Natsuo Kirino born in 1951 quickly established a reputation in Japan as one of a rare breed
of crime writer whose work goes well beyond the conventional crime novel. This fact has been
demonstrated by her winning not only Japan's top mystery award for Out but one of its major
literary awards the Naoki Prize for Soft Cheeks followed by the Tanizaki Prize for Tokyo
Island. Several of her books have also been turned into movies.
