Originally submitted as “Chi no Haitatsuyasan” (“The Blood Delivery Man”), the novel follows a young man who goes to a fishing town in search of his missing mother and is swallowed by bizarre rites and family secrets. It is a dark horror story with a relentless pull.

In a town that smells of blood and rust, he searches for his family.

In a village that preserves a legend of rebirth, a pregnancy brings local customs and faith to the surface. A horror novel about the fear of a closed community.

Even its title, read as “O-kaeri,” signals unease from the start.