Tag: mystery

Book Review: The Moving Blade (Detective Hiroshi #2) by Michael Pronko

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The Moving BladeAbout the Book

When the top American diplomat in Tokyo, Bernard Mattson, is killed, he leaves more than a lifetime of successful Japan-American negotiations. He leaves a missing manuscript, boxes of research, a lost keynote speech and a tangled web of relations.

When his alluring daughter, Jamie, returns from America wanting answers, finding only threats, Detective Hiroshi Shimizu is dragged from the safe confines of his office into the street-level realities of Pacific Rim politics.

With help from ex-sumo wrestler Sakaguchi, Hiroshi searches for the killer from back alley bars to government offices, through anti-nuke protests to military conspiracies. When two more bodies turn up, Hiroshi must choose between desire and duty, violence or procedure, before the killer silences his next victim.

Format: Paperback, ebook (339 pp.)    Publisher: Raked Gravel Press
Published: 30th September 2018   Genre: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com 
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Moving Blade (Detective Hiroshi #2)  on Goodreads

My Review

“A moving blade is unseen, hidden in the blur of motion, felt but not perceived.”

The Moving Blade is the second book in the Detective Hiroshi series, the sequel to The Last Train which I really enjoyed when I read it at the end of last year.  I was thrilled to be offered an advance review copy of The Moving Blade by the author and I’m delighted to report that it was just as enjoyable as its predecessor.

What I really liked about The Last Train was the insight it gave the reader into Japanese culture and its depiction of Tokyo life in all its variety.  I’m pleased to say this is equally the case in The Moving Blade, a result, no doubt, of the author’s experience of living and working in Tokyo for some years and of learning to navigate the intricacies of Japan’s social customs.

Like its predecessor, the book reveals the fascinating mix of old and new that makes up Japanese society: high-speed bullet trains and mobile phones alongside ceremonial swords and ancient Japanese woodprints.  Once again, I loved the insight into small details of Japanese social customs, such as bowing (‘the most fundamental Japanese ritual’) and the exchange of meishi name cards when meeting someone new.  Or the fact that surprises are something largely alien to Japanese culture: ‘In Japan, the details for everything  – a meeting, a conference, even a visit with friends – were worked out far in advance.’

Not forgetting, of course, the mouth-watering descriptions of food such as this account of a trip to a ramen shop:  ‘Jamie cracked open her chopsticks and surveyed the nori seaweed, chasu pork slices, green scallions and seasoned egg swimming in steaming broth.’   Plus I loved this portrayal of the district of Tokyo that sounds like a book lover’s Paradise.  ‘Along the main street of Jinbocho, store windows displayed journals, textbooks, magazines, manga, chapbooks, maps and prints – each store with its own speciality.  Library carts, fold-up tables and string-tied stacks of used books spilled onto the sidewalk.  Everywhere, people stood reading.’

Of course, alongside all this, there is a deliciously compelling crime mystery at the heart of The Moving Blade with Detective Hiroshi and his colleagues once again facing a ruthless killer.  However, this time, Hiroshi’s investigation takes him into a world of political conspiracy and corruption that increasingly seems to encompass the highest levels of power.  Along the way, the reader gets a fascinating history lesson about American-Japanese relations since the 1950s and the impact of realpolitik on the decisions governments make.   At one point, Hiroshi observes, “I never imagined the past could be so dangerous” and receives the astute response, “Nothing more dangerous”.

Last, but not least, the book presents Hiroshi with an opportunity to renew old friendships and make what might be promising new ones.  It also leaves him with some difficult choices about his career and personal life.  Oh, and he gets a bit battered and bruised along the way.

The Moving Blade is a compelling crime mystery that vividly brings to life contemporary Tokyo and also provides a fascinating insight into Japanese life and culture.  I can’t wait to read the third book in the series, promised for 2019.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of the author.

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In three words: Compelling, immersive, suspenseful

Try something similar…The Last Train by Michael Pronko (read my review here which also contains a link to my Q&A with Michael )

MichaelPronkoAbout the Author

Michael Pronko is the author of three award-winning collections of writings about life in Tokyo: Beauty and Chaos, Tokyo’s Mystery Deepens, and Motions and Moments. His debut novel, The Last Train, a Tokyo mystery, came out in 2017, winning several awards. The follow-up in the Hiroshi series, The Moving Blade, will be released in 2018.

He has written about Japanese culture, art, jazz, society and politics for Newsweek Japan, The Japan Times, Artscape Japan, Jazznin, and ST Shukan. He has appeared on NHK and Nippon Television and runs his own website, Jazz in Japan. A professor of American Literature and Culture at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo, after class he wanders Tokyo contemplating its intensity.

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Book Review: The Temptation (The Anglian Detective Agency #2) by Vera Morris

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The TemptationAbout the Book

Where is David Pemberton?

It’s 1971. Thirteen year old David has been missing for two years. It’s now up to Laurel Bowman and Frank Diamond, partners in the newly formed Anglian Detective Agency, to find him. But how do you solve a cold case with no leads? Are there connections to the brutal deaths of three local residents?

As their first big case unravels, they uncover a circle of temptations, destruction and deceit.  But the closer they get to solving the case, the more exposed they are to danger. And now both Laurel’s and Frank’s lives are at risk.

Format: ebook (371 pp.)    Publisher: Accent Press
Published: 17th May 2018  Genre: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Temptation (The Anglian Detective Agency #2) on Goodreads

My Review

The Temptation is the sequel to Some Particular Evil, which introduced many of the characters who also feature in The Temptation.  Readers should be aware that The Temptation contains references to events in the earlier book, including the identity of the culprit.  Therefore, although The Temptation works perfectly well as a standalone, readers who feel inclined to read the whole series should definitely start with Some Particular Evil.

The Temptation starts with the feel of a classic crime era novel but soon gets distinctly darker, especially when a number of unexplained deaths occur.  Soon the members of the newly established Anglian Detective Agency (brought together as a result of events in the first book) start to find links between cases that initially seemed entirely unconnected.   As the bodies pile up, it becomes clear that there are evil forces at work.  I enjoyed the way the book explored the idea of temptation; whether that’s something as innocent as a weakness for bacon sandwiches (Any HP sauce, Mabel?) or a pint of Adnams…or something more illicit and sordid.

Set around Aldeburgh in Suffolk (home of the composer, Benjamin Britten), the author creates a convincing sense of the location through detailed descriptions of the town, its shops, the nearby villages and surrounding countryside.  I particularly liked the way the author conjured up the energy of the sometimes storm-lashed Suffolk coastline.  ‘It was deserted, the sea pounding the shingle; she put a hand over her mouth as the gusts were taking her breath away.  Steel grey waves rushed in, piling on top of each other in their anxiety to reach land.  A few gulls were riding the wind , banking and turning, likes planes in a dog fight.’

Mainly set in 1971, I would have liked to get a similarly vivid sense of the period.  Although there were a few references to television programmes of the time (remember Softly, Softly or The Virginian, anyone?) and national events, I often found the need to remind myself when it was set.  Having said that, towards the end of the book, when motives begin to emerge, I started to see why the author perhaps chose to set the story in this period.

The Temptation is a well-written, adeptly plotted crime mystery with engaging central characters and an interesting setting.  Did I imagine it or, at the end of the book, did the author leave an opening for the story to continue in what would be an intriguing direction?  I know from the author’s website that a third book in the series is planned for 2019…

Vera is appearing at Henley Literary Festival on 1st October 2018 at the ‘Crime and Wine’ event alongside Vaseem Khan, author of Murder at the Grand Raj Palace, and Jessica Fellowes, author of Bright Young Dead (event sold out at time of writing).

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In three words: Suspenseful, atmospheric, engaging

Try something similar…The Missing Girl by Jenny Quintana (read my review here)

Vera MorrisAbout the Author

Before becoming a teacher Vera blew soap bubbles in Woolworth’s, cooked in hotels and electro-fished in Welsh rivers. The majority of her teaching career was in a local mixed comprehensive in South Oxfordshire, where she became headteacher. Her interests include writing, gardening, cooking, reading, the theatre, museums and art galleries, and travelling in her campervan.  (Photo credit: author’s website)

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