August 1946. One year on from surrender and Tokyo lies broken and bleeding at the feet of its American victors. Among the survivors of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, panic is spreading. Facing the threat of a second purge the officers and detectives, with their changed identities and false names, realise that they can trust no one, least of all each other. Meanwhile another war is breaking out, as the different ethnic groups fight for control of the city’s black markets.  

Against this extraordinary historical backdrop, Tokyo Year Zero opens with the discovery of the bodies of two young women in Shiba Park. Against his wishes, Detective Minami is assigned to the case, and as he gets drawn ever deeper into these complex and horrific murders, he realises that his own past and secrets are indelibly linked to those of the dead women and their killer.  

Startling and brilliant, Tokyo Year Zero is a bravura performance from the Granta Best of Young British Novelist, David Peace. The first part of his 'Tokyo Trilogy', it sees him once again blend fact and fiction as he explores a shattered national psyche forced to face up to its very worst fears.

David Peace was born and raised in Yorkshire. He taught English in Istanbul from 1992-1993 and then moved to Tokyo - where he has lived ever since. He is the author of the Red Riding Quartet and GB84, and was included on Granta's Best of Young British Novelists 2003. His most recent book was The Damned Utd, described by The Times as 'probably the best book ever written about sport.'