Out by Natsuo Kirino

Centres around a group of 4 ordinary women who are work the night shift at a boxed lunch factory. They all have problems in their personal lives, mountains of debt, failing marriages, gambling husbands. When one of them snaps and murders her husband, her group of friends agree to help disposed of the body. This leads to the police, yakuza and loan sharks and a nightclub owner with nothing less to lose poking around.

There's no mystery involved, you know right from the word go who committed the crime and who is involved in dumping the body, a bit like Columbo. From the start its clear the women have an uneasy friendship that quickly falls apart when the heat is turned up. Through there's the running theme of men being dominant and the breadwinner. Women need to be young and beautiful. If you're not society pushes you to the side.

Its gritty and un-nerving, I really enjoyed this morbid page turner. The lead up to the finale is great and keeps you guessing however the showdown came out of nowhere and left me feeling a little confused. It doesn't fit with the rest of the novel.

I found it a bit tricky to keep up with the names of the characters, I think thats due to my unfamiliarity of Japanese name rather than anything else.