Baba Yaga's night

Noc baby jagy is a sharp noir thriller that made history in 2025: Akira Ótani became the first Japanese author to win the prestigious British Dagger Award for Best Translated Crime Novel. The story follows young Yoriko, who is kidnapped by a Yakuza clan to work as a driver and bodyguard for the gang boss’s daughter. Against the backdrop of a brutal male world where violence is a daily norm, an unexpected and deep bond develops between the two women. Although some describe the book as a queer romance, it is not a conventional romantic or sexual relationship. Instead, it is a story of two young women who form a unique friendship, discover a mutual kinship, and gradually become indispensable to one another. The power of this novella lies in the contrast between this tender relationship and a loveless world of senseless and brutal violence.