Tokyo Kill by Barry Lancet

Published by Simon & Schuster on September 9, 2014

Akira Miura believes the Chinese Triad is after him because of a position he held with the Japanese government in the 1940s. A number of his colleagues have recently died. Miura's son insists that he seek the help of Jim Brodie, an American antiques dealer who doubles as a security consultant/private eye in Tokyo. Miura might be paranoid but that possibility seems less likely after his son is hacked to death, a signature of Triad assassins.

In the tradition of private eye noir, Brodie takes a few beatings as he searches for the killer. The beatings differ from most private eye fistfights in that Brodie is proficient at kendo. Unfortunately for Brodie, so are the people who fight him. After attacks on Brodie become more deadly, he meets an old Chinese guy who tells him about Chinese villages destroyed by the Japanese. Brodie then finds himself in the difficult position of working to correct injustices of the past.

The plot offers an interesting look at the intersection of Japanese and Chinese history. It leads to a surprising reveal. Character development is weak but the pace is swift. The story provides a convincing amount of local color in Tokyo, Miami, and Barbados. Swordplay at the novel's end is a welcome departure from the shootouts that provide the action in most thrillers. Tokyo Kill is also more believable than most modern thrillers. It's the kind of entertaining book that makes for good airplane reading but it's also the kind of book that is easily forgotten when the plane lands.

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