir
“Shinjo weaves an enthralling tale of white-collar crime in this top-shelf financial thriller. This is masterful.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A dark but illuminating read that satisfies with its unflinching deep dive into the darkness of humanity."
—Kris Kosaka, The Japan Times
"Tokyo Swindlers pulls back the curtain on the high-stakes world of land fraud in Japan—where deception is an art, and each person has a role to play."
—Mary Hillis, Asian Review of Books
"Tokyo Swindlers takes you deep into the world of financial underworld in Japan led by a very knowledgeable and creative author who knows how to build a realistic tale without compromising momentum."
—The Best Thriller Books, Kashif Hussain
Author: Ko Shinjo
Ko Shinjo was born in Tokyo in 1983. He made his debut in 2012 with Narrow House, which won the 36th Subaru Literature Award. In 2020, Shinjo’s book Jimenshitachi--which has been adapted into Netflix’s live-action Tokyo Swindlers--was nominated for the 23rd Haruhiko Oyabu Prize.
Translator: Charles De Wolf
Charles De Wolf, a resident of Japan for more than 40 years, is an accomplished translator of fiction and nonfiction as well as scholarly works. His English-translated works include In Pursuit of Lavender by Akiko Itoyama, ME by Hoshino Tomiyuki, and Eclipse by Hirano Keiichiro. He is currently a professor emeritus at Keio University in Tokyo, where he held faculty positions for more than 20 years.