Kanae Minato
Nascimento : 1973-01-01, Innoshima, Hiroshima, Japan
História
Minato Kanae is a Japanese writer of crime fiction and thrillers. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan.
She started writing in her thirties. Her first novel Confessions became a bestseller and won the Japanese Booksellers Award.
In youth, she was an avid fan of mystery novels of Edogawa Ranpo, Maurice Leblanc, Agatha Christie, Keigo Higashino, Miyuki Miyabe, and Yukito Ayatsuji.
The English edition of Minato's Confessions, published in August 2014, was described by a critic as "the Gone Girl of Japan."
Wall Street Journal selected Confessions as one of the 10 best mysteries of 2014.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Novel
Sayaka, a high school student, kills herself but the reason behind her suicide is unknown. She appeared to have led a normal life with her family. Her mother Rumiko seemed to have raised Sayaka with love and care. In reality, that does not seem to be the case. When the mother and daughter recall the same incidents that took place in the past, they tell very different stories.
Short Story
Mutsuko has been living on an island to which her grandmother and mother have restricted her from leaving. To Mutsuko, the symbol of her freedom was Dreamland, an amusement park on the mainland, but she learns it will be closing permanently this year. Meanwhile, Wataru returns to the island after nine years due to a job transfer. A pupil of his deceased father pays him a visit and tells him about a side of his father he did not know about.
Novel
Yuki is a 2nd year high school student. She volunteers at a paediatrics ward for her summer vacation, because she wants to witness the moment a person dies. She got that thought after feeling envious of a transfer student's story of seeing a friend's dead body. Yuki has friend named Atsuko. She was bullied in the past and has anxiety issues. She volunteers at a nursing home for her summer vacation, hoping that she will gain courage if she sees the moment a person dies.
Original Story
Mariko Okano’s boyfriend Junichi Nagata leaves suddenly to become a volunteer teacher in a remote country. Mariko and Junichi’s families are both left wondering why he departed so quickly, without discussing his plans with them first. The next day, a woman’s charred body is discovered in a warehouse. The woman turns out to be Ayako Oshima, the mother of a student who was suspected of arson in a warehouse blaze 15 years ago. Oddly, Mariko had been trapped in that warehouse fire with another student, but was saved by Junichi. However, the other student died in the blaze. Soon after, Mariko receives a letter from Junichi, in which he confesses to a crime Mariko was not aware of. Are the two fires related? And what was the crime Junichi confessed to?
Short Story
Three stories from Shiratsuna Island: "Mikan no hana"
Shiratsuna Island is the only remaining island city in Japan, but it is being merged with a city on the opposite shore. Housewife Misato Tomita lives on the island. "Umi no hoshi"
Yōhei Hamasaki, who was born on Shiratsuna Island, lives in an apartment in the outskirts of Tokyo with his wife, Tomomi, and their son, Taichi. "Kumo no ito"
Popular artist Hirotaka Kurosaki, who is a native of Shiratsuna Island, goes back to his hometown after seven years.
Novel
Novel
Beautiful Noriko Miki works at a cosmetic company. One day, Noriko is murdered. People begin to suspect her co-worker Miki Shirono might have killed her. Television begins to cover her story. A TV show interviews Miki Shirono's colleagues, family, people from her hometown. Rumors turn into fear. Is she a wicked a woman?
Original Story
Based upon the novel by Minato Kanae. The story is about three women who all live in the same countryside town but who never interact with one another even though they are all tied by the same tragedy. While newly-unemployed Rika tries to get her ailing grandmother to take a needed surgery, she also struggles to come up with the money to pay for it. A mysterious benefactor known to her only as "K" might be able to help, but her grandmother is steadfast in telling her to decline it. As Rika searches for clues as to who this "K" is, she increasingly finds that she and two other women are linked not only by a tragedy but a chain of flowers as well.
Novel
The murder of a young girl leaves the inhabitants of a small Japanese village in shock. The body of Emili is found by four classmates with whom she was playing. The murder is never solved. Emili's mother, Asako, is torn by grief and puts a curse on the four girls when they claim not to remember the killer's face. Each of the girls, in their own way, will do penance for their silence.
Writer
Teacher Kawashima Haru takes a position on a remote island off the coast of Hokkaido, where she takes charge of six students. However, she is later forced to leave after an accident occurs. 20 years later, Haru learns that one of her former students has committed a crime, and eventually returns to the island once more.
Original Story
Youko and Harumi have been friends since youth as their life circumstances were similar. Youko ends up marrying a politician and publishes a successful picture book basen on Harumi's life, when her son suddenly gets abducted.
Novel
No último dia de aula a professora ao se despedir revela que abandonará a profissão, e o motivo é a morte de sua filha de 4 anos há pouco tempo atrás. Ela revela que sabe que o afogamento da menina não foi acidental; foi assassinada, e os assassinos estão entre os estudantes daquela classe. Como a lei não permite a responsabilização de crianças menores de 14 anos por seus crimes ela anuncia que fará justiça com as próprias mãos.