Confessions – Book Review

Her pupils killed her daughter.
Now, she will have her revenge.

After calling off her engagement in wake of a tragic revelation, Yuko Moriguchi had nothing to live for except her only child, four-year-old Manami. Now, following an accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation.

But first she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that upends everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a maniacal plot for revenge.

Narrated in alternating voices, with twists you’ll never see coming, Confessions explores the limits of punishment, despair, and tragic love, culminating in a harrowing confrontation between teacher and student that will place the occupants of an entire school in danger. You’ll never look at a classroom the same way again.

This was a very creepy Japanese thriller that I have read.

The homeroom teacher, Yuko Moriguichi was planning to resign from her job after the death of her daughter. While her students are having lunch, Yuko tells the class that her daughter did not drown in the pool but was murdered by two students in the very same classroom. She also tells the class that she had infected the milk they were drinking with AIDS.

This was a very creepy and disturbing thriller. I remember I watched the movie version of the book in Japanese and actually I enjoyed reading the book. Though the first few pages dragged a little longer in my opinion, it started getting interesting in my opinion from the middle of the book itself. Bad thing was the chapters were way too long and it took 20 minutes to finish off one chapter. The story was first told by the teacher, then one of the accused boys’ mothers written in the form of diary, then the two accused boys, all detailing about how their lives changed after the incident.

If you are looking for a creepy Japanese thriller, I recommend this book to you–worth four stars!