Original title:
元彼の遺言状
Original language:
Japanese
Publication info:
Takarajimasha
8 January 2021
336 pages
Genre:
Upmarket mystery
Rights handled by New River:
Foreign rights outside Asia
Rights sold:
China (Xiron)
Italy (Piemme)
Korea (BOOK PLAZA)
Russia (AST)
Taiwan (Spring)
Thailand (WeLearn)
The Woman Who Keeps Bankrupting her Companies
My Ex's Last Will and Testament
by Hotate Shinkawa
Winner of the 2020 'This Mystery is Amazing!' Prize
700,000 copies sold
Reiko Kenmochi, a successful lawyer at a big law firm in Tokyo, is having dinner with her boyfriend. The latter takes out a ring and is about to propose. Shocked at how mediocre the ring is, Reiko scolds the boyfriend and storms out of the restaurant. So begins Hotate Shinkawa's page-turning debut novel, My Ex's Last Will and Testament.
Reiko is ambitious and unapologetic about her desire to make money. After learning that her bonus is cut simply because she is outspoken at work, she protests by taking a leave from the job. During the leave, she randomly contacts one of her ex-boyfriends (not the one who proposed), Eiji Morikawa. Surprisingly, she receives an email informing her that Eiji has died. More curiously, she learns from a common friend, Shinoda, that Eiji's will states that his entire fortune will be handed over to the person who killed him. A 'Culprit Selection Committee' is set up by the Morikawa family. Reiko thus devises a plan to split Eiji's fortune with Shinoda, turning Shinoda into Eiji's killer. Will they succeed?
Featuring a strong female protagonist and taking us on her journey into a mysterious case, My Ex's Last Will and Testament is at once entertaining and thought-provoking: behind its unputdownable story, it calls for change to Japan's notorious misogynist culture and its wide gender gap.
About the author
Born in Dallas in 1991, Hotate Shinkawa grew up in Miyazaki of Miyazaki Prefecture. She studied law at Tokyo University and worked as a lawyer. Her debut mystery novel My Ex's Last Will and Testament won the 2020 'This Mystery is Amazing' Prize, and has been on Japan's major bestselling lists. Its sequel, The Woman Who Keeps Bankrupting her Companies, was published in October 2021 and has received positive reviews. Shinkawa is also a professional mahjong player.