Why a Booktrail?
2000: An insight into the dark side of Japan, and in particular the tragic case of Lucie Blackman
People Who Eat Darkness
What you need to know before your trail
Lucie Blackman, like many other English girls in their 20s decided to go out to Japan and work there for a while. She ends up working as a ‘hostess’ in a bar in the notorious Roppongi district of Tokyo where she is encouraged to get men to spend their money on drinks whilst she chats and laughs at their jokes.
The work seems risky but Lucy is assured this is not a glamourous club for prostitutes. Japanese men like to have a Western woman hanging on their every word. So she goes on a date with a man who takes a fancy to her.
She is found murdered months later and her parents’ nightmare begins
Travel Guide
Tokyo
Lucy as many like her are sucked into the excitement of a Tokyo summer with al the chaos and heat you can image. this fast-paced life is so different from anything in England and is quite unique in the world. Tokyo is fast, exciting but unforgiving.
The clubs like Lucy goes to work in are in the notorious Roppongi district of Tokyo. they are said to be clubs for meeting western women but many go further than than and girls, many of whom might not have work rights or visas to really work there, are frightened to speak out. Lucy is not the first girl to disappear either….
The book reveals the heartache of a family torn apart, the search for their daughter on the other side of the world and a justice system which seems closed and unwelcoming to outsiders. Where money changes hands instead of prison sentences. Where police failings are the subject of shame, and in a society where pride means everything, that is not a easy mix of situations.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: People Who Eat Darkness
Destination: Tokyo Author/Guide: Richard Lloyd Parry Departure Time: 2000
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