Presentation Title: 『誓約』Author: Gaku YAKUMARU 薬丸岳Edited by 幻冬舎文庫 Gaku YAKUMARU is a well-known author of thrillers and mystery novels in Japan. The Korean translation of『誓約』is a huge hit, it was the top-selling novel of the biggest online and offline bookshops of the country. Setting Satoshi MUKAI lives with his wife and daughter and works in the same bar for 15 years. One day, he receives a letter that will bring back an undesired past into his present life… Why I liked it 『誓約』 was a suspenseful page-turner, and if you buy mystery novels or thrillers to get entertained, this novel completely does its job. While I liked the book, I cannot help but feel a little disappointed. I think that I had big expectations due to the novel’s success in Korea, but I found that it was just good, not revolutionary good. First of all, there is nothing really new in this novel, it is a classic story of a man whose life is turned apart by a triggering event. He has to escape and …

A heartwarming novel about a little coal mine town and its inhabitants.

『誰か』is the novel introducing Saburo SUGIMURA.

An engrossing novel that sets a fictional setting to ask the question: how far should retribution go?

A seminar directed by an ex-detective, five students eager to solve old criminal cases, mysteries happening in the campus… If this appeals to you, you must read『継続捜査ゼミ』by Bin Konno!

『推理作家（僕）が探偵と暮らすわけ』by Shiki KUZUMI (久住四季) is a light novel and a detective story. If you like the series Sherlock from the BBC, you will certainly like this novel.

Even twenty years of time cannot erase some names from our memory. In 『ボクたちはみんな大人になれなっかた』, seeing one name appearing on Facebook brings back the past, scene by scene. As the narrator let the memories come back, he gives a personal picture of the ’90s.

I have finished 『リカーシブル』by Honobu YONEZAWA (米澤穂信), and with it, I have completed both my reading challenge for the year and my goals for the month of December. A novel with various themes 「この街は確かに、どこかおかしい」(p.394) Haruka, her mother and younger brother Satoru have to move back to the mother’s native little town. While Haruka, who starts her first year of middle-school, tries to make her place in the class hierarchy, a growing feeling of uneasiness will change her priorities. There is something strange with this town and Satoru is acting weird: Haruka will investigate. This mystery novel is quite long (+500 pages) and encompasses a wide range of topics. First, the daily preoccupations of the protagonist Haruka. As a transfer student, she has to find her place in the class hierarchy and make friends. We also soon find out that her family is not what it seems and Haruka has to find her place in it too. Another important point is the town itself: the town is slowly dying, many stores have shut down, the school is …