Japantown (A Thriller)
By Barry Lancet
Simon & Shuster
(hardback)
ISBN #978-1451691696
Price $14.83
400 Pages
Rating 5-Stars
“Just A Darn Good Thrill-A-Minute
Ride.”
Jim Brodie lives in San Francisco where he owns an art
shop, specializing in Japanese art and Asian artifacts. He is also half owner
of Brodie Security in Tokyo, Japan, his co-owner was his father’s partner in
the business, and Jim inherited his share when his father died. Jim Brodie is
also a single father raising a six-year-old girl alone since his wife died in a
fire.
Then one night his friend, Lieutenant Frank Renna of
the San Francisco Police Department called for his assistance at a crime scene
in Japantown. At the scene of the brutal murder of a Japanese family and their
bodyguard, a scrap of paper with a unique character printed on it is found near
the bodies. Lt. Renna hopes Brodie can identify the Japanese character and give
them a clue to the killers. The same symbol had been at the scene of Brodie’s
wife’s death, and this may prove that she was also murdered. Though he doesn’t
know the meaning of the characters, he promises to use his detective agency in
Japan to research it.
The next day he is approached by a billionaire
Japanese businessman who wants to hire Brodie to investigate the killing also.
He explains that the woman murdered in Japantown was his daughter. But Brodie
learns the man has other reasons, as well. And before the case concludes,
Brodie, his company investigators in Japan, and the San Francisco police will
be up against professional killers: The Soga; a private army of assassins for
hire of Japanese origin based somewhere overseas.
This was a fun and exciting read, with the action set
in both America and Japan. There were a lot of similarities between Jack
Seward’s Curt Stone, and Earl Norman’s Burns Bannion, but better written (maybe
not the same kind of fun as Burns Bannion, though, but much better written).
The Soga group reminded me of CYPHER, the organization of ex-soldiers who were
also an army of hired assassins The Shadow put out of business in that series.
The difference being, CYPHER was an organization made up of trained soldiers,
Soga is made up of martial arts experts from all walks of life. But the ideals
are the same. This thrill-a-minute action will keep the reader turning the
pages. Highly recommended.
Tom Johnson
Detective Mystery Stories
I enjoyed it as well, even if Brodie, like most like most PIs since the 1970s, is a bit of a whiner.
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned, not as fun as Earl Norman's Burns Bannion, but it has some good ideas, and is well written. I especially liked the use of Soga in the story.
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