4.0
Greedy
ByPublisher Description
“A deliciously twisted thriller that blends culinary obsession with moral horror . . . This novel savors excess, class, and complicity . . . and leaves you squirming.”—Dua Lipa’s Service95
What would you do for a seat at the table?
They will kill me soon, Edward Cook thinks. And when the Yakuza are unable to collect what he owes, Ed realizes, theyʼll go after his wife and child next. Broke, desperate, and unemployed, he stumbles upon an unusual ad: Chef wanted! Private chef for a high-profile businesswoman. One million yen per day.
Ed accepts the job. He hasnʼt earned any Michelin stars, but he knows his way around a kitchen. Leaving his life in Tokyo behind, he departs for an opulent estate in the mountains owned by the enigmatic and reclusive Hazeline Yamamoto, a disgraced socialite with a predatorʼs smile and an exacting palate. Hazelineʼs world is one of taste, connoisseurship, and experimentation—she is a certified gourmand. But when you can afford filet mignon for every meal, you begin to seek out the strange and forbidden.
The closer Ed gets to Hazeline and the brighter future that she promises—if he remains loyal—the nearer he is to realizing the chilling truth about her altruism. In this shadow world of unimaginable wealth, there are worse monsters than two-bit gangsters. The wind blowing through Hazeline’s home carries the sound of screaming, and Ed finds himself feeding all kinds of beasts.
Perfect for fans of Parasite and The Menu—enticing as a starter, meaty as a main dish, and full of satisfying just-desserts—Greedy is a suspenseful poison-pen note to classism and an ode to Japanese cuisine, a horror-tinged thriller unsuitable for vegetarians but full of shocking delights for every reader.
What would you do for a seat at the table?
They will kill me soon, Edward Cook thinks. And when the Yakuza are unable to collect what he owes, Ed realizes, theyʼll go after his wife and child next. Broke, desperate, and unemployed, he stumbles upon an unusual ad: Chef wanted! Private chef for a high-profile businesswoman. One million yen per day.
Ed accepts the job. He hasnʼt earned any Michelin stars, but he knows his way around a kitchen. Leaving his life in Tokyo behind, he departs for an opulent estate in the mountains owned by the enigmatic and reclusive Hazeline Yamamoto, a disgraced socialite with a predatorʼs smile and an exacting palate. Hazelineʼs world is one of taste, connoisseurship, and experimentation—she is a certified gourmand. But when you can afford filet mignon for every meal, you begin to seek out the strange and forbidden.
The closer Ed gets to Hazeline and the brighter future that she promises—if he remains loyal—the nearer he is to realizing the chilling truth about her altruism. In this shadow world of unimaginable wealth, there are worse monsters than two-bit gangsters. The wind blowing through Hazeline’s home carries the sound of screaming, and Ed finds himself feeding all kinds of beasts.
Perfect for fans of Parasite and The Menu—enticing as a starter, meaty as a main dish, and full of satisfying just-desserts—Greedy is a suspenseful poison-pen note to classism and an ode to Japanese cuisine, a horror-tinged thriller unsuitable for vegetarians but full of shocking delights for every reader.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesGreedy Reviews
4.0
“Compelling, but doesn’t fully scratch the itch, Greedy is a compulsively readable, light horror novel set against an alluring Japanese backdrop. For a story so rooted in cooking and cuisine, I appreciated its sensory writing, which genuinely made my mouth water (whether appropriate or not) during those food-centric moments.
While I enjoyed its overall story beats, Greedy is somewhat predictable, and feels relatively tame compared to other works that explore similar subject matter. The protagonist, unfortunately, falls under a personal pet peeve — depicted as a purposely unobservant character. Much of what’s happening is already clear to the reader, yet we’re left waiting for him to catch up. This persistent naivety drags down the pacing, and undercuts the impact of some of the narrative’s more grotesque moments. His casual indifference to scenes clearly meant to unsettle or disgust (the reader) creates a tonal disconnect, making it unclear what mood exactly is the novel aims to deliver.
The marketing positions Greedy as “perfect for fans of Parasite and The Menu,” and while I see the comparison, those references are far more hard-hitting, unafraid to display their violence, larger-than-life characters, and bleakness. By contrast, Greedy feels like a tame, Disney version while asking for a fair amount of suspension of disbelief. Still, its accessible prose and a few clever touches (the final chapter is a standout) means it remains an entertaining, if not substantial read overall.”Start a Book Club
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