A prominent Japanese family hosts a birthday party on a hot summer day. When a gift of cold beverages arrives, no one thinks twice about enjoying the refreshments. Within minutes, seventeen people are dead from the poisoned drinks, the only clue a cryptic poem. This introspective crime novel is unlike any I've read, organized as a series of testimonies by a police detective, two survivors, the writer of a bestselling novel about the crime, a Buddhist monk who knew the alleged murderer, and more. A masterful whodunit, this is a cunning, intricate, engrossing read!