Anna has never met anybody like Loll: a British hostess at the Moonglow bar in the Japanese city of Osaka. With her blonde wigs and shimmering dresses, Loll cuts a mesmerising figure. But Anna is troubled by the secrets Loll hides; the identity of her best client with shadowy links to the city’s crime underworld; and the sight Anna witnesses one afternoon: Loll teetering on the edge of a railway track, caught in the deafening rush as a train hurtles by.
Whereas Anna has come to Osaka to learn more about her half-Japanese heritage, Loll has no clear reason for being there and no easily discernible past. And so when she disappears, there are only the barest clues as to where she might have gone. Soon Anna is thrown onto a trail that will take her into the darkest corners of the neon-choked metropolis – hidden, forbidden places from which those who know the city best warn her to stay away.
Emily’s debut novel, A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing, published by Manilla Press in July 2026, is available for preordering now.
Advance praise for A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing
‘Exquisitely written and utterly compelling . . . Midorikawa’s novel captures the intoxication of new friendship, as well as the frightening unknowability of those we are closest to’ – Susan Barker, author of Old Soul
‘A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing has the soul of a stylish mystery and the pace of an old-fashioned thriller. Meticulously plotted and beautifully written, it will keep you riveted till its very last page.’ – Mohammed Hanif, author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes
‘An elegant, edgy and cinematic portrait of womanhood in all its vulnerability and strength. A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing is a captivating novel that explores what it means to disappear without trace and asks what it takes to leave one’s mark’ – Emma Claire Sweeney, author of Owl Song at Dawn
‘A chic and immersive novel. It immediately drew me in, with its surface glamour and heart of mystery and its bold, seductive secrets. Finishing the book I felt like I’d been on a journey to somewhere forbidden – but so alluring’ ― Bidisha, presenter and broadcaster
‘A beguiling novel that’s at once a gripping mystery and a piercing study of human nature’ ― Deepa Anappara, author of Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
‘A tense and compelling novel about the confusion of loss, yearning and the ghosts of the past that we chase but can never quite understand’ ― Jo Leevers, author of Tell Me How This Ends
‘A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing captures perfectly the loneliness and unease it’s possible to feel both in an unfamiliar place and one’s own skin’ ― Hester Musson, author of The Beholders
‘Propulsive, atmospheric and brilliantly written’ ― Irenosen Okojie MBE, author of Curandera
‘An exquisite vortex of a novel, as compelling as it is cinematic’ ― Stephanie Scott, author of What’s Left of Me is Yours
‘‘I absolutely loved it. So atmospheric . . . at once a pacy thriller and an elegantly written tale of family and connection’ ― Sonia Velton, author of The Nightingale’s Castle
‘I’ve never read anything else quite like this intriguing novel. It’s pacy and thrilling – yet suffused with calm, precise
beauty on a sentence level.’ ― Rebecca Ley, author of For When I’m Gone
‘Midorikawa excels in the sensual precision of her depiction of multi-faceted Osaka and in the sureness of her grip on the multiplying mysteries at the heart of this compelling, suspenseful first novel’ – Andrew Cowan, author of Pig
‘A page-turning novel that vividly evokes a dark side of Japan while exploring the uncertainties of youth’ – Annabel Abbs, author of The Language of Food
‘A taut, terrifying, and irresistible novel in which the reader, like Anna, is never quite sure whom to trust and whether it’s safe to answer the phone, open the door, or turn the page’ ― Sarah Emsley, author of The Austens
‘Elegant, precise and mysterious, this is a stunning debut that quietly gets under your skin.’ ― Amélie Skoda, author of Bethnal Green
‘Tense, evocative and beautifully written’ ―Alison Stockham, author of The Cuckoo Sister
‘Hauntingly beautiful. A captivating, page-turning debut’ ― Kate Mayfield, author of The Undertaker’s Daughter
Emily Midorikawa 