There is a wonderful quote from crime writer Alex Marwood, on the theme of Japanese adolescence in this novel, saying that the book bears comparison to Albert Camus writing Heathers, and she is spot on. What emerges in this slim but utterly compelling read is a heartbreaking story of familial instability, provoked by the initial murder for mother Yuko, but then by extension how the differing aspects of motherhood are so utterly central to the actions of the two culpable boys. You will probably read this in one sitting, as there is something completely mesmerising about its aura of darkness, that unfolds as each confession takes centre stage. As the story unfolds, and with giving nothing away, the nature of these confessions will unsettle you, and make you think. This shifting perspective of the same crime from the point of view of the bereaved mother and the guilty boys, in true confessional mode, provide an interesting counterbalance to one another in terms of the reasons for their actions both past and planned, and the keenness with which our sympathies as readers change as each ‘confession’ is brought to light. The following story is then narrated by the various protagonists intimately involved with the crime. The story hinges on the collusion in the murder of a female schoolteacher Yuko’s, young daughter by two of her male pupils and in her last lecture to her class there is to be an exposure of truth and a plan for revenge, that will unhinge and surprise both them and us as reader. Little surprise then that this book has escaped my attention, despite there being a 2010 Oscar nominated film version, directed by Tetsuya Nakashima. I will make my own confession straightaway and admit to not being that hugely read in the field of Japanese crime fiction. In this thriller of love, despair and murder, everyone has a confession to make, and no one will escape unharmed.

But revenge has a way of spinning out of control, and Yuko’s last lecture is only the start of the story. And before she leaves, she has a lesson to teach. Her daughter was killed by two people in the class. She tells her students that she has resigned because of what happened – but not for the reasons they think. It’s the last day of term, and Yuko’s last day at work. When Yuko Moriguchi’s four-year-old daughter died in the middle school where she teaches, everyone thought it was a tragic accident.

Confession minato kanae