Butter by Asako Yuzuki | Paperback

From Our Thriller Box
 
📖 About this Book
Tokyo journalist Rika Machida becomes fascinated by Manako Kajii, a gourmet cook accused of murdering several lonely businessmen after seducing them through elaborate home-cooked meals. Kajii refuses almost every interview request, until Rika approaches her through the one subject she cannot resist: food. 
Their meetings quickly become less like ordinary prison interviews and more like lessons in cooking, appetite, pleasure, and femininity. As Rika follows Kajii’s instructions and immerses herself in rich food, she begins questioning her own relationship with her body, work, friendship, and the expectations placed on women. Inspired by a real Japanese criminal case, Butter blends literary fiction, crime, psychological tension, and social commentary.
 
❤️ Why Sumaia Recommends It
This is one of those books that sounds like a crime novel but is actually doing much more underneath.
I love how it uses food and appetite to explore women, body image, loneliness, obsession, and the pressure to behave in a way society considers acceptable. The relationship between Rika and Kajii is unsettling because you are never completely sure who is influencing whom.
It is strange, intelligent, uncomfortable, and very different from a typical thriller. Definitely one for readers who enjoy slower, more literary psychological stories rather than constant twists.
 
✨ Perfect For
🍽️ Food-focused fiction lovers
🧠 Psychological fiction readers
🔎 Literary crime fans
🇯🇵 Japanese literature readers
👩 Stories centred on women
💭 Readers who enjoy social commentary
🖤 Dark, unconventional fiction
🐌 Readers comfortable with slower-paced stories
 
📦 What’s Included
📚 Butter by Asako Yuzuki
✔️ 1 Paperback Book
✔️ Brand New
✔️ English translation by Polly Barton 
📦 Ships across the UAE, GCC & Middle East