New York: Vintage Books, (2001). A literary thriller, the story of an unnamed detective, hired by a beautiful, alcoholic woman, to find clues related to the disappearance of her husband but instead he gradually begins to identify himself with the man he was supposed to find. A novel which uses elements of the noir genre to explore urbanization and alienation. Translated from the Japanese by E. Dale Saunders. 299 pp. ISBN: 0-375726527.