Hooked

by Asako Yuzuki, Polly Barton (Translator)

The unmissable new novel of friendship and dangerous obsession from Asako Yuzuki, the award-winning author of the global bestselling sensation Butter.

Eriko really wouldn't mind being savaged, if it was her best friend doing the savaging …

Eriko's life appears perfect – devoted parents, spotless apartment and a job in the seafood division of one of Japan's largest trading companies. Her latest project, to reintroduce the controversial Nile perch fish into the Japanese market, is characteristically ambitious. But beneath her flawless surface she is wracked by loneliness.

Eriko becomes fascinated with a popular blog written by a housewife, Shoko. Shoko’s posts about eating convenience store food and her untidy home are the opposite of the typical Japanese housewife’s manicured lifestyle. When Eriko tracks Shoko down at her favourite restaurant and befriends her, Shoko is at first charmed by her new companion. But as Eriko’s obsession with Shoko deepens, her increasingly possessive behaviour starts to raise suspicion. As Eriko’s carefully laid plans begin to unravel, how far will she go to hold on to the best friend that she’s ever had?

Beautifully translated by Polly Barton, Hooked is a thrilling and unsettling story of the line between friendship and dangerous obsession. A delicious exploration of food, loneliness and womanhood in contemporary Japan, Hooked brings together all the ingredients for which Asako Yuzuki is so adored.

Genres: Fiction, Japan, Thriller, Contemporary, Japanese Literature, Literary Fiction, Asia

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2015

About the author

Asako Yuzuki (柚木 麻子, Yuzuki Asako) is a Japanese writer. She won the All Yomimono Prize for New Writers and the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize. Asako has been nominated multiple times for the Naoki Prize, and her novels have been adapted for television, radio, and film.

Reviews

[leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

less of a thriller and more of a character study of two lonely women living in tokyo.

the novel’s primary theme is female friendships and how hard these can be to form and cultivate, especially in adulthood. it touches on a lot of the themes we’ve come to expect from japanese fiction through its exploration of women in contemporary japan: rigid gender roles, marriage, parental expectations, loneliness, the struggle of human connection, work etc.

the characterisation was done well, eriko was truly an abhorrent character that i wanted to slap, and shoko was grating too. but by the end you do start to feel sorry for both women, which i think is testament to yuzuki’s ability to craft unlikeable but undeniably human and complex characters.

i wish the obsession theme had been expanded a little more, there is definitely an element of foreboding running throughout, but i was expecting it to lead up to something more explosive and unhinged. a few subplots and characters felt a bit random and didn’t add much to the overall storyline, and i think the book could’ve been trimmed down as it did become repetitive at certain points. i haven’t read butter by this author which i know is very popular, but maybe i’ll give it a try.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shoko and Eriko could not be more different. Shoko is a stay at home housewife who loathes cooking, cleaning and, well, anything that requires effort. Eriko is a career woman with a responsible job but still living at home with her parents.

However Eriko is a big fan of Shoko's World's Worst Wife Blog, so much so that she begins haunting the places Shoko goes. Her hunch pays off one night and the two women meet - and get along. Eriko is delighted for here is the answer to all her prayers.

But Shoko is unaware that Eriko has a history of obsessive behaviour and the friendship may not be all she had hoped for. in fact Eriko may be the fan she has always feared.

The story of these two women begins innocuously enough but the tension begins to build quite early on as Eriko's obsession becomes all too obvious. The story isn't quite as cut and dried as all that though and Asako Yuzuki explores the relationships between friends, relatives and spouses in much more detail.

Although I didn't enjoy Hooked quite as much as Butter it is still a great story with a surprising end that I definitely recommend. I look forward to wherever Yuzuki goes next on her literary career.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advance digital review copy.

[jaimie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars feels a bit harsh for this since I really enjoyed Butter, but I think the whole concept of this fell a bit flat. The whole jist of the story is that all of the women in it are unlikable and terrible at maintaining female friendships and even their own relationships, because women are inherently catty and gossipy therefore how could they ever form meaningful relationships? In every single conversation between two women in this book, they CONSTANTLY bring up how they don’t have female friends and how women are difficult to get along with. I just found the whole concept so boring and repetitive by the end of the book.

Now, the stalking and blackmail aspect to this book really sped up the plot which was very much needed. The only thing is I don’t think it was used to its full potential, it wasn’t developed on enough as it could have been. I would have loved to see at least one of the women in this story going full on unhinged instead of teetering on the edge for chapters on end.

I honestly felt quite sorry for Eriko by the end of the book. She doesn’t know why she can’t form relationships with anyone, she is just a very intense person and unfortunately people are easily put off by her. No, she doesn’t help herself by literally blackmailing someone she considers her ‘best friend’ who she barely knows to go on a spa break with her for a few days. But I find it so mean that her boss, her coworkers, even her PARENTS find her insufferable to be around and tell her this TO HER FACE! No wonder she was going crazy, wouldn’t you?!

I can appreciate what Yuzuki was trying to do with this book, and I love that it was once again female centred just like Butter; you could even argue that there are even less key male characters in this book and they are mostly plot devices. I just think that I wanted more from such an intense idea, and I am left frustrated at this.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think from the summary, telling us that the book is about Eriko's obsession with Shoko, a blogger, and that she is determined to become her best friend, and from having read and enjoyed Butter last year, I expected the book to read very much like a thriller, and I found it was maybe more of a psychological study. Which maybe Butter was as well in a way.
With Hooked, the intrigue starts at a very good pace... what we knew would happen (Eriko going to extremes and being all stalkerish to keep her new friend) happens within the first 10-20% of the book. After that, things escalate a bit but then they kind of stall. There's a lot of chapters where not much happens and we just follow the characters thoughts. There are a few themes going on, friendship, success, parental attention... But the message didn't feel super clear to me, and I didn't feel as invested as when I started reading. It's a shame because the translation is great - Polly Barton... as always, never disappoints and bonus points for the fish puns and references, I have no idea what they could have been in Japanese but they were very smooth in the English text!
So a bit of a mixed bag but with great moments.

Free ARC sent by Netgalley.

[booksontherunway • Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

darkly funny, strange and relatable.

HOOKED follows two women in their 30s struggling with friendship, loneliness and social expectations in japan.

i was expecting more unhinged behaviour, but the tension was actually very satisfying.

love a fascinating character study.

The writing was so rich and delish

[Cooper]

DNFd at 50%

This was a let down since Butter is one of my favourite books, but this was aimless and heavy handed with the exposition dumping, it spent too much time explaining itself.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

[Resh (The Book Satchel)]

I really enjoyed it. The style is like Butter, and it goes into the unlikely friendship b/w a blogger and an ardent fan. I liked how the book explores women friendships, loneliness, isolation of the house wife, the boundary that an audience of an online personality might cross.

Online life vs audience : I really enjoyed the parts that talk about how the audience feel like they 'know' the online personality and are friends with them, but for the blogger/influencer, the most dedicated fan is also a stranger. Also, the book made me very nervous of how much we share online that anybody with a stalking gene can track us down. Scary! Another thing I loved was how the audience puts the blogger in a certain mould—brand in more relevant terms—and they expect them to stay within that brand.

Food : The food is great. During the beginning chapters i loved the food descriptions more than Butter but i think the soy sauce and butter rice of Butter stay more in my mind. Writing and translation is great.

What I didn't enjoy : The constant repetition of the fact that the characters do not have women friends. I don't think the repetition added anything and felt tiresome.
Pacing dips from 60% to 80% and picks up.

Overall a good read.
FAQ: If you are new to the author, pick up Butter first and read this later.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC. All opinions are my own
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[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un altro libro centrato sulle relazioni tra le donne, anzi, volendo anche piú profondo di Butter. Le relazioni tra Eriko e le donne che la circondano (volenti o nolenti) sono agghiaccianti ma a volte talmente realistiche da mettere ancora piú paura, una specie di banalità del male in salsa di soia. Mi é piaciuto molto, ma non credo che lo consiglierei.

[Mitsy_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to be honest. I am a little disappointed. It’s a thought-provoking novel that explores challenges in female friendships and human connections, and how societal expectations placed on women affect those relationships. But it didn’t grip me the way Butter did.

Just like Butter, the synopsis of Hooked might give the impression that it’s a thriller or mystery, but it really isn’t. Things get a little creepy very early in the book, and after that not much actually happens. Instead, the story focuses on exploring the central themes mentioned above through the two women’s POVs.

Since this book was published in Japan a few years before Butter, it’s not a case of the author trying to repeat the same idea and failing. Rather, it feels like the publisher looked for a book from the author’s catalogue that was similar to Butter. What made Butter more compelling, in my opinion, was the mysterious female criminal and the dynamic between her and the journalist protagonist. Hooked, unfortunately, lacks similarly intriguing or enigmatic characters. The dynamic between the two FMCs just wasn’t engaging or relatable to me. So I feel like the book was a bit disappointing in that sense.

That said, my disappointment comes mostly from comparing it to Butter. This is by no means a bad book. It’s actually a thoughtful and profound novel. If you’re interested in stories about female friendships or feminist themes, I would still recommend it.

3.5-4 🌟

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

This was a very introspective read, with a lot of time spent inside each of the main characters’ heads as they process events and emotions.

Having read Butter, I expected this wouldn’t be a traditional thriller despite how it was advertised, and I was right. There was plenty of tension created by unhinged and uncomfortable behaviour, but nothing I found massively suspenseful.

Around the halfway mark my interest did waver, and I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable. It did pick up towards the end, reaching a conclusion that felt natural and believable.

I would recommend this to fans of translated literature, as the translation was fantastic, but I wouldn’t go in expecting a thriller.

Thank you to 4th Estate William Collins, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 - This is fine. Enjoyable in parts but so slow in others. Really well written and translated and yet lacks that hook (pun intended) that makes you want to keep reading. I'm glad I have read it, with Butter being such a huge hit (one I found similarly fine, sorry Butter fans) I wanted to see what else Yuzuki could do, however this tread very familiar paths as before. I'm not a fan of the whole "women can't make friends" narrative and I was hoping for something a little more profound at the end that challenged the ideal that our two main protagonist face throughout and I never got it. Maybe if this had a little more of a thriller edge to their relationship I'd enjoy it more, maybe if Eriko was even more unhinged it would've been more compelling. But it didn't, and so to me, it wasn't.

It was just fine.

[Abbie ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooked is such an unsettling read. What begins as an awkward friendship slowly twists into something obsessive and deeply uncomfortable.

Eriko becomes fascinated with Shoko through her blog and convinces herself they're destined to be best friends. Watching that fixation spiral into manipulation and control was tense, strange, and honestly a bit painful at times.

Not always an easy read, but definitely a compelling one.

Thank you to 4th Estate for providing me with an early copy!

[Daniel King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had an advanced reader copy of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

Compared to Yuziki’s premiere book “Butter,” I found Hooked a step forward in every single way.

The plot was captivating and I felt both Shoko and Eriko were more nuanced as characters. I appreciated the book’s ending and themes of how deep down we all crave friendship and belonging.

Great read that I would highly recommend!

[Zara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. Didn’t quite impact me the same way as Butter but it’s a fantastic character study of two isolated and lonely women in Japan.

Will do a more detailed review closer to release date.

[kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and insightful novel about obsession, friendship, relationships and the hardships of being a woman in your thirties in Japan. Eriko, a flawless woman working a high paying job, becomes obsessed with lifestyle blogger Shoko, aka “Hallie B”, aka the World’s Worst Wife. After an encounter where they hit it off, Eriko becomes completely fixated on Shoko’s movements and activities to the point where she mass messages her only days after they’ve met and treats her as if they’ve been best friends forever.

As someone with BPD, I can understand some aspects of Eriko’s behaviour, especially in regard to her anxiety when people don’t reply back to her, her constant apologising and approval seeking. However, her stalker behaviour and thinking that everyone else is at fault for her actions is NOT it 😭 Yuzuki did such an excellent job at making Eriko’s character insufferable.

I was waiting for a climactic event where Eriko would go completely off the rails but it never really did reach that point. I loved when characters called her out on her behaviour. I liked the contrast between Eriko and Shoko’s life - we got some drama and stress-inducing chapters with Eriko and more laidback chapters with Shoko.

Thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins Publishing Australia for the ARC in exchange for an honest review ✨

[Lau · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Please, I'm begging you all, will someone just remember me? Why are you all so cold, when I'm this lonely?"

Throughout this book, you will find that many characters think female friendship is too complicated; that a woman's greatest enemy is another woman. You can especially see this opinion thrown away here and there by Sugishita, a male co-worker of Eriko.

Eriko herself agrees that it is very difficult to build a friendship with another female. And in her loneliness, she is desperate to seek for one. Then she meets Shōko, a stay-at-home wife who runs a blog unlike any other, she does not seem to be arrogant, nor showing off the luxury of marriage, instead she seems to live a carefree life.

Slowly, Eriko's obsession with Shōko grows. Feeling instantly connected upon their first meet, Eriko keeps advancing herself onto Shōko, causing the latter to pull away in terror.

I think this was such a fascinating read. It teaches us to truly think the meaning of a friendship and what it takes to have a pure human connection. Can we call ourselves a friend of someone when they don't consider us as one? Have we tried to understand our friend as a person or all we did was screaming, begging to be heard and seen?

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

[Danielle Victor Hastings (Elleliterates) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story follows two FMCs, Eriko and Shoko in what is essentially a tale of a one-sided friendship turned obsession.

Firstly, I should mention that this was my first translated (Japanese) fiction and so maybe this is entirely a “me” problem. I was initially drawn in by the premise which I thought was so promising and could have gone in so many different directions but ultimately, in my view, went nowhere at all. Marketed as a thriller, I kept waiting for SOMETHING of significance to happen, I then waited for a twist or a big reveal and again, nothing. For that reason, I would warn prospective readers that if you’re going into this book expecting a thriller you will be disappointed. However, if you enjoy heavily character-driven contemporary fiction, maybe, you will enjoy this.

That said, I REALLY enjoyed the writing which I found so full of wisdom, that I kept highlighting quotes in the first few chapters alone (this coming from someone who doesn’t usually highlight!)

Many thanks to 4th Estate and William Collins for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooked is a character driven story that explores friendship and societal expectations for women from the author of Butter. The story of two very different women. Eriko is a woman who seems to have it all with a successful career and Shoko, a childless homemaker who runs a blog World’s Worse Wife. Eriko becomes fascinated with Shoko’s blog and orchestrates a ‘chance’ meeting with Shoko. Eriko becomes obsessive as she tries to forge a friendship with Shoko. Both characters were complex, well developed and fleshed out. Whilst Eriko was hard to like at times the more you learn about her, the more you begin to feel for her. Shoko was a lot more likable but also has her own heartbreak. The author explores themes such as parental expectations, success, loneliness friendship and gender roles through these two women and their different lives. Again, like there were many rich descriptions of food and the side plot of importing fish from Tanzania was interesting. It did feel a little repetitive at times but overall it was another thought provoking story from Asako.

[Shaylee 🥀 · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW - NetGalley


This novel unfolds in emotional waves—quiet stretches of loneliness punctuated by moments of intensity that crash and reshape the characters. Through Eriko and Shoko, two women from vastly different social worlds, it offers a sharp and unsettling examination of female friendship, insecurity, and the deep need to be seen and understood.

Both women are profoundly isolated, and their instant connection becomes intoxicating—especially for Eriko, whose desperation gradually turns destructive. What emerges is a story about the fragility and performative nature of female relationships, and how competition, alienation, and social expectation shape women’s sense of self.

The Nile perch metaphor is especially effective, highlighting how survival within a hostile environment can force women into quiet, mutual destruction. Dark, psychologically incisive, and deeply compelling, this novel feels both empathetic toward women and unafraid to interrogate them.

All in all, this is another wonderful novel from Asako Yuzuki!

I will film a longer review and share to my socials if anyone is interested. My username is Shayleemischele across all platforms.

[Kenleigh A G · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this ARC. The story was psychological, uncomfortable, and a lot of fun to read! These two main characters are lonely and have trouble maintaining close friendships. Obsession ensues. A great dive into loneliness at its extremes.
My only real issue was that I think it could have been 100 pages shorter and still have gotten the main message across if it wanted to I think. Heavy on the whole “this could have been an email” phrase in the latter portion. BUT overall I still recommend if you’re into translated fiction, psychological and uneasy reads, and social commentary.

3.5/5

[Patty Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read many stories of obsession, and this is one of the best! It will take a while to get there, but if you are patient, the story will surprise you in so many ways.

I loved how the author gave us in-depth looks at both of the women’s lives and their inner dialogue, which sometimes doesn’t really work when telling a story, but in this case works beautifully.

And the ending was perfect.

Read this!

Thank you to Ecco and the author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Di questo libro ho apprezzato soprattutto l’ampio spazio riservato all’introspezione dei personaggi. Nel complesso, ritengo che valga la pena leggerlo per il modo acuto in cui l'autrice esplora il desiderio di connessione, che poi finisce per diventare un tentativo di possesso, tra donne profondamente sole e isolate.

Peccato per gli innumerevoli errori di battitura presenti nell'edizione italiana.

[Susanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to come

[Mai H.]

Japanuary TBR

Women in Translation TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco

[Sabrina]

I just got the ARC and, as I loooved BUTTER, I’m so stoked to read!

Thanks, NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Cordelia]

DNF :/

[Bloss ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 This was originally published two years before Butter (a book that I really enjoyed!) and it while it has glimmers of what made Butter a great read, it's not as polished, fleshed out, or taut.

While I loved the inclusion of the Nile Perch thread, I found this story undercooked overall. It's essentially a character study on two unhappy, lonely, and unlikeable women and their relationship with each other, family, and themselves. This could have been interesting if the characters were layered or complicated... but they weren't, so it wasn't. This was then compounded by any suspense being given away by the blurb, and very inconsistent pacing. Once the relationship between the women crashes and burns, the story kinda loses direction, petering out and overstaying its welcome.

Like Butter, I'm not sure this should be labelled a thriller. If you're looking for suspense or thrills, this might not be the read for you. If you're looking for a meandering character study of deeply unlikeable women and the toxic dynamic between them, you might have a better time.

The translation didn't quite land for me. While the language flowed in many areas, Barton's overuse of British colloquialisms, slang, and idioms in place of more standardized, accessible language diluted the sense of people and place for this reader.

I'd absolutely read a future work by Yuzuki, but I'm not sure I'd want to spend more time with her older works.

My request to review this was approved by Fourth Estate on NetGalley.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hooked focuses on friendships that veer into obsession.

The story never grabbed me, but I persevered expecting there to be a twist that would develop the plot, however it never came. Once the initial elements of the plot are developed, the story meanders along and becomes repetitive and stale.

The provisional friendship between Eriko and Shoko is very surface level and doesn’t develop to the point where it is believable, even from a one sided point of view. Neither of the characters are likeable which I quite enjoyed however. This sense of detachment and coldness - along with the unreliable narration - made me question how authentic their descriptions of their encounters were.

I found the translation disappointing. Very clunky with odd turns of phrase or slang which detracted from the story somewhat.

Overall, a disappointing read.

Thanks to NetGalley and 4th Estate and William Collins | Fourth Estate for the ARC.

[Mirella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Partenza coinvolgente, poi ho avuto l'impressione che si perdesse un po', senza saper bene cosa fare con tutto quel materiale umano. Uno sviluppo un po' sprecato.

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Butter will surely enjoy this newly-English Asako Yuzuki novel. I didn't love it as much, but still found it engaging and full of depth.
Hooked is a very nuanced novel about friendship, isolation, gendered expectations, and the desire for connection. It would have been easy for Yuzuki to write a book just about Shoko or Eriko, but writing from both of their perspectives added so much complexity to how the reader perceives each character. You can't write either of them off as a "good guy" or "bad guy," and I think that's what makes this novel so smart. They each have biased perspectives that put them in the "right."
Living inside of Eriko's and Shoko's heads is both cringe-worthy and relatable: they reveal so much about the interalized misogyny we learn from our culture and, especially, our parents/upbringing. This book is an empathetic portrayal of isolated women who have a difficult time holding onto their friendships with other women because of how we have learned to treat these kinds of relationships. Additionally, I loved how the book contrasts women's relationships with their fathers vs. their mothers. So many of these things are connected and Hooked does a great job at tying together all of these threads. The pacing drags in the last third, but nonetheless, it's a great book.
"A Novel of Obsession" as the tagline feels a bit reductive, but I understand the marketing choice, I guess. It is a novel of obsession! The original Japanese title translates to "The Nile Perch Women's Club," which is so funny to me. But I understand that in western publishing trends, the original title might signify a different marketing demographic altogether.
I think Hooked is a more cohesive novel overall, but I didn't hit me as hard as when I first read Butter. My rating may be higher in the future once I've had more time to think about this book, so take my 4 stars with a grain of salt since it's so easy to compare the two novels. This could easily be an Emily 4.5 down the line :p
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC via Netgalley. I will likely purchase my own physical copy after the pub date!