Natsuo Kirino (born October 7, 1951 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture) is the pen name of Mariko Hashioka, a Japanese novelist and a leading figure in the recent boom of female writers of Japanese detective fiction.

Kirino began her writing career in 1984 when she first started off composing novels in the romantic genre. However, these types of novels were not popular in Japan, so she found it difficult to make a living while writing them. She also did not have a passion for writing romance novels and wanted to concentrate on works focusing on the psychological aspect of crimes. She then turned her focus towards writing mystery novels in the early 1990s. To date, she has written several short story collections and many novels, and is now one of Japan's most popular writers.

She is most famous for her 1997 novel, Out, which received the Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Japan's top mystery award, and was a finalist (in English translation) for the 2004 Edgar Award. In addition, Kirino received the 1993 Edogawa Rampo Award for mystery fiction for her debut novel, Kao ni Furikakaru Ame (Rain Falling on My Face), and the 1999 Naoki Prize for her novel Yawarakana hoho (Soft Cheeks).

So far, four of her novels (Out, Grotesque, Real World, and The Goddess Chronicle, the last of which was written for the Canongate Myth Series) have been translated into English, with Out being the first. A further novel, In is scheduled for publication in 2013.

In spite of writing in stories in the genre, Kirino does not particularly like mysteries. As far as influential books from her childhood, Kirino cites Two Years' Vacation, The Three Musketeers, and Little Women as favorites. She also feels that her vices are things such as laziness, wastefulness, and being too emotional. However, she says that if she were to try to correct these traits, she would lose her ability to write novels. Kirino enjoys reading, seeing, and tasting the creative work of other people, as well as contemplating ideas for her next novels.

Many critics challenged and criticized Kirino for her storylines, especially for Out, by saying women should only be writing love stories. In fact, one male radio host refused to talk with her because of the fact she wrote about a husband being murdered by his own wife.However, her fiction has been mirrored by reality with an increasing number of bizarre murders in Japan such as the woman who in 2007 murdered her husband, dismembered his body, and dumped the parts across Tokyo.

The torrent contains:


Grotesque (original title: Gurotesuku), trans. Rebecca L. Copeland (New York: Knopf, 2007) -- ePUB

Real World (original title: Riaru Wārudo), trans. Philip Gabriel (New York: Knopf, 2008) -- ePUB

Out (New York Vintage, 2005) -- PDF