The Devil of Nanking // Tokyo — Mo Hayder

A harrowing thriller that plumbs the secret connections between the Tokyo underworld and a grisly atrocity in wartime China

Grey is a solitary Englishwoman who comes to Japan looking for a piece of rare film footage shot during the 1937 Nanking Massacre -- a clip that documents an enormity beyond the reach of history books. Her quest leads her to Shi Chongming, a reclusive scholar who is one of the massacre's few survivors; to a crippled gangster who clings to life with the help of a mysterious elixir; and to a handsome American whose interest in her may be more sinister than romantic. Moving from decadent hostess clubs and yakuza mansions to the killing fields of the past, The Devil of Nanking is a pitch-perfect spine-chilling tour de force.