Lucie Blackman’s body was missing for months before the Tokyo police found her. In fact, it initially took  gargantuan efforts on her father's and sister’s part in creating publicity for Lucie’s case, in hopes that she would be found. At one point, even then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair publicly entreated the Tokyo police to quickly find Lucie.  The truth of Lucie’s untimely death, and the truth about the person who killed her, would ruin a family and expose inadequacies and inner workings of the Tokyo police department and the Japanese criminal legal system.  Not only is this a story about a 21 year old woman’s untimely death at the hands of a serial rapist, this is a story of a young woman who was trying to find her footing in life by embarking on an adventure with one of her best friends while on an extended trip to Tokyo.  Previously, Lucie was living in her native Britain, working various odd jobs which all proved to be unsatisfying and not very lucrative. Unfortunately, Lucie soon found herself deep in debt with few options to pay that debt off at home in England.  Coincidentally, her best friend came upon an opportunity to stay in Tokyo for an extended period so they could both get jobs as bar hostesses.  This was seen as an opportunity by Lucie to make enough money relatively quickly to pay off her debts at home. It was at this job as a bar hostess where Lucie met a man named Joji Obara, a man who was eventually implicated in her violent death.  This book describes all the events above in an incredibly nuanced intricate way, especially in the intimate and thoughtful portrayals of Lucie, her family, and her friends and even of her killer Obara.  This book also contains a fascinating exploration into both Japanese and British cultures.