Mizuki Tsujimura’s 22nd Debut Anniversary Novel Fire Dome to Be Released on June 5, 2026, with Bookseller Comments Now Published

No one wanted it to ever end. The department store receptionist kidnapping and murder case that suddenly happened close to home 25 years ago became national news. Shogakukan will publish Fire Dome, a new full-length novel by author Mizuki Tsujimura commemorating the 22nd anniversary of her debut, in two volumes on June 5, 2026. Seven years in the making and totaling 1,500 manuscript pages, it is a major work and a contemporary mystery novel into which the author has poured all her energy. With three weeks left until release, comments have arrived from more than 400 booksellers nationwide who read the book in advance. These comments are being published today on the special website. The comments from booksellers across Japan convey the intensity of the reading experience: the excitement of reading it in one sitting, the pain that strikes the heart, and the lingering resonance that remains even after finishing the book. The published comments are available on two pages: a spoiler-free page that sparks anticipation without diminishing the pleasure of reading, and a spoiler page where readers’ post-reading excitement resonates together. Readers looking forward to the release can browse without touching the core of the story. Fire Dome special website: https://www.shogakuka .co.jp/p /fi e_dome The novel is based on a work serialized 25 times in the literary magazine STORY BOX from the June 2019 issue to the August 2023 issue, and was completed after extensive additions and a full-scale rewrite. Even readers who followed the original serialization will be offered an entirely new reading experience. Preorders are available at bookstores and online bookstores nationwide. Please look forward to the release of this long-awaited latest work, arriving three years after Tsujimura’s previous novel, Kono Natsu no Hoshi o Miru. The special website is being updated continuously. Ahead of publication, it features extensive content including five keywords for reading Fire Dome, character introductions, and a generous 30-page preview of the opening. Readers are invited to enjoy an early glimpse of the beginning of the story. Bibliographic information: Title: Fire Dome, Volumes 1 and 2 Author: Mizuki Tsujimura Price: 2,090 yen each, tax included Release date: June 5, 2026 Format: Shiroku hardcover Pages: Volume 1, 464 pages; Volume 2, 432 pages URL: https://www.shogakuka .co.jp/p /fi e_dome Publisher: Shogakukan Synopsis: People choose stories that are more interesting than the truth. She was burned by the flames called rumors. In the summer 25 years ago, a peaceful provincial city was shaken by the department store receptionist kidnapping and murder case and the media coverage surrounding it. A massive fire called rumor rained down and burned fiercely. In a town that seems at last to have regained its quiet, long-smoldering ties to the past now call forth a new incident. In her author comment, Tsujimura says that major incidents fascinate people. People say things like, “I know because I’m local, but actually...,” “I heard this from a friend of a friend who was involved...,” and “That victim was really....” Why do “we” want so badly to be involved in incidents? Tsujimura says she has long wished to be the one to write about that question in fiction someday. The title is Fire Dome. The setting is a mountain town resembling a town asleep inside a snow dome, where snow scatters when shaken. At the bottom of this town lies fire, normally unseen but stirred up when shaken. The rumors surrounding a past kidnapping and murder case are that fire. Tsujimura says she wrote the novel with everything she has now. Author profile: Mizuki Tsujimura made her debut on June 5, 2004, after winning the 31st Mephisto Prize for Tsumetai Kosha no Toki wa Tomaru. She won the 32nd Eiji Yoshikawa Prize for New Writers in 2011 for Tsunagu, and the 147th Naoki Prize in 2012 for Kagi no Nai Yume o Miru. In 2018, Kagami no Kojo won first place in the 15th Japan Booksellers’ Award. Her many works include Kori no Kujira, Boku no Major Spoon, Asa ga Kuru, Goman to Zenryo, Kohaku no Natsu, Yamiharai, Usotsuki Jenga, and Kono Natsu no Hoshi o Miru.