Acclaimed bestselling novelist Kunihiko Hidaka is brutally murdered in his home on the night before he’s planning to leave Japan and relocate to Vancouver. His body is found in his office, in a locked room, within his locked house, by his wife and his best friend, both of whom have rock solid alibis. Or so it seems. Police Detective Kyochiro Kaga recognizes Hidaka’s best friend from years ago when they were both teachers. Kaga went on to join the police force while Nonoguchi became a full-time writer, though with not nearly the success of his friend Hidaka. When Kaga suspects something is a little bit off with Nonoguchi’s statement, he investigates further, ultimately executing a search warrant on Nonoguchi’s apartment. There he finds evidence that shows that the two writers’ relationship was very different than they claimed… Malice is my first foray into the dark realms of Japanese crime fiction. The premise appears, at least initially, to be pretty traditional, but further investigation uncovers something far subtler than that. This novel explores how relationships develop, how they can be manipulated and how they can be interpreted. Be warned, the interactions between characters may not always be what they seem. Chapters...