𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙴𝙽𝙳 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙸𝙽𝚈 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙻𝙳 ,, plot showcase

𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙴𝚇𝚃 𝙳𝙾𝙾𝚁 ,, original

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐏. 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐄, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑, 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐈 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐔𝐏 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓

breaking news: crime fiction writer sachiko ito arrested for murder!

AT THE TENDER AGE OF TWENTY, SACHIKO ITO SOARED TO FAME FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF HER FIRST NOVEL, "IN FOR A PENNY, IN FOR A POUND",  ABOUT A GROUP OF HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS WHO ACCIDENTALLY KILL THE RESIDENT MEAN GIRL WHEN THEY TRY TO GET REVENGE FOR THE THREE YEARS OF HORROR THEY ENDURED AT HER HAND. The novel was a breakout hit, setting Sachiko up for life. Ten years and eight best-selling murder mystery books later- some more scandalous and smutty than others, like "Two For The Freak Show", the ballad to the culture of eighties hard rock, featuring a glam metal band who make continuous deals with the devil in order to stay popular in Tokyo in nineteen eighty-six, or "Moth To A Flame", about a sexy rookie bounty hunter's relentless game of cat and mouse with a university student who swears she's innocent -, she's running out of ideas, with a major publishing deadline fast approaching. Perhaps that's how she finds herself in Osaka, drinking herself into oblivion while she contemplates giving up on the craft. I mean, she's already written eight books, seven of which were translated and released internationally, one of them made into a Netflix mini-series ( 'Moth To A Flame' became an Australian production, but Sachiko will always claim the sex scenes were toned down, and Hannah's- the college student-descent into madness was over-exaggerated ) and two were made into successful films ( 'In For A Penny, In For A Pound' and 'Where There's A Will', an Agatha Christie-esque novel about a dead film director and his eclectic family as they arrive in Kyoto for the will reading- and ensuing revelations about his death). Maybe she should throw in the towel.

SACHIKO WAKES UP THE NEXT MORNING HUNGOVER WITH NO IDEA WHERE SHE IS, OR WHO THE TATTOOED MAN LYING NEXT TO HER IS. Or why there are three bullets through his chest. With a gaping hole in her memory, and the prospect that she could be spending the next ten years of her life behind bars, Sachiko runs. Straight into homicide detective Shintaro Okada, who arrests her on site. Though she has a hazy memory of what happened in that bar, and a total blackout once she left, she knows she didn't kill the man she slept with. Especially when his murder- and his tattoos- have all the hallmarks of  a yakuza hit. 

SHINTARO OKADA HAS THE BEST ARREST RATE IN OSAKA. Mainly because he likes arresting people a little too much. At thirty-two, he has one of the quickest rises through the ranks in any prefecture in the country. Working homicide is grim, and he's seen his fair share of mutilated bodies, but he has his reasons, stemming from the murder of his sister, Asuka, when they were teenagers. When he's called to shady motel in the red light district and encounters a frazzled young woman with no memory of the night before or how she ended up next to a dead body, he thinks the case is open and shut. Until the paparazzi show up and his colleagues inform him that he's just arrested a best selling millennial crime novelist.

SACHIKO ITO IS LUCKY SHE HAS FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES. After striking a deal with the police commissioner, Sachiko is allowed access to every aspect of the case, much to Shintaro Okada's dismay. As the investigation deepens, taking Sachiko and Shintaro to the hazy neon streets of Osaka, and the tension grows between detective and author, the lines between personal and professional start to blur, leaving them both to wonder if they've found what they're looking for.

starring aya asahina as sachiko ito

and kazuki hayashi as shintaro okada

with noboyuki suzuki as detective harada, and shuuka fuji as detective mariko

NOTES!

- have i been watching too many episodes of castle lately? yes.

- is this plot referenced before a mediocrly spicy scene in one of my high and low books? yes.

- i have nothing further to say

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐏. 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐄, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑, 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐈 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐔𝐏 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓