{"product_id":"the-rope-artist-1","title":"The Rope Artist","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe aftermath of the murder of a bondage teacher reveals the darkest corners of the human mind in this chilling new mystery from the master of Japanese literary noir.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTwo detectives. Two identical women. One dead body-- then two, then three, then four. All knotted up in Japan's underground BDSM scene and kinbaku, a form of rope bondage which bears a complex cultural history of spirituality, torture, cleansing, and sacrifice. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs Togashi, a junior member of the police force, investigates the murder of a kinbaku instructor, he finds himself unable to resist his own private transgressive desires. In contrast, Togashi's Sherlock Holmesian colleague Hayama is morally upright to a fault, with a stalwart commitment to the truth and nearly superhuman powers of deduction. When Hayama notices a dangerous measure of darkness within Togashi, he embarks on a parallel investigation, which soon spirals out of control. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUnflinching in its flayed-raw treatment of identity, violence, sexuality, power, the occult, and the divine, The Rope Artist is both viscerally painful and unexpectedly hopeful--a genre homage that shines a light on the most dangerous elements of the human psyche.","brand":"Soho Crime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46621715169417,"sku":"9781641295697","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0376\/3057\/4729\/files\/81hBXz4LW9L._SL1500.jpg?v=1780076433","url":"https:\/\/thebookmarkpr.com\/products\/the-rope-artist-1","provider":"The Bookmark Books \u0026 Gifts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}