Chirāgh'hā-yi Ābī-yi Yūkūhāmā: Persian 1402

In a beautifully written, hauntingly original first novel, Tokyo Police Inspector Iwata, recently reinstated to a new post, is assigned to investigate a disturbing multiple murders. Newly reinstated to the Homicide Division and transferred to a precinct in Tokyo, Inspector Iwata is facing superiors who don’t want him there and is assigned a recalcitrant partner, Noriko Sakai, who’d rather work with anyone else. After the previous detective working the case killed himself, Iwata and Sakai are assigned to investigate the slaughter of an entire family, a brutal murder with no clear motive or killer. At the crime scene, they find puzzling ritualistic details. Black smudges. A strange incense smell. And a symbol—a large black sun. Iwata doesn’t know what the symbol means but he knows what the killer means by it: I am here. I am not finished. As Iwata investigates, it becomes clear that these murders by the Black Sun Killer are not the first, nor the last attached to that symbol. As he tries to track down the history of the black sun symbol, puzzle out the motive for the crime, and connect this to other murders, Iwata finds himself racing another clock—the superiors who are trying to have him removed for good. Haunted by his past, his inability to sleep, and a song, ‘Blue Light Yokohama,’ Iwata is at the center of a compelling, brilliantly moody, layered novel sure to be one of the most talked about debuts in 2017. Praise for Blue Light Yokohama: "Obregón is a bright, sophisticated new voice in crime fiction: his writing sings at you, reverberates, and makes you consider more than just the urgent clamor of his novel’s well-hewn murder plot. In Inspector Iwata, he has created a quiet, troubled hero whom readers will be sure to follow from one disturbing, atmospheric story to the next." Benjamin Wood (Shortlisted for The Sunday Times/Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award 2016) "A twisty, highly entertaining thriller that pulls us into the heart of an unconventional hero as he fights corruption in the gritty, glittering world of Tokyo." Julia Heaberlin (Author of Black-Eyed Susans) "With its Japanese setting and characters, Blue Light Yokohama offers up a bold and refreshingly different take on the serial killer tale." Simon Beckett (Author of the David Hunter series) "Obregón's full-bodied prose is by turns gritty and poetic, and it's consistently energetic. Given the terrific chemistry between the two lead detectives, here's hoping this debut novel kicks off a new series." Kirkus Reviews "Poetic, chilling, and mesmerizing storytelling." Ragnar Jónasson (Author of the Dark Iceland series)