THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SENSATION WINNER OF WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA
CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER AWARD 2025 A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK 'A
full-fat Michelin-starred treat' SUNDAY TIMES 'A cult phenomenon' iNEWS 'Took the literary
world by storm' BBC 'A killer Japanese novel' THE TIMES 'I have been glued to Butter ' NIGEL
SLATER The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the
journalist intent on cracking her case inspired by a true story and translated by Polly
Barton. There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine. Gourmet
cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely
businessmen who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has
captured the nation's imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press. That is until
journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can't
resist writing back. Rika the only woman in her news office works late each night rarely
cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii they are closer
to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will
help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats
something is awakening in her body. Might she and Kaji have more in common than she once
thought? Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer 'The Konkatsu
Killer' Asako Yuzuki's Butter is a vivid gripping exploration of misogyny obsession and the
transgressive pleasures of food in Japan. Longlisted for the CWA Crime Fiction in Translation
Dagger Award 2025 'It isn't entirely clear whether to read the novel or devour it ' OBSERVER
'Readers around the world are finding themselves utterly captivated' DAILY MAIL 'I really
enjoyed it' MEERA SYAL on BBC Between the Covers 'Compelling delightfully weird' PANDORA
SYKES 'Unputdownable breathtakingly original' ERIN KELLY 'You'll be craving rice butter and
soy sauce in no time' STYLIST ' Nothing short of ingenious ' iNEWS 'Ambitious and unsettling'
GUARDIAN 'Luscious ... I devoured this' IMOGEN CRIMP 'A salty morsel with one hell of a bite '
ALICE SLATER
