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Woman detective in a man's world The Hunter By Asa Nonami

When femake biker Takako Otomichi chooses the career of detective, her family disapproves and her male colleagues refuse to take her seriously, especially hard-bitten old gumshoe Sergeant Tamotsu Takizawa, her reluctant partner on the hunt for a mysterious murderer whose grisly trademark is to rip out the throat of his victims.

The pair must put their differences aside as their search for the killer takes them into Tokyo's seedy underworld of drugs, nightclubs, and teenage prostitution, and to the terrifying realization that the murderer is some kind of wild animal on the loose in the city streets. Before long, Takako is hot on the trail of her dangerous yet highly intelligent prey in a hair-raising journey that will bring her face-to-face with the killer and face-to-face with herself.

"The Hunter" is a gripping mystery thriller that also delves deeply into the hearts and minds of its protagonists to create complex portraits of ordinary people struggling to balance the demands of work, family, and personal relationships.

"The Hunter" was awarded the prestigious Naoki prize in 1996, and has been translated into Chinese and Korean. This is the long-awaited English version, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter, a professor at Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts in Kyoto. 

November 8, 2006

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