Hooked

Translated by Polly Barton

‘Tender and thrilling it’s Yuzuki at her best’ ELLE

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 IN GUARDIAN, VOGUE, NEW YORK TIMES, FORBES, THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES STYLE, ELLE, STYLIST, BBC, GRAZIA, BRICKS MAGAZINE, RADIO TIMES, LITHUB, OPRAH DAILY and DAILY EXPRESS.

The unmissable new novel of friendship and dangerous obsession from Asako Yuzuki, the award-winning author of the global bestselling sensation Butter.

Eriko really wouldn't mind being savaged, if it was her best friend doing the savaging …

Eriko's life appears perfect – devoted parents, pristine apartment and a high-flying job in the seafood division of one of Japan's largest trading companies. Her latest project, to reintroduce the controversial Nile perch fish into the Japanese market, is characteristically ambitious. But beneath her flawless surface she is wracked by loneliness.

Eriko becomes fascinated with a popular blog written by a housewife, Shōko. Shōko’s posts about eating convenience-store food and her untidy home are the opposite of the typical Japanese housewife’s manicured lifestyle. When Eriko tracks Shōko down at her favourite restaurant and befriends her, Shōko is at first charmed by her new companion. But soon Eriko's obsession with Shōko begins to spiral out of control, threatening her carefully laid plans. How far will she go to hold on to the best friend she’s ever had?

Beautifully translated by Polly Barton, Hooked is an unsettling story of the line between friendship and dangerous obsession, and a delicious exploration of food, loneliness and womanhood in contemporary Japan.

‘An exciting new thriller that you won't be able to put down’ RADIO TIMES

‘Expect to see this distinctive pink cover everywhere’ GRAZIA

‘[A] razor-edged story about women, appetite and what we'll do to feel chosen … Safe to say, we're already hooked’ OPRAH DAILY

‘No one writes about the hidden depths and lurking monstrosities of womanhood quite like Asako Yuzuki’ ALICE SLATER, author of Let the Bad Times Roll

‘A brilliant, shocking, unforgettable page turner … I couldn't stop reading’ COSTANZA CASATI, author of Babylonia

‘Remarkable … dark, tender and unforgettable’ JANE CASEY, author of The Secret Room

‘A thrilling and deliciously sharp examination of the extremes of female friendship. Achingly tender and wickedly funny’ EDEL COFFEY, author of In Glass Houses

‘A fantastically dark, sticky book about endlessly layered women, and fish’ ERIN KELLY, author of The House of Mirrors

‘Dark, spiny and slippery, this haunting tale of loneliness and longing in the modern age will leave you gasping’ TOBI COVENTRY, author of He’s the Devil