Hooked : A Novel of Obsession

Asako Yuzuki follows up the Waterstones Book of the Year-winning Butter with another exquisitely crafted and deliciously disturbing masterpiece, focusing on the obsessive relationship between a lonely trading company employee and an unconventional housewife.

The unmissable new novel of friendship and dangerous obsession from Asako Yuzuki, the award-winning author of the global bestselling sensation Butter.

Eriko really wouldn't mind being savaged, if it was her best friend doing the savaging …

Eriko's life appears perfect – devoted parents, spotless apartment and a job in the seafood division of one of Japan's largest trading companies. Her latest project, to reintroduce the controversial Nile perch fish into the Japanese market, is characteristically ambitious. But beneath her flawless surface she is wracked by loneliness.

Eriko becomes fascinated with a popular blog written by a housewife, Shoko. Shoko’s posts about eating convenience store food and her untidy home are the opposite of the typical Japanese housewife’s manicured lifestyle. When Eriko tracks Shoko down at her favourite restaurant and befriends her, Shoko is at first charmed by her new companion. But as Eriko’s obsession with Shoko deepens, her increasingly possessive behaviour starts to raise suspicion. As Eriko’s carefully laid plans begin to unravel, how far will she go to hold on to the best friend that she’s ever had?

Beautifully translated by Polly Barton, Hooked is a thrilling and unsettling story of the line between friendship and dangerous obsession. A delicious exploration of food, loneliness and womanhood in contemporary Japan, Hooked brings together all the ingredients for which Asako Yuzuki is so adored.

MEDIA REVIEWS

Praise for Hooked: ‘Obsession, tension and toxic loneliness: Hooked had me in a headlock. No one writes about the hidden depths and lurking monstrosities of womanhood quite like Asako Yuzuki’ - Alice Slater, author of Let the Bad Times Roll

‘An exciting new thriller that you won’t be able to put down’ - Radio Times

‘Remember seeing Butter all over your commute? A similar hype surrounds the follow-up, Hooked … Tender and thrilling it’s Yuzuki at her best’ - Elle

‘Another page-turner, and I'd recommend adding it to your reading lists immediately’ - Daily Express

‘The author of the international sensation Butter returns with another razor-edged story about women, appetite, and what we’ll do to feel chosen … Safe to say, we’re already hooked’ - Oprah

‘A thrilling and deliciously sharp examination of the extremes of female friendship. Achingly tender and wickedly funny’ - Edel Coffey, author of In Glass Houses

‘An ominous obsession hangs like a shadow over Hooked, but it's the delicate exploration of female friendship that makes this novel remarkable. Dark, tender and unforgettable’ - Jane Casey, author of The Secret Room

‘The most stressful fun I’ve ever had reading a book … Another gripping, singular slice of contemporary life from Asako Yuzuki’ - Jodie Matthews, author of Meet Me at the Surface

‘The kind of book you press into your friends’ hands, desperate to dissect it’ - Erin Kelly, author of The House of Mirrors

‘I loved this intense and claustrophobic story of loneliness, identity and obsession’ - Lucy Diamond, author of The Island Getaway

‘Dark, spiny and slippery, this haunting tale of loneliness and longing in the modern age will leave you gasping’ - Tobi Coventry, author of He’s the Devil