Barry Lancet

Jim Brodie, a San Francisco dealer in art objects and a man with deep roots in Japan, becomes entangled in the investigation of the murder of an entire family of Japanese in San Francisco. There is some real intricacy and excitement in this story, but there is also an awful lot of over-the-top, clichéd "unstoppable secret society" ninja-type stuff that smacks more of 1980s potboiler action movies than real life. I read a lot of crime novels set in Japan and I approached this one with hope. It was not remotely a distressing experience, but I spent far too much time in the course of reading saying, "So what?" to myself. There are characters who are world-class experts at various activities who happen to be whiling away their time in inconsequential work until they just happen to have answers the protagonist desperately needs, and there are absolutely, indubitably trustworthy characters who turn out to be rats just because someone had to be the rat. It was a nice time-passer of a novel, but nothing more. I won't be returning for others in the series, of which this is the first.… (mehr)

I really wanted to give this book 5 stars but there are two reasons why I didn't.
First the good. This reminded me of old Dirk Pitt books, lots of action and ingenious bad guys. I also like the introduction to Japanese culture and the way the Japanese behave.
The two downsides were:
1. The bad guys behaving like those in James Bond movies where instead of just shooting Mr Bond they talk forever, giving Bond time to escape and or kill them.
2. Any of the chapters with the Brodie's kid in them. I was like enough already. Jenny the lead character's 6 year old was annoying, and the dialog between daddy and daughter was cloying, so much so that if she had played a bigger part, I doubt I would read other books by this author.
That said I will continue with the series, hoping the daughter is not a part of future plots.… (mehr)

When five members of a rich and powerful Japanese family are gunned down assassination-style at a pedestrian mall in San Francisco's Japantown, Jim Brodie is consulted by SFPD. He is a part time antique dealer and part time PI, owning 50% of a successful firm in Tokyo started by his father. A single, highly complex Kanji character left on a scrap of paper at the scene is identical to one left at his wife Meiko's murder. This leads him back to Tokyo, where his best operative and he join forces, and find themselves battling a powerful, secretive clan: the Soga, who have been assassins for hire for many centuries. Lots of action, but rather predictable, and a strong need for suspending believability.
… (mehr)