A Tiny Speck of Black and Then Nothing: A dazzling slow-burn debut set in the underworld of Osaka's nightlife

'Exquisitely written and utterly compelling' SUSAN BARKER'The soul of a stylish mystery and the pace of an old-fashioned thriller' MOHAMMED HANIF'Elegant, edgy and cinematic' EMMA CLAIRE SWEENEYAnna has never met anyone like the enigmatic Loll: a British hostess at the Moonglow bar, in the Japanese city of Osaka.While Anna teaches bored students by day, Loll passes the nights in smoky, dim-lit rooms where she pours men's drinks, lights their cigarettes and laughs playfully at their jokes. With her blonde wigs, shimmering dresses and bejewelled nails, Loll cuts a mesmerising figure.But her skin bears unexplained bruises beneath its glittering facade, and Anna's concern slowly begins to grow.She is troubled by the secret of the carved jade stone necklace that her glamorous new friend seems determined to protect; the mysterious identity of Loll's best client with shadowy links to the city's underworld crime bosses; and the sight Anna witnesses one afternoon: Loll teetering alone on the ed