A01=Masako Togawa
amateur sleuth
Author_Masako Togawa
cabaret
Category=FFC
city underworlds
classic crime
cozy crime
Edgowa Rampo prize
eq_bestseller
eq_crime
eq_fiction
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
framed for murder
japanese crime
japanese murder mysery
japanese PD James
japanese thriller
manhunt
nightlife
serial killer
Shinjuku thriller
suspense
The Master Key
twisty thriller
Product details
- ISBN 9781805335160
- Dimensions: 129 x 198mm
- Publication Date: 23 Apr 2026
- Publisher: Pushkin Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
A dizzying tale of lust and murder, from Masako Togawa - nightclub owner, cabaret singer, queer icon and one of Japan's greatest mystery writers
'Full of subtly menacing tensions and sharp psychological insights' Kirkus Reviews
Ichiro Honda leads a double life. By day he is a devoted husband and diligent worker, by night he moves through the shadow world of Tokyo's cabaret bars and nightclubs in search of vulnerable women to seduce and then abandon.
But when a trail of bodies seems to appear in his wake, the hunter becomes the prey and Ichiro realises he has been caught in a snare. Can he free himself before it's too late, or has fate finally caught up with this lady killer?
Masako Togawa (1931-2016) was one of Japan's foremost writers of crime fiction. Born in Tokyo, she worked as a cabaret performer before beginning to write crime fiction backstage, during her breaks. Her debut thriller The Master Key (also available from Pushkin Vertigo) won Japan's prestigious Edgowa Rampo Prize, and Togawa went on to become a hugely successful author, while continuing to lead a colourful parallel life as a singer, actress, feminist, nightclub owner and gay icon.
