The Silent Dead

Reiko Himekawa, Book 1

By: Tetsuya Honda

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

When a body wrapped in a blue plastic tarp and tied up with twine is discovered by the bushes near a quiet suburban Tokyo neighborhood, Lieutenant Reiko Himekawa and her squad take the case. The victim was slaughtered brutally - his wounds are bizarre, and no one can figure out the "what" or the "why" of this crime.

At age 29 Reiko Himekawa of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police's Homicide Division is young to have been made lieutenant, particularly because she lacks any kind of political or family connections. Despite barriers created by age, gender, and lack of connections, she is mentally tough and oblivious to danger and has an impressive ability to solve crimes.

Reiko makes a discovery that leads the police to uncover 11 other bodies, all wrapped in the same sort of plastic. Few of the bodies are identifiable, but the ones that are have no connection to each other. The only possible clue is a long-shot lead to a website spoken of only in whispers on the Internet, something on the dark web known as Strawberry Night.

But while Reiko is hunting the killer, the killer is hunting her...and she may very well have been marked as the next victim.

©2006 Tetsuya Honda. Translation © 2016 by Giles Murray (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.