A young insurance saleswoman is found strangled at Mitsuse Pass. Her family and friends are shocked and terrified. The pass—which tunnels through a mountainous region of southern Japan—has an eerie history: a hideout for robbers, murderers, and ghostly creatures lurking at night.

Soon afterward, a young construction worker becomes the primary suspect. As the investigation unfolds, the events leading up to the murder come darkly into focus, revealing a troubled cast of characters: the victim, Yoshino, a woman much too eager for acceptance; the suspect, Yuichi, a car enthusiast misunderstood by everyone around him; the victim’s middle-aged father, a barber disappointed with his life; and the suspect’s aging grandmother, who survived the starvation of postwar Japan only to be tormented by local gangsters. And, finally, there is desperate Mitsuyo, the lonely woman who finds Yuichi online and makes the big mistake of falling for him.

A stunningly dark thriller and a tapestry of noir, Villain is the English-language debut for Shuichi Yoshida, one of Japan’s most acclaimed and accomplished writers. From desolate seaside towns and lighthouses to love hotels and online chat rooms, Villain reveals the inner lives of men and women who all have something to hide. Part police procedural, part gritty realism, Villain is a coolly seductive story of loneliness and alienation in the southernmost reaches of Japan.

吉田修一

YOSHIDA SHUICHI

生于1968年，高中以前生活在长崎，后迁到东京。法政大学企业管理系毕业。以《最后的儿子》获得第84届文学界新人奖。该作品也成为第117届芥川奖入围作品。

此后，又陆续发表了《碎片》、WATER等作品。2002年以《同楼生活》获得山本周五郎奖，同时期再以《公园生活》夺下第127届芥川奖。其他著作有《热带鱼》、《星期天“们”》、《地标》、《长崎乱乐坂》、《7月24日大道》和《恶人》等。