In her native Japan, Kaoru Takamura has won nearly every major mystery award, sold over one million copies of her cerebral and sophisticated books, and had her work adapted for film and TV. In 1993, she was honored with the Mystery Writers of Japan Award. But it wasn’t until 2021 that Lady Joker, her magnum opus, was released in English for the first time, with a translation by Allison Markin Powell and Marie Iida. Based on a real-life corporate kidnapping case, the 1997 crime novel follows a ragtag group of five conspirators who are fed up with corporate greed and the cards they’ve been dealt in life. They abduct the president of a prominent beer company and hold him for ransom, forcing corrupt financiers to finally pay up. The kaleidoscopic heist story spans across two volumes in its English translation and serves as a psychological study, capitalistic critique, and social commentary all in one. —Meg Zukin
Buy Now: Lady Joker, Volume 1 on Bookshop | Amazon | Lady Joker, Volume 2 on Bookshop | Amazon
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- How Far Trump Would Go
- Why Maternity Care Is Underpaid
- Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
- Saving Seconds Is Better Than Hours
- Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Ryan Gosling
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time