Riku Onda – författare

Set in Tokyo over the course of one night, Aki and Hiro have decided to be together one last time in their shared flat before parting. Their relationship has broken down after a mountain trek during which their guide died inexplicably. Now each believes the other to be a murderer and is determined to extract a confession before the night is over. Who is the murderer and what really happened on the mountain? In the battle of wills between them, the chain of events leading up to this night are gradually revealed in a gripping psychological thriller that keeps the reader in suspense to the very end.

On a stormy summer day in the 1970s the wealthy Aosawas host a large birthday party in their villa on the Sea of Japan, which turns to tragedy when 17 people die from cyanide in their drinks. The only surviving links to what might have happened are a cryptic verse that could be the killer's, and the physician's bewitching blind daughter, Hisako, the only family member spared death. Inspector Teru is convinced that Hisako had a role in the crime, as are many in the town. The truth is revealed through a skilful juggling of testimony by different voices, including that of the mesmerising Hisako herself.

The Night Circus meets Lonely Castle in the Mirror in this multi-award-winning Japanese bestseller, available finally in an English translation by Philip Gabriel, a translator of Murakami- AN FT BEST SUMMER READ 2023- OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD IN JAPAN- WINNER OF THE NAOKI PRIZE AND THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS' AWARD- A MAJOR MOVIE RELEASE IN JAPAN'A thrilling and often nail-biting depiction of music, friendship, and personal demons' OBSERVER'Propulsive and poetic' KIRKUS______________________Welcome to a magical world of music, friendship and rivalry ...In a small coastal town just a stone's throw from Tokyo, a prestigious piano competition is underway. Over the course of two feverish weeks, three friends will experience some of the most joyous - and painful - moments of their lives.Aya was a piano genius, until she ran away from the stage and vanished; will the tall and talented Makun bring her back?Or will it be child of nature, Jin, a pianist without a piano, who carries the sound of his father's bees wherever he goes?Each of them will break the rules, awe their fans and push themselves to the brink. But at what cost?Tender, cruel, compelling, HONEYBEES AND DISTANT THUNDER is the unflinching story of love, courage and rivalry. Most of all, it shows how three young people reconcile with the highs and lows of what it means to truly be a friend._____________Japanese readers love HONEYBEES AND DISTANT THUNDER:- 'The novel is a masterpiece' 5 stars*****'- 'Each contestant was wonderfully drawn, and I felt very moved' 5 stars*****- 'I felt like I was right there, and there were scenes that brought me to tears' 5 stars*****- 'This is a beyond a reading experience. It felt like some sixth sense was at work. Wonderful' 5 stars*****

THE MILLION-COPY AWARD-WINNING JAPANESE BESTSELLER "Onda's rich descriptions capture often elusive topics—music and longing—and bring the classical repertoire to vivid life." —People, BEST NEW BOOK Tender and intense, Honeybees and Distant Thunder is the unflinching story of love, courage and rivalry as three young people come to understand what it means to truly be a friend.In a small coastal town just a stone's throw from Tokyo, a prestigious piano competition is underway. Over the course of two feverish weeks, three students will experience some of the most joyous—and painful—moments of their lives. Though they don't know it yet, each will profoundly and unpredictably change the others, for ever. Aya was a child prodigy who abruptly gave up performing after the death of her mother, and is now trying for a comeback; Masaru, a childhood friend of Aya who came to the piano through her insistence that he learn to play, is now reunited with her after many years, and is equally invested in both his and her success; Akashi, who is older and married, works in a music store and is the “old man” of the competitors, hoping for a final chance at success; and Jin, a sixteen-year-old prodigy, the free spirited son of a beekeeper who travels constantly, and has no formal training (and doesn’t even own a piano) yet whose mesmerizing insight into music has brought him to the attention of one of the world’s most celebrated pianists, the late Maestro Von Hoffman. Each of them will break the rules, awe their fans and push themselves to the brink. But at what cost? Beloved in Japan, Riku Onda immerses us in the world of music—from piano masterpieces to the buzz of bees and the rumble of thunder—which crescendos to a surprising ending in this rich and vibrant novel.

The Night Circus meets Lonely Castle in the Mirror in this multi-award-winning Japanese bestseller, available finally in an English translation by Philip Gabriel, a translator of Murakami- AN FT BEST SUMMER READ 2023- OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD IN JAPAN- WINNER OF THE NAOKI PRIZE AND THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS' AWARD- A MAJOR MOVIE RELEASE IN JAPAN'A thrilling and often nail-biting depiction of music, friendship, and personal demons' OBSERVER'Propulsive and poetic' KIRKUS______________________Welcome to a magical world of music, friendship and rivalry ...In a small coastal town just a stone's throw from Tokyo, a prestigious piano competition is underway. Over the course of two feverish weeks, three friends will experience some of the most joyous - and painful - moments of their lives.Aya was a piano genius, until she ran away from the stage and vanished; will the tall and talented Makun bring her back?Or will it be child of nature, Jin, a pianist without a piano, who carries the sound of his father's bees wherever he goes?Each of them will break the rules, awe their fans and push themselves to the brink. But at what cost?Tender, cruel, compelling, HONEYBEES AND DISTANT THUNDER is the unflinching story of love, courage and rivalry. Most of all, it shows how three young people reconcile with the highs and lows of what it means to truly be a friend._____________Japanese readers love HONEYBEES AND DISTANT THUNDER:- 'The novel is a masterpiece' 5 stars*****'- 'Each contestant was wonderfully drawn, and I felt very moved' 5 stars*****- 'I felt like I was right there, and there were scenes that brought me to tears' 5 stars*****- 'This is a beyond a reading experience. It felt like some sixth sense was at work. Wonderful' 5 stars*****

Selected by NYT as one of MOST NOTABLE BOOKS of 2020.On a stormy summer day the Aosawas, owners of a prominent local hospital, host a large birthday party. The occasion turns into tragedy when 17 people die from cyanide in their drinks. The only surviving links to what might have happened are a cryptic verse that could be the killer''s, and the physician''s bewitching blind daughter, Hisako, the only person spared injury. But the youth who emerges as the prime suspect commits suicide that October, effectively sealing his guilt while consigning his motives to mystery. The police are convinced that Hisako had a role in the crime, as are many in the town, including the author of a bestselling book about the murders written a decade after the incident, who was herself a childhood friend of Hisako’ and witness to the discovery of the murders. The truth is revealed through a skilful juggling of testimony by different voices: family members, witnesses and neighbours, police investigators and of course the mesmerizing Hisako herself.

Der große neue Roman der japanischen ErfolgsautorinEine letzte Nacht wollen Aki und Hiro in ihrer gemeinsamen Wohnung in Tokio zusammen sein, bevor ihre Wege sich endgültig trennen. Nach einer Bergwanderung, bei der ihr Führer auf ungeklärte Weise ums Leben kam, ist ihre Beziehung zerbrochen. Alles, was ihnen bleibt, ist ihre Erinnerung. Nun halten die beiden sich gegenseitig für des Mordes schuldig und sind entschlossen, noch in dieser Nacht die Wahrheit herauszufinden. Was ist wirklich auf dem Berg passiert? Im geistigen Wettstreit zwischen den beiden scheint die Kette der Ereignisse nach und nach enthüllt zu werden. Doch wird sie das wirklich? Und werden beide die Wohnung am nächsten Tag lebend verlassen?

An einem stürmischen Sommertag veranstaltet die Familie Aosawa ein rauschendes Fest. Doch die Feier verwandelt sich in eine Tragödie, als siebzehn Menschen durch Zyanid in ihren Getränken sterben. Die einzige Unversehrte ist Hisako, die blinde Tochter des Hauses. Kurz darauf begeht der Mann, der die Getränke lieferte, Selbstmord und besiegelt damit scheinbar seine Schuld, während seine Motive im Dunkeln bleiben. Jahre später versuchen die Autorin eines Buches über das Verbrechen und ein Ermittler, der Wahrheit auf die Spur zu kommen. Doch die Wahrheit ist immer nur das, was wir aus unserer Perspektive sehen …