Shadow Family (2001)

by Miyuki Miyabe

A man and his young mistress are murdered in separate incidents, and the police investigation finds that the man was also part of an Internet group in which strangers took on the roles of the members of a nuclear family—father, mother, son, and daughter. 

"Blood on the Web" (French)

This novel deals with the false promise of the Internet, which seems to offer a retreat into fantasy as an antidote to the difficulties of real life without accounting for the fact that we are active agents and participants in those difficulties and therefore bring them with us into new surroundings. 

"RPG" (Chinese)

Although their online behavior seems like idealized familial interactions, things become more complicated when they are assembled in the same interrogation room by the police.

"Virtual Family Play" (Korean)

 This is where nearly all the action of the novel takes place. 

"Shadow Family" (Danish)

Author Miyuki Miyabe does not seem very interested in developing the tension and suspense inherent in an investigation, instead relating these aspects of the story through exposition in order to get everyone into the same room together. 

Miyuki Miyabe

This novel could easily be adapted into a play because of the reliance on a single setting. 

"Virtual Family" (Russian)

There are some interesting developments, but the stagnant nature of the plot was not as engaging as I would have hoped.

"RPG Role Playing Game" (Spanish)

"Shadow Family" (Turkish)