#1 New York Times bestselling author “An astonishing work of genius.” —Bookreporter “Magically transformative.” —Bookpage Can one moment in time haunt you forever? From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Tale comes a “poetic and mysterious” (Booklist) story that will haunt you to your very core. Caught up in a moment of boyhood competition, William Bellman recklessly aims his slingshot at a rook resting on a branch, killing the bird instantly. It is a small but cruel act, and is soon forgotten. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to have put the whole incident behind him. It was as if he never killed the thing at all. But rooks don’t forget… Years later, when a stranger mysteriously enters William’s life, his fortunes begin to turn—and the terrible and unforeseen consequences of his past indiscretion take root. In a desperate bid to save the only precious thing he has left, he enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner. Together, they found a decidedly macabre business. And Bellman & Black is born.

ダイアン・セッターフィールドは、忘却という傲慢が招く恐怖を、ゴシック文学の極致として描き出しました。少年時代の些細な残酷さが、歳月を経て人生を侵食する様は読者の心に冷たい楔を打ち込みます。知らぬ間に負った「魂の負債」をめぐる詩的で容赦のない筆致こそが、本作の本質的な魅力です。 死をビジネスへ昇華させる店の誕生は、生への執着と宿命の皮肉な対比を象徴しています。ミヤマガラスという不吉な監視者の影が、成功の絶頂にいる男をいかに追い詰めるのか。暗闇の中に美しさと凄惨さが同居する、唯一無二の物語体験があなたを待っています。