★ The 35th‑anniversary work of Keigo Higashino’s career. The series has sold over 1.5 million copies.
★ Upon release, it topped Japan’s 8 major bestseller lists and swept 3 major book awards (Shūkan Bunshun Mystery Ranking, Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!, and Da Vinci’s Book of the Year). It reached #1 on all major sales charts including Tohan, Nikkyo, Oricon, and Kinokuniya.
★ Remained on the front page of Japan’s Bookmeter (like Douban) for over 12 consecutive months – a testament to both critical acclaim and popular readership.
★ Film adaptation coming in September 2026, starring Hokuto Matsumura and Mio Imada as dual leads. The story begins after the killer’s confession, focusing on the victim’s daughter and the killer’s son as they join forces to uncover the truth.
★ A 33‑year‑long “confession” connecting Tokyo and Aichi. A daughter of the victim and a son of the perpetrator hunt together for the truth. Higashino’s own version of “Crime and Punishment,” questioning good and evil, guilt and atonement.
★ Rights sold: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Thai, Spanish, Italian, French, Polish, English, Turkish, Russian! More languages in discussion~

A kind‑hearted lawyer, Kensuke Shiraishi, is found dead in his car. Suspect Tatsuro Kuragi quickly confesses – not only to the lawyer’s murder but also to killing a loan shark in Aichi 33 years earlier. The case seems closed.

But the victim’s daughter, Mirei, and the suspect’s son, Kazuma, each harbor deep doubts about their fathers’ “truth.” One is the bereaved child; the other, the child of the perpetrator. Driven by shared confusion, they begin their own investigation.

As the two timelines – Tokyo in 2017 and Aichi in 1984 – become intertwined, Kuragi’s repeated confession of “I did it all” reveals more contradictions and cracks. When the boundaries of crime and punishment blur, and despair and hope intertwine, the truth they ultimately discover will overturn everyone’s expectations.

This is Higashino’s 35th‑anniversary masterpiece, which he calls his own “Crime and Punishment.” A film adaptation starring Hokuto Matsumura and Mio Imada is scheduled for release in 2026.

Keigo Higashino
Born in Osaka in 1958. Graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University. Made his debut in 1985 by winning the 31st Edogawa Rampo Prize for “After School.” Won the 52nd Mystery Writers of Japan Award for “Naoko” (1999); the 134th Naoki Prize and 6th Honkaku Mystery Award for “The Devotion of Suspect X” (2006); the 7th Chuo Koron Prize for Literature for “Miracles of the Namiya General Store” (2012); the 26th Shibata Renzaburo Prize for “Fantasia” (2013); the 48th Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature for “When the Prayer Curtain Falls” (2014); the 1st Noma Publishing Culture Award (2019); and the 70th Kikuchi Kan Prize (2023). In recognition of his numerous outstanding works, he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2023. He has written many bestselling novels.