Lady Joker, Volume 2

Lady Joker, Volume 2
Author: Kaoru Takamura
Publisher: Soho Press
Total Pages: 601
Release: 2022-10-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1641290307

“A novel that portrays with devastating immensity how those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts.” —Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police This second half of Lady Joker, by Kaoru Takamura, the Grand Dame of Japanese crime fiction, concludes the breathtaking saga introduced in Volume I. Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case that terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines the circumstances of this watershed episode in modern Japanese history and brings into riveting focus the lives and motivations of the victims, the perpetrators, the heroes and the villains. As the shady networks linking corporations to syndicates are brought to light, the stakes rise, and some of the professionals we have watched try to fight their way through this crisis will lose everything—some even their lives. Will the culprits ever be brought to justice? More importantly—what is justice?

Lady Joker, Volume 1

Lady Joker, Volume 1
Author: Kaoru Takamura
Publisher: Soho Press
Total Pages: 601
Release: 2021-04-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1616957018

One of Japan’s great modern masters, Kaoru Takamura, makes her English-language debut with this two-volume publication of her magnum opus. Tokyo, 1995. Five men meet at the racetrack every Sunday to bet on horses. They have little in common except a deep disaffection with their lives, but together they represent the social struggles and griefs of post-War Japan: a poorly socialized genius stuck working as a welder; a demoted detective with a chip on his shoulder; a Zainichi Korean banker sick of being ostracized for his race; a struggling single dad of a teenage girl with Down syndrome. The fifth man bringing them all together is an elderly drugstore owner grieving his grandson, who has died suspiciously after the revelation of a family connection with the segregated buraku community, historically subjected to severe discrimination. Intent on revenge against a society that values corporate behemoths more than human life, the five conspirators decide to carry out a heist: kidnap the CEO of Japan’s largest beer conglomerate and extract blood money from the company’s corrupt financiers. Inspired by the unsolved true-crime kidnapping case perpetrated by “the Monster with 21 Faces,” Lady Joker has become a cultural touchstone since its 1997 publication, acknowledged as the magnum opus by one of Japan’s literary masters, twice adapted for film and TV and often taught in high school and college classrooms.

Three Assassins

Three Assassins
Author: Kotaro Isaka
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2022-08-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1647007828

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Pick By the internationally bestselling author of Bullet Train, the high-octane new thriller, set in Tokyo’s criminal underworld, pits an ordinary man against a group of talented and very unusual assassins Three Assassins is the high-stakes, high-style, and utterly propulsive follow-up to Kotaro Isaka’s international bestseller, Bullet Train, a Crime Reads "Most Anticipated Book of 2021." Suzuki is an ordinary man until his wife is murdered. To get answers and his revenge, Suzuki abandons his law-abiding lifestyle and takes a low-level job with a front company operated by the crime gang Maiden, who are responsible for his wife’s death. Before long, Suzuki finds himself caught up in a network of quirky and highly effective assassins: The Cicada is a knife expert. The Pusher nudges people into oncoming traffic. The Whale whispers bleak aphorisms to his victims until they take their own lives. Intense and electrifying, Three Assassins delivers a wild ride through the criminal underworld of Tokyo, populated by contract killers who are almost superhumanly good at their jobs.

Lady Joker, Volume 2

Lady Joker, Volume 2
Author: Kaoru Takamura
Publisher: Soho Press
Total Pages: 601
Release: 2022-10-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1641290293

“A novel that portrays with devastating immensity how those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts.” —Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police This second half of Lady Joker, by Kaoru Takamura, the Grand Dame of Japanese crime fiction, concludes the breathtaking saga introduced in Volume I. Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case that terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines the circumstances of this watershed episode in modern Japanese history and brings into riveting focus the lives and motivations of the victims, the perpetrators, the heroes and the villains. As the shady networks linking corporations to syndicates are brought to light, the stakes rise, and some of the professionals we have watched try to fight their way through this crisis will lose everything—some even their lives. Will the culprits ever be brought to justice? More importantly—what is justice?

Batman: Joker's Asylum

Batman: Joker's Asylum
Author: Arvid Nelson
Publisher: DC Comics
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2022-12-06
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1779519648

The Clown Prince of Crime is back, here to share 10 villainous tales starring Batman’s greatest foes! Get unique insights into the lives of famous criminals such as the Penguin, Poison Ivy, the Riddler, and many more-all narrated by The Joker himself. Collects Joker’s Asylum: The Joker #1, Joker’s Asylum: Penguin #1, Joker’s Asylum: Poison Ivy #1, Joker’s Asylum: Scarecrow #1, Joker’s Asylum: Two-Face #1, Joker’s Asylum II: The Riddler #1, Joker’s Asylum II: Harley Quinn #1, Joker’s Asylum II: Mad Hatter #1, Joker’s Asylum II: Killer Croc #1, and Joker’s Asylum II: Clayface #1.

Lady Killer 2

Lady Killer 2
Author: Various
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2017-12-26
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1630080845

The killer housewife is back! The Schuller family has moved to Cocoa Beach, where life carries on as usual. Josie continues to juggle Tupperware parties, her kids, and a few heads--and things don't get any easier for the entrepreneur hit lady when her past comes back to haunt her. Lady Killer is a black comedy that juxtaposes the wholesome imagery of early 1960s domestic bliss with a tightening web of murder, paranoia, and cold-blooded survival. From rising star author Joelle Jones comes the much anticpated return of Josie Schuller the Lady Killer! Collects Lady Killer (Series 2) issues#1-#5. "A level of violence that can only be described as Mad Men's Betty Draper meets Dexter." -Comic Book Resources "Lady Killer somehow manages to perfectly incorporate the quaint concept of the 1950's TV housewife with blood-fueled antics of vicious killer for hire."-IGN "Lady Killer is worth its weight in gold for the art alone, but the enigmatic Josie Schuller is the real appeal."--Newsarama

Old Lady Harley

Old Lady Harley
Author: Frank Tieri
Publisher: DC Comics
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2019-07-02
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1401292178

After liberating New York City from her now-feral Gang of Harleys, poor Harley wants nothing more than to slip back into retirement in her coastal (and heavily guarded) paradise. But the Laughing Boys gang has another idea—they’ll follow her to the ends of the Earth, to drag her back to their leader! It can’t actually be...him! Right?! He couldn’t possibly still be alive, could he? After all...Harley killed him herself with her bare hands! Should she turn to President Power Girl for help? Or flee to the 51st state, Atlantis? Step into an insane vision of a future DC Universe we all better hope we don’t live to see! Collects the five-issue miniseries and HARLEY QUINN #42!

Treasure Island!!!

Treasure Island!!!
Author: Sara Levine
Publisher: Europa Editions
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2011-12-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1609459148

A young slacker decides to live her life according to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure: “A rollicking tale, shameless, funny and intelligent” (The New York Times). When a college graduate with a history of hapless jobs (ice cream scooper, gift wrapper, laziest ever part-time clerk at The Pet Library) reads Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island, she is dumbstruck by the timid design of her life. When had she ever dreamed a scheme? When had she ever done a foolish, overbold act? When had she ever, like Jim Hawkins, broken from her friends, raced for the beach, stolen a boat, killed a man, and eliminated an obstacle that stood in the way of her getting a hunk of gold? Convinced that Stevenson’s book is cosmically intended for her, she redesigns her life according to its Core Values: boldness, resolution, independence, and horn-blowing. Accompanied by her mother, her sister, and a hostile Amazon parrot that refuses to follow the script, our heroine embarks on a domestic adventure more frightening than anything she’d originally planned. Treasure Island!!! is the story of a ferocious obsession, told by an original voice—“insane, hilarious, and irreverent” (Alice Sebold). “Highly original . . . will keep you entertained in spite of (or more accurately, because of) its toxic narrator.” —Library Journal “A hoot.” —Kirkus Reviews

Lady Joker

Lady Joker
Author: Kaoru Takamura
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 621
Release: 2022-02-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1529394198

*THE JAPANESE CRIME CLASSIC - ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD* 'One of the great masterpieces of Japanese crime fiction and one of the must-read books of this or any year' David Peace Tokyo, 1995. Five men meet at the racetrack every Sunday to bet on horses. They have little in common except a deep disaffection with their lives, but together they represent the social struggles and griefs of post-War Japan: a poorly socialized genius stuck working as a welder; a demoted detective with a chip on his shoulder; a Zainichi Korean banker sick of being ostracized for his ethnicity; a struggling single dad of a teenage girl with Down syndrome. The fifth man bringing them all together is an elderly drugstore owner grieving his grandson, who died in suspicious circumstances. Intent on revenge against a society that values corporate behemoths more than human life, the five conspirators decide to carry out a heist: kidnap the CEO of Japan's largest beer conglomerate and extract blood money from the company's corrupt financiers. Inspired by the unsolved true-crime kidnapping case perpetrated by "the Monster with 21 Faces," Lady Joker has become a cultural touchstone since its 1997 publication, acknowledged as the magnum opus by one of Japan's literary masters. 'A novel that portrays with devastating immensity how those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts' Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police 'Takamura's prismatic heist novel offers a broad indictment of capitalist society' New York Times 'Lady Joker is a work you get immersed in, like a sprawling 19th century novel or a TV series like The Wire' NPR

Parade

Parade
Author: Hiromi Kawakami
Publisher: Catapult
Total Pages: 55
Release: 2019-11-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1593765819

"A parable about memory, mythic characters, and confessional regrets . . . An ethereal, resonating literary gift" (Booklist, starred review) from the internationally bestselling author of Strange Weather in Tokyo. "On a summer afternoon, Tsukiko and her former high school teacher have prepared and eaten somen noodles together. “Tell me a story from long ago,” Sensei says. “I wasn’t alive long ago,” Tsukiko says, “but should I tell you a story from when I was little?” “Please do,” Sensei replies, and so Tsukiko tells him that, when she was a child, she awakened one day to find something with a pale red face and something with a dark red face in her room, arguing with each other. They had human bodies, long noses, and wings. They were tengu, creatures that appear in Japanese folktales. The tengu attach themselves to Tsukiko and begin to follow her everywhere. Where did they come from and why are they here? And what other invisible and unacknowledged forces are acting upon Tsukiko’s seemingly peaceful world?"