Synopses & Reviews
Selected by
The Chicago Tribune as one of the "Best Books of 2005, Mysteries and Thrillers"
Shadow Family is a compelling murder mystery focusing on the murky world of Internet chat rooms populated by people from all walks of life attracted by the possibility of being whoever they want to be.
Police investigating the double murder of a middle-aged salary man and his college-aged girlfriend discover email correspondence linking the victim with members of an online fantasy family, in which he plays the part of "Dad." Meanwhile, his real-life teenage daughter is assigned police protection after complaining of being stalked. The investigation focuses increasingly on the "shadow family," as there is evidence that the members emerged from the chat room and started meeting up offline.
Veteran Desk Sergeant Takegami finds himself unexpectedly in center stage of the investigation after his colleague is hospitalized. Adding to his surprise, he is partnered with his old friend Detective Chikako Ishizu after a break of fifteen years. Working on a hunch, they collaborate to unravel the fine line between fantasy and the harsh reality of murder.
Shadow Family is excellent detective fiction that keeps you guessing until the end. Within a skillful web of intrigue, Miyabe sensitively explores the meaning of family and relationships, and the devastating effect of betrayal...
Review
"... Family ties can be murder, even if they've been forged online...a clever puzzle whose commentary on the fragility and reinvention of families gives it a special edge." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Offers a fascinating look at the dark side of the Internet." Booklist
Review
"[A] theatrical plot swirls with the naked emotions of deeply unhappy people yearning for an idealized family life." The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Miyabe's murder mystery offers more than just a classic whodunit plot; it explores a less-charted human lustnot for romance or sex but for family connection." Romantic Times Book Club magazine
Review
"...A brilliant tour de force...Miyuki Miyabe tells a gripping story....Highly recommended for Japanophiles and computer addicts." Deadly Pleasures
Synopsis
Shadow Family is an intriguing police procedural that centers on a middle-aged office worker's involvement in an Internet chat room, where he forms an alternate family unit that becomes his ultimate undoing.
Synopsis
Shadow Family is a compelling murder mystery focusing on the murky world of Internet chat rooms populated by people from all walks of life attracted by the possibility of being whoever they want to be.
Police investigating the double murder of a middle-aged salary man and his college-aged girlfriend discover email correspondence linking the victim with members of an online fantasy family, in which he plays the part of "Dad." Meanwhile, his real-life teenage daughter is assigned police protection after complaining of being stalked. The investigation focuses increasingly on the "shadow family," as there is evidence that the members emerged from the chat room and started meeting up offline.
Veteran Desk Sergeant Takegami finds himself unexpectedly in center stage of the investigation after his colleague is hospitalized. Adding to his surprise, he is partnered with his old friend Detective Chikako Ishizu after a break of fifteen years. Working on a hunch, they collaborate to unravel the fine line between fantasy and the harsh reality of murder.
Shadow Family is excellent detective fiction that keeps you guessing until the end. Within a skillful web of intrigue, Miyabe sensitively explores the meaning of family and relationships, and the devastating effect of betrayal...
Synopsis
In this compelling murder mystery focusing on the murky world of online chat rooms, veteran Desk Sergeant Takegami finds himself investigating the double murder of a teenaged girl and a middle-aged man, who has created his own "shadow family" on the Internet.
About the Author
Muyuki Miyabe was born in downtown Tokyo in 1960 and worked in a law office before becoming a full-time writer. She is one of Japan's most popular authors, having written a number of best-selling mysteries and suspense novels, as well as some historical fiction. Her first work translated into English, All She Was Worth, won the Shugoro Yamamoto Prize in Japan. Shadow Family is her second novel to be published in English.
Author Q&A
Interview with Miyuki Miyabe Courtesy of
Publishers Weekly
PW: You've had a prolific, award-winning career in your country. How have American audiences responded to your work?
Miyuki Miyabe: I was so glad to receive favorable comments for my first novel published in English, All She Was Worth, a mystery about the devastating effects of credit card debt and identity theft. The book came out in 1996, so I'm curious to see the response to Shadow Family, which is all about the Internet and the breakdown of the traditional family.
PW: The politics and police procedures seem very authentic in Shadow Family. What kind of research do you do?
MM: "True crime" books are deeply interesting as well as useful references for me. Police training manuals can't be obtained by the general public, but books about forensic medicine and scientific crime detection are published for general readers. Some of those books describe the highly technical investigative procedures of police departments, so they're very valuable materials for writing mysteries. I've also done some interviews with the public relations department at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.
PW: Shadow Family explores societal problems that plague both our cultures. What other modern ills do you think we share?
MM: Both Japan and the United States share a continuing high rate of unemployment. In Japan, many young people such as new college graduates face difficulties in finding a job. The current reality makes it extremely difficult for young people to find a purpose in life.
PW: And what are some problems exclusive to Japanese culture?
MM: Japan has recently been struck by a number of large natural disasters, and this experience has raised a huge awareness of how we should prepare for major disasters in the future. It makes me think that although it's hard to prepare for natural disasters, it's even harder to prepare for a breakdown within the family because there are aspects going on that one may not know about. People don't easily recognize the identity breakdown of a family or of an individual.
PW: Do you have any favorite American authors?
MM: I love Michael Z. Lewin and Lawrence Block. Both writers are also very popular in Japan.
PW: Do you have another book due to be published in the U.S.?
MM: Kodansha plans to publish my novel Crossfire in English in 2006.
PW: What's next on your writing agenda?
MM: I'd like to continue to explore how the dignity of people is discovered in the current consumer society, where even affection, heart, and happiness might be treated as a commercial product. I want to discover, in writing my characters' lives, those things that could never be bought or sold for any price. At the same time, I'm very interested in how adults would answer this question when they are asked by their children or a younger generation.
PW: Has there been any film or TV interest in your fiction?
MM: Two of my novels have already been made into feature-length films, and Shadow Family was made into a TV movie by the Japanese-language TV network NHK in 2004. Riyu [The Reason] is scheduled to be released as a film shortly. I wrote Riyu in a somewhat documentary style, and for this reason I imagined that it would be a challenge for the director to make it into a movie; however, he did a marvelous job remaining true to the tone of my original work, and I'm very happy with it.