People Who Eat Darkness

The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo - and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up

By: Richard Lloyd Parry

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Lucie Blackman - tall, blond, 21 years old - stepped out into the vastness of Tokyo in the summer of 2000 and disappeared. The following winter, her dismembered remains were found buried in a seaside cave. The seven months in between had seen a massive search for the missing girl involving Japanese policemen, British private detectives, and Lucie’s desperate but bitterly divided parents. Had Lucie been abducted by a religious cult or snatched by human traffickers? Who was the mysterious man she had gone to meet? And what did her work as a hostess in the notorious Roppongi district of Tokyo really involve?

Richard Lloyd Parry, an award-winning foreign correspondent, followed the case from the beginning. Over the course of a decade, as the rest of the world forgot but the trial dragged on, he traveled to four continents to interview those connected with the story, assiduously followed the court proceedings, and won unique access to the Japanese detectives who investigated the case. Ultimately he earned the respect of the victim’s family and delved deep into the mind and background of the man accused of the crime - Joji Obara, described by the judge as “unprecedented and extremely evil.” The result is a book at once thrilling and revelatory.

Richard Lloyd Parry is the Asia editor and Tokyo bureau chief of the London Times and the author of In the Time of Madness.

©2011, 2012 Richard Lloyd Parry (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A masterpiece of writing this surely is, but it is more than that - it is a committed, compassionate, courageous act of journalism that changes the way we think. Everyone who has ever loved someone and held that life dear should read this stunning book, and shiver.” (Chris Cleave, number one New York Times best-selling author of Little Bee)

“I opened this book as a skeptic. I am not a lover of true crime…. But Richard Lloyd Parry's remarkable examination of [this] crime, what it revealed about Japanese society and how it unsettled conventional notions of bereavement, elevates his book above the genre. People Who Eat Darkness is a searing exploration of evil and trauma and how both ultimately elude understanding or resolution.… Just as the grief of Blackman’s parents is unassaugeable, Obara and his motives are unknowable. That is the darkness at the heart of this book, one Lloyd Parry conveys with extraordinary effect and emotion.… People Who Eat Darkness is a fascinating mediation that does not pretend to offer pat answers to obscene mysteries.” ( New York Times Book Review)

“[A] masterful literary true crime story, which earns its comparisons to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer's The Executioner’s Song.… Like the case of Etan Patz, the Lucie Blackman disappearance captured the public imagination. By writing about it in such culturally informed detail, Parry subtly encourages an understanding that goes past the headlines. It is a dark, unforgettable ride.” ( Los Angeles Times)

great listen

captivating story, narrated well. kept my attention for hours on end. it's literally a page turner

Amazing True Crime Read

If you really like classic true crime, this book is for you. I loved how it was from the journalists perspective; had many conversations from family member interviews, and tons of details about the investigation. This book had a brilliant balance of character development and factual details.

Leave the lights on.

Exhaustive true crime reporting. The story is sad and terrifying. The narrator is coherent and emotive. One of the best all-around audiobooks I've listened to so far.

Shone a bright light through the Darkness

My interpretation of title is think of all the men (including male dominated systems) who profited and even leeched off this tragedy. They “ate it up” in the fashion of vultures - from PR for prime minister and foreign relations, the reputation bound police, the perpetrator himself coming to live to feed like a vampire on the incapacitated unconscious girls who were lost in a darkness of their own, the club owners conning the customers and staff by playing to their egos (darkness of their blindness) , the father becoming rich, the bloggers at the trial, the journalists and finally the author himself was consumed.

Good Narrator story kept my interest at first

It's an in-depth look at this type of sub-culture that exists in Japan. But I feel the second half gets a bit laborious.

Powerful!

The true story is simple: a girl goes missing in Japan. Then it gets strange. If it were a novel, no one would believe the twists and turns. I learned so much about Japan and why young girls are drawn there. One of the best true crime books I have ever read.

love the narrator.

I did enjoy this book very much except for the last two or three chapters but other than that I found it a really interesting read. True Story murder in Japan . Spilt family, diabolical villain and interesting lesson in Japanese law.

Strange cloth - common threads

I was expecting a true crime recitation. Instead, this book is a deep exploration into the motives and backgrounds of the criminal, crime, victim, police, family, and the far-out world of Japan.
You can hear the staccato clicking and hum of his newsman's typewriter in Parry's writing, but you can't help but feel his stiff British upper lip quivering at times. He is sucked into the story and into the madness. He refrains from judgement, but his heartbreak and frustration seem to gently gild his otherwise straightforward style. He shows you the rock thrown into the water, and the extent of the ripples that flow from it.
I am reluctant to call it "true crime," as that seems tawdry and exploitative, which this novel is certainly not. Rather, it is a documentary of human depravity and human perseverance. A great, engaging, detailed read, with a narrator that fit absolutely perfectly in accent and tone with the material.

unbelievable story... so sad and so many turns

I really enjoyed the book.. there were many gut wrenching parts and parts that are sad... but the story is one that blows your mind... hard to believe there are monsters out there...

I would listen to Vance read the telephone book.

What made the experience of listening to People Who Eat Darkness the most enjoyable?

I think I've purchased most of the available books Vance has narrated. I would not normally purchase a crime novel but was surfing through the site and saw he was reading this book so I bought it. As anticipated, it was well worth the listen. The story is well written, compelling and provided an unexpected glimpse into Japanese culture that was enlightening. The writer clearly knew his subject matter and presented an objective narrative of the facts, with appropriate insight, while being neither overly sentimental, nor judgmental.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book. The story is a page-turner and Vance reads with his usual style and grace - leaving you hanging on his last word and wishing for more.