Japanese Crime Novels

"Yang membuatku menjadi murahan begini, bukankah kamu?" (AMEENA) "Maafin aku, Am. Aku bener-bener nyesel." (ASHRAFF) *** Ketika SMA, Ashraff dan Ameena saling bersaing untuk meraih rangking satu. Di belakang Ameena, Ashraff menyuruh sosok ratu sekolah bernama Olyzia untuk mem-bully Ameena supaya fokus Ameena bisa terganggu. Yang terburuk, Ashraff tidak segan-segan untuk memfitnah Ameena, mengatakan bahwa Ameena sudah merayu sosok preman sekolah bernama Mirza untuk berbuat tidak senonoh hingga mampu membuat Ameena dicap murahan dan dikeluarkan dari sekolah. Aslinya, Ashraff tahu benar kalau Ameena habis dilecehkan Mirza. Tapi, bukankah untuk bisa memenangkan sesuatu kadang-kadang memang memerlukan taktik kotor? Atas dasar fitnah dari Ashraff, Ameena memilih untuk merealisasikan sebutan 'murahan' dengan menjalin hubungan terlarang bersama sosok laki-laki bernama Krishna. Yang menjadi masalah, Krishna memiliki seorang istri bermental psikopat bernama Qiya. Di tangan istri dari Krishna, nyawa Ameena terenggut dengan cara mengenaskan. Ameena diperkosa sama orang-orang suruhan Qiya secara bergilir sampai meninggal dunia dan mayat Ameena dibuang ke sungai dalam keadaan tidak berbusana, melainkan sebatas dibungkus dengan menggunakan karung. Merasa bersalah atas kehidupan Ameena, Ashraff memohon kepada Yang Maha Kuasa untuk dikembalikan ke hari-hari sebelum kematian Ameena. Jika dikabulkan, maka Ashraff akan berusaha untuk membayar semua kesalahan Ashraff kepada Ameena. Andaikan Ashraff sungguh-sungguh diberikan kesempatan kedua, apakah Ashraff akan berhasil menyelamatkan Ameena? ***

Seven people, five murders, one conspiracy. Mobia is a small European country that sits over a volcano that allows magical beings to live there. Many believe the magic also keeps evil at bay, which lowers their crime rate. Joey Hamilton knows better.

Long ago Legends made flesh collided with the underworld as Dragons and werewolves went to war. In a battle that still rages today, the land was split and dragons took over the business world while werewolves controlled the underbelly and, as the years blended together two names emerged at the top of the shifter foodchain. Ragnar Dalgaard is the last of the pureblood dragonlords. In the business world, his company reigns supreme as it gobbles up the struggling businesses of lesser dragons. Hiding in plain sight amongst the humans, learning from their technology, and adapting their own, Dalgaard Industries is on the cusp of something big. Meanwhile deep in the crime world, Giovanni Lupo is the boogeyman amongst his peers. Sexy and ruthless, Gio and his cutthroat pack rule their world with an iron fist, but the werewolf wants more than slums and backstreets, he wants it all, and no one, neither beast nor human will stop him from getting it. When Charlotte Ren, a beautiful and highly intelligent scientist finds herself lost in the City, a chance encounter with the boogeyman and a job offer from a handsome stranger sets her on a path where old friends and sworn enemies come together in a supernatural clash of the titans, for the chance to win the heart of a human. But is Charlotte willing to let herself be the prize, and who says she has to choose just one of the men fighting for her favor?

On the night of Mom's birthday, as she was making a wish under the moon, Dad suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered something. My usually cautious mother, who valued her life above all else, turned around after hearing those words and jumped straight into the pack's silver pit. The silver pit is deadly for us werewolves; only those with a death wish would go there. After her death, countless pack members questioned Dad about what he had said. Someone even offered a million dollars in exchange for those words. But he remained silent. Until the day of my mate ceremony, Dad showed up. He walked up to my fiancé and whispered something...

My in-laws-to-be are poisoned, but my fiancé insists on going fishing with his true love. I don't stop him. In fact, I lend him my car. In my past life, he chose to take his parents to the hospital after I stopped him. However, his true love died at sea and ended up being eaten by the sharks. My fiancé was normal after her death. However, when we were on our honeymoon, he stabbed me and pushed me into the ocean. "It's all your fault, Fiona! I failed to save Lauren because of you! Now that she's dead, you don't deserve to live, either!" The scent of my blood attracted the sharks. They ripped me to pieces before I could drown. When I open my eyes again, I find my in-laws-to-be lying in their bed. My fiancé runs off to save his true love. Ultimately, he still regrets his actions.

There is a medical dispute at the hospital. A patient's family member comes at us swinging a knife. Without hesitating, I push my husband, Maxwell Conner, out of the way. But then, he grabs my hand and pulls me in front of his beloved junior, Karina Burton. The knife plunges straight into my abdomen, killing the baby I had just conceived. As my horrified colleagues cry and rush me toward the ICU, Maxwell violently pulls me off the gurney. He barks, "Save Karina first! If anything happens to her, I'll fire every last one of you!" The doctors are stunned and furious. "Maxwell, have you lost your mind? Karina only suffered a minor injury. Your wife is the one in critical condition!" Clutching my bleeding abdomen, I nod slowly. "It's fine. Just forget it." Maxwell, I owe you nothing after this.

Three years after I died, Stella, my wife, decided to divorce me and marry her dying ex. She stormed into my old house like she owned the place, forcing me to sign the divorce agreement. Mom told her the truth—I was already gone. Stella rolled her eyes. "Why's he still pretending? Harvey's dying. I just wanna be there for him. What's so wrong about that? If he won't come out, I'm done paying your medical bills." She thought threatening Mom would shake something loose. But what Stella didn't get? Mom had already stopped treatment. She was just hanging on to watch her crack.

On my husband's birthday, I poured my heart into preparing a feast and selecting the perfect gift. Yet, he didn't come home. Instead, I received a picture message—a snapshot of him at the hospital, standing outside the OB-GYN ward, his hand resting tenderly on his childhood crush's belly. Beneath the photo, a message read: [The best birthday gift and a symbol of our decade-long bond.] Furious, I called her. "Don't you know he's married?" Before I could say more, my husband snatched the phone and lashed out at me. "Yvonne just wanted to share the joy of becoming a mother. Why are you overreacting? "Yvonne and I have been best friends for over a decade. Your petty jealousy is disgusting!" I once believed his busyness was for our future, but now I knew—he had been busy supporting the girl of his dreams through her pregnancy. Clutching my own stomach, I bit my lip to stop the tears from falling. Ten years of love had drained away. It was time to let go.

The day before our wedding, my fiancé invites our family onto a cruise ship. He says he wants to test the authenticity of my feelings for him. He shoves my mother off the ship when the waves are at their choppiest. Then, he jumps into the water, too. I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. I panic, not knowing what to do. My mother had already choked on a lot of water, but she pushed me away weakly. She cried, "Save Adrian first! He can't swim!" However, after I drag Adrian Lawson onto land and go back for my mother, I find that she's already stopped breathing. Adrian watches me cry, his expression frosty. "Drop the act. Your mother was a swimmer when she was younger—how can she be dead? I can't believe you didn't save me first. "Vi is right—you don't love me enough. Our wedding is postponed. It'll happen only after you've reflected on your mistakes and I've received an apology from you and your mother." After that, he leaves while holding Vivian Sinclair's hand. He doesn't know that my mother can no longer swim after a major illness a few years back. He's shoved her to her death.

There's a little shop downstairs that sells organ soup. It's always packed with customers. People line up as if bewitched, eager for a bowl. I've often wondered what secret ingredient made their soup so irresistible. This afternoon, I finally found my answer. Floating in my bowl was a piece of human skin—inked with a tattoo I knew all too well. It was the one etched on my boyfriend's arm.