Eriko really wouldn't mind being savaged, if it was her best friend doing the savaging …
Eriko's life appears perfect – devoted parents, spotless apartment and a job in the seafood division of one of Japan's largest trading companies. Her latest project, to reintroduce the controversial Nile perch fish into the Japanese market, is characteristically ambitious. But beneath her flawless surface she is wracked by loneliness.
Eriko becomes fascinated with a popular blog written by a housewife, Shoko. Shoko’s posts about eating convenience store food and her untidy home are the opposite of the typical Japanese housewife’s manicured lifestyle. When Eriko tracks Shoko down at her favourite restaurant and befriends her, Shoko is at first charmed by her new companion. But as Eriko’s obsession with Shoko deepens, her increasingly possessive behaviour starts to raise suspicion. As Eriko’s carefully laid plans begin to unravel, how far will she go to hold on to the best friend that she’s ever had?
Beautifully translated by Polly Barton, Hooked is a thrilling and unsettling story of the line between friendship and dangerous obsession. A delicious exploration of food, loneliness and womanhood in contemporary Japan, Hooked brings together all the ingredients for which Asako Yuzuki is so adored.
‘Deliciously satisfying’ iPaper
‘A psychological thriller with a social commentary bite … an uncomfortable yet strangely gripping read … enjoyable and addictive’ Independent
‘Translated with crackling verve by Polly Barton … The unrolling suspense compels, as does the deep dive into both characters and their motives’ Guardian
‘A story I could not put down’ Standard
‘I was practically reading through my fingers … I enjoyed the worldly wisdom and the neon-and-fast-food atmosphere’ Daily Mail
‘Subtle, original and thought-provoking … stayed with me for weeks after I had finished it’ Irish Times
‘Tender and thrilling it’s Yuzuki at her best’ Elle
‘You can’t fail to be reeled in by Asako Yuzuki’s luminous prose’ Service95
‘Tremendous … stays in your head long after you close it’ The Gloss
‘I'd recommend adding it to your reading lists immediately’ Daily Express
‘The kind of book you press into your friends’ hands, desperate to dissect it’ Erin Kelly, author of The House of Mirrors
‘Had me in a headlock. No one writes about the hidden depths and lurking monstrosities of womanhood quite like Asako Yuzuki’ Alice Slater, author of Death of a Bookseller
‘A brilliant, shocking, unforgettable page turner … I couldn't stop reading’ Costanza Casati, author of Babylonia
‘A razor-edged story about women, appetite, and what we’ll do to feel chosen … Safe to say, we’re already hooked’ Oprah Daily
‘A thrilling and deliciously sharp examination of the extremes of female friendship. Achingly tender and wickedly funny’ Edel Coffey, author of In Glass Houses
‘Dark, tender and unforgettable’ Jane Casey, author of The Secret Room
‘The most stressful fun I’ve ever had reading a book’ Jodie Matthews, author of Meet Me at the Surface
‘I loved this intense and claustrophobic story of loneliness, identity and obsession’ Lucy Diamond, author of The Island Getaway
‘This haunting tale of loneliness and longing in the modern age will leave you gasping’ Tobi Coventry, author of He’s the Devil