Author(s): Clare Campbell

True Crime

In summer 2000, Lucie Blackman arrived in Tokyo to work as a nightclub hostess. Pretty, blonde, 21 years old, Lucie was a prized 'gaijin girl' (Western girl) whose job it was to serve drinks to Japanese businessmen, light their cigarettes, flirt. Lucie thought the job would be fun and glamorous; a great way of earning a lot of money quickly. But she did not know that behind the lights and excitement of Tokyo's nightclub scene lies a terrible darkness. Many beautiful blonde Western girls have found themselves lured into performing sexual acts for money, seeing their job slowly change from nightclub hostess into that of high-class prostitute. For Lucie, her glamorous adventure ended even more tragically - she was raped and then murdered. In this groundbreaking, authoritative account of Lucie's life and death, Clare Campbell lifts the lid on the often horrifyingly sleazy world of Tokyo nightclubs.