Strange Maps

A Novel

De: Uketsu

From the New York Times bestselling author of Strange Buildings comes another enigmatic novel involving a deserted coastal village, an inexplicable fatal accident, a tunnel steeped in ill fortune, and the tragic truth hidden within a map. Can you solve the “mystery” of this ancient map?

Ten years ago . . . Kurihara, a young man, finds himself in the running for a desirable position at a prestigious architectural firm. During the final round of interviews, a question he’s asked makes him choke: “Why did you decide to study architecture?” His late mother sparked his interest in this career but “talking about my mother made it impossible to breathe.”

Suffering a panic attack and unable to answer, he loses the opportunity. Finding himself at a crossroads, Kurihara struggles to find traction until he discovers a curious fact. The year before he was born, his grandmother, Chikako, had died under mysterious circumstances, clutching an old map. His mother had pursued the reasons for Chikako's death and the map's mystery until her final moments. Yet she left behind only incomplete investigative notes before passing away. Why did his grandmother die? What is the true nature of the “seven yokai” depicted on the old map? And what is the cause behind Kurihara's “attacks”?

Translated from the Japanese by Jim Rion