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2000s: Within a single apartment block in Tokyo, there are A LOT of secrets in the foundations…
The Master Key
What you need to know before your trail
The K Apartments for Ladies in Tokyo conceals a sinister past behind each door; a woman who has buried a child; a scavenger driven mad by ill-health; a wife mysteriously guarding her late husband’s manuscripts; a talented violinist tortured by her own guilt. The master key, which opens the door to all 150 rooms, links their tangled stories. But now it has been stolen, and dirty tricks are afoot.
A deadly secret lies buried beneath the building. And when it is revealed, there will be murder.
Travel Guide
Tokyo
Set inside a Japanese apartment complex/boarding house for unmarried women, this is a novel which has one claustrophobic setting and which studies the characters who live within its walls.
It’s a fascinating peek inside the lives of those who live behind its closed doors…..but the problem is that a master key has been lost which opens up these doors and as a result, the secrets of the people behind them. And there are plenty of secrets and backstories to each and every one.
The building is about to be moved but the residents are told to, quite literally, ‘sit still’ as they will hardly notice a thing. They put a glass of water on the tables to test the theory.
The building is prepared to be relocated but they find the body of a child underneath the foundations…..
This is an apartment block where everyone and indeed anyone could have had access to the master key….
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
If this book were a puzzle game, it would be jenga – you know, pile up the bricks to make one structure but then take each one out one by one until it crashes to the floor.
It’s primarily a character study as the only clues to being set in Japan are the odd name of suburbs around Tokyo. However it’s clearly Japan for me as the characters, their backstories and well, it just feels like Japan. Are there such things as female only apartments in Japan? Well this one sounds creepy…
And of course it is, what with a body being found underneath it…..but that’s only one part of it. There’s lots of stories from this creepy find!
Short but very very effective and memorable. The thread with the sinister cult..yep there’s a sinister cult….ties the rest of the novel up in blood red bow.
Clever.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Master Key
Destination: Tokyo Author/Guide: Masako Togawa Departure Time: 2000s
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