PEOPLE WHO EAT DARKNESS by Richard Lloyd Parry (non-fic)

"People Who Eat Darkness" was one of the notable books of 2012 of the New York Times.  It is a true crime story and not for the fainthearted.  It is a tale of darkness and horror that defies logic. Capable of causing nightmares, it is not a book that I can say I enjoyed reading, and the sadness of it is that it is all true.
Back in the year 2000, a 21 year of British girl, a former flight attendant for British Air, quit her job and went to Tokyo.  It was to be a short term stay.  Her name was Lucie Blackman, and she had gotten herself into debt and had large credit card bills.  Lucie heard there was quick and easy money to be made in Tokyo by taking a job as a Hostess in a club catering to the whims of Tokyo businessmen.  She and a friend easily found work in Roppongi, an area of Tokyo that is respectable enough in the day time, but caters to a different and decidedly creepy element as darkness falls.  Lucie was naive, and like many tourists was lulled into a false sense of safety by Tokyo's reputation as one of the world's safest cities.  And so it is, but not when dealing with the unsavory denizens of the club world which caters to all kinds of kinky types and fetishes.
Lucie came to a hideous end, being drugged, raped and finally dismembered by a millionaire madman whom she had the misfortune to meet and trust.  His name was Obara, and he himself was an outsider though born in Japan.  His family was Korean; they changed their name when they took on Japanese citizenship.  Obara was one of three sons of a hard-working father who built up a business worth millions.
Parry a correspondent for the Times of London, has followed this case from its beginning at the turn of the century right through to present day, when it was finally resolved.  This story isn't just about Lucie.  The characters who were part of her life and background are all equally interesting.  Her father, Tim, whose actions and seeming thirst for publicity, is a case study of its own.  Her mother, Jane, who sought advice from a Medium, is another tale.  Her brother and sister who suffered breakdowns in the years after the murder, have their story.  Worst of all is the murderer, Obara and the mismanagement of the case by the police, who proved to be bumbling and inept in their investigation.  The story of Lucie and her fate carried on for ten years, and Parry doggedly kept on its trail.  The result is this true crime story.  It is not easy to read in its unsavory detail, but is well-written and a fascinating study of human evil, error, greed, and sadness.  Along with this is the overlying misunderstanding between very different cultures.