Six Four

The novel opens with Mikami and his wife Minako meeting with a regional captain to examine a body of a young female that could be his daughter, Ayumi, who had run away from home.

The next day, Mikami dwells on his current job in Media Relations at the police headquarters and plans to eventually return to his former post in Criminal Investigations.

At the office, he finds that members of the press have congregated to ask that Mikami release the name of the female driver involved in a fatal car accident because they are making a stand on anonymity.

Back in his office, Mikami learns that the press club is submitting a written protest to the captain for the release of the woman’s name.

To distract them from the issue, Mikami meets with a member of the press club and tells him about bid-rigging charges against Hakkaku Construction.

Kakinuma tells Mikami about the Koda Memo, an account of a call by the kidnapper during the Six Four case that was covered up because the police messed up the recording.

Mikami asks to join the police in the mobile command center that will monitor Mesaki as he delivers the ransom money to the kidnapper and is granted permission.

In the middle of the observation, an officer reports that the missing girl, Kasumi, was found in police custody in Genbu city for shoplifting.

The next week, Media Relations and the press debate about the decision to keep the suspected Six Four kidnapper Mesaki's home address anonymous.

The novel ends with Mikami asking Futawatari to let him stay in Media Relations in the spring rather than moving him to Criminal Investigations.

[4] He worked independently of author Hideo Yokoyama and conducted research by reading Japanese police websites and online records.

[7][8] Upon its 2017 publication in the UK, the translated novel proved as popular as it had been in Japan, quickly ranking on the best seller's list in Britain.

[10][11] The novel's unique style has proven popular with Western audiences, with publications such as Financial Times praising its "slow-burning" nature.

[12] The book was adapted into a British television series by ITVX with scriptwriter Gregory Burke moving the setting from Japan to Scotland.