Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder

Journalist Rika Machida works for a weekly magazine in Tokyo. Her life is centered around work, with little time for outside enjoyment or friends. To further her career, Rika is determined to get an interview with elusive convicted woman serial killer Manako Kajii, a former gourmet chef currently incarcerated in Tokyo Detention Center. After several unsuccessful attempts to converse with Kajii, Rika takes the advice of her friend Reiko (who shares Kajii’s interest in cooking) and gains access after asking Kajii for a recipe. As Rika and Kajii start talking regularly, Rika begins to better appreciate food and develop cooking skills herself. Time goes on, and Kajii’s subtle manipulations of Rika become more overt, taking a toll on Rika’s mental health. Will Rika be able to regain her sense of self? Can she objectively write the article on Kajii that will make her career? And is Kajii guilty of the crimes of which she’s been convicted?