The Aosawa Murders (first published in Japan in 2004 and translated to English in 2020), by Riku Onda, centers on a mass poisoning at a birthday party in 1970s Japan, which killed 17 people including every member of the Aosawa family except for their daughter Hisako, who is blind. Soon after the murders, the main suspect commits suicide, leaving behind a confession but not a motive. Many people believe that Hisako was somehow involved in the murders, but without any proof, the police close the case. Decades after the crime, an unseen interviewer asks various members of the community to recount their experiences of the people and events surrounding the murders.
The novel is told entirely through these interviews. Each interview reveals a different person’s perspective on the crime, allowing the reader to slowly piece together more and more of what truly happened. This book provides a lot of food for thought regarding the nature of truth and the reliability of memory, and in keeping with this theme, the ending does not tie up neatly in a bow. Overall, it’s beautifully translated and creepily atmospheric, with a strong sense of place. If you enjoy books set in Japan and psychological suspense that examines a crime from multiple perspectives, I also highly recommend Confessions by Kanae Minato and Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino.