Butter

New Paperback

Postscript summary

Manako Kajii has been arrested for seducing businessmen with her cooking and then killing them but refuses to tell her story; journalist Rika Machida is intrigued by her case and the misogyny surrounding it. When Rika’s friend suggests writing to the murderer with a request for a recipe, it finally opens a channel of communication and the path to an exploration of Japanese culture.

Product information

Publisher: Fourth Estate
Year: 2025
Format: Paperback
Pages: 458pp
Illustrated: No
Dimensions: 197x127mm
Condition: New
Weight: 0.4kg
ISBN: 9780008511715
Product code: 545299

Full publisher description

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SENSATION

WINNER OF WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER AWARD 2025

A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK

'A full-fat, Michelin-starred treat'
SUNDAY TIMES

'A cult phenomenon'
iNEWS

'Took the literary world by storm'
BBC

'A killer Japanese novel'
THE TIMES

'I have been glued to Butter' NIGEL SLATER

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story, and translated by Polly Barton.

There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.

Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation's imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can't resist writing back.

Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body. Might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought?

Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, 'The Konkatsu Killer', Asako Yuzuki's Butter is a vivid, gripping exploration of misogyny, obsession and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan.

Longlisted for the CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger Award 2025

'It isn't entirely clear whether to read the novel or devour it' OBSERVER

'Readers around the world are finding themselves utterly captivated'
DAILY MAIL

'I really enjoyed it' MEERA SYAL, on BBC Between the Covers

'Compelling, delightfully weird' PANDORA SYKES

'Unputdownable, breathtakingly original' ERIN KELLY

'You'll be craving rice, butter and soy sauce in no time'
STYLIST

'Nothing short of ingenious' iNEWS

'Ambitious and unsettling'
GUARDIAN

'Luscious ... I devoured this' IMOGEN CRIMP

'A salty morsel with one hell of a bite' ALICE SLATER

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