Pathway to Japanese Literature
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Nine KeysAuthor: Nomura Kodō
| Original Title | 九つの鍵 |
|---|---|
| Author | 野村 胡堂 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | On a snowy night in post-war Tokyo, eighteen-year-old piano prodigy Kariya Aiko vanishes midair after her triumphant debut recital, snatched by a hook-and-rope contraption from a shadowy building. Her brother Saburo—a rugby star and math genius—watches helplessly as she’s reeled upward like a “dragonfly caught in a spider’s thread,” disappearing into the void. Their grandfather, a coal magnate turned wartime philanthropist, once hid a legendary treasure of gold and jewels, guarded by nine enigmatic keys scattered across Tokyo. Now, a ruthless syndicate seeks those keys, believing Aiko holds clues to their location. As Saburo races to decode his grandfather’s riddles with unlikely allies—a resourceful homeless girl and her street-smart brother—he uncovers layers of betrayal: family secrets buried in Mount Aso’s volcanic crater, a web of wartime trauma, and a vault designed to uplift Japan’s vulnerable. With Aiko’s life dangling by a thread and saboteurs ransacking their home, every shattered vase and slashed painting whispers coded truths. Can Saburo outwit enemies who stalk rooftops and legal loopholes alike, or will greed eclipse his grandfather’s dying wish to heal a broken nation? |
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