Read by Karissa Vacker

A chilling Japanese psychological thriller and Edgar Award finalist about four women, forever connected by one horrible day in their childhood -- fifteen years later, someone wants to make sure they never forget. When they were girls, Sae, Maki, Akiko and Yuko were tricked into leaving their friend Emily with a mysterious stranger. Then the unthinkable occurred: Emily was found murdered hours later. The four friends were never able to describe the stranger to the police; the killer's trail went cold. Asako, the bereaved mother, curses the surviving girls, vowing that they will be the ones to pay for her daughter's murder . . . Like Confessions, Kanae Minato's award-winning, internationally bestselling debut, Penance is a dark tale of revenge and psychological drama that will leave readers breathless. Kanae Minato is an award-winning, internationally bestselling novelist and former home economics teacher and housewife who wrote her first novel between household chores. Minato lives in Japan. "With echoes of fairy tales and a Rashomon-like narrative structure, Minato's Penance is as ethereal and literary as it is a sharp, tight crime novel."-Literary Hub "[A] suspenseful psychological melodrama. . . . Filled with strange entwinings of chance and effect, free will and manipulation, the mundane and the bizarre."-The Wall Street Journal "Minato writes character driven mystery/crime novels that take deep dives into people's psychology--especially girls and women--with an unflinching look at the dark side of humans. I will read any novel she writes." -BookRiot "Minato's simple, clear voice highlights the stories' psychological intensity, and themes of powerlessness evolving to strength, duty, and redemption create layers of interest that are perfect for book-group dissection."-Booklist (starred review) "Moving, tension-filled . . . Minato has crafted an unnerving tale of tragedy, guilt, and penance."-Publishers Weekly "Kanae Minato is a brilliant storyteller."-Emily St. John Mandel, New York Times bestselling author of Station Eleven

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