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Rating: 
Summary: A first time look at Japan
Review: For those who don't know Japan and its customs, this book is a good introduction. Find out the protocol for bathing in a public bath, get a look at the Japanese mafia, meet a sumo wrestler, visit a Japanese shrine temple, and see how a third generation American Japanese reacts to the differences in culture in his ancestral home, Japan.
Rating: 
Summary: A nifty read.
Review: Having lived in Japan some years ago, and having loved Death in Little Tokyo, the first in the Ken Tanaka Mystery Series, I fully expected to enjoy Dale Furutani's "Toyotomi Blades." I was not disappointed. Featuring extremely well-drawn characters, it is an engrossing, intriguing and beautifully written mystery, set mostly in Japan, that pulls the reader along in as smooth and efficient a manner as that country's famous bullet train.
The book begins with three crimes, one in New York, one in Rotterdam, and one in Tokyo. I'm not going into details of the plot because I'm not good at summarizing even my own--ask my editor-- and I'd hate to commit a spoiler. I will say this--that I have a saying written on the bulletin board above my office desk--a reminder: "No reader ever waited in suspense for the suspense to begin." In Toyotomi Blades, the reader doesn't have to wait. It's right there on the first page.
After the crimes, Ken Tanaka appears on scene, along with an invitation for him to appear on a television show in Tokyo. Somewhere in there, Ken also appears in a story in the Asahi Shimbun, holding a Samurai sword. Soon after his arrival in Tokyo, Ken is followed by a couple of men who are not particular fans of his and the story is off on its fascinating and unpredictable journey.
Dale Furutani's controlled prose cuts as clean and shining a path as any of the swords involved in this mystery. An extra bonus is the fascinating background of Japanese lore, legend and customs.
Ken Tanaka, the engaging and endearing sleuth featured in Death in Little Tokyo and Toyotomi Blades is the rare kind of character who walks right off the pages of the book and into the reader's mind and heart. I like him a lot. He's not in the least inscrutable. He's witty and possessed of a gentle, often self-deprecating humor. Listen toKen's idea of his own machismo during a fight with some bad guys: "The tall one let fly with a fist to my head. I'd like to say my cat-like reflexes allowed me to avoid the blow, but the only cat my reflexes match is the chubby cartoon character Garfield. I did manage to move my head enough so the blow was just glancing, but it still hurt. A lot." And a few minutes later when Ken tries to save himself by rolling under a park bench and becomes trapped between the two bad guys, "I don't know how long I could have kept up my impression of a rolling log."
There's a lot of humor in this novel. Ken's eating of a fish head, for example, and the amazing saga of the ice-cold noodles.
Throughout the story there are interesting remarks that appear to be just casual comments, but are later shown to be important to the plot. The ending interested me a great deal because it makes so much sense in the Japanese context. I'm already looking forward to the next Ken Tanaka mystery. Judging by the last line of Toyotomi Blades, Ken is due for yet another major challenge.
Submitted by
Margaret Chittenden
author of The Charlie Plato Mystery Series
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth it
Review: I have recently become very interested in this genre after reading the series by Laura Joh Rowland and Massey (Rei Shimura series) and recently "The Tattoo Murder Case" by Takagi. Believe me, this is definately not in the same league as those authors. This book starts off very amateurishly, with several disjointed, disconnected scenes by different characters who seem very flat and stereotypical. Usually it's easy to tell within the first few pages how good a book will be, and I was bored stiff after the first 3 pages of this book. I'm sticking with it since I spent money to buy the book, but, had I been buying this in a bookstore instead of Amazon and browsed through a few of the pages first, I probably wouldn't have bought it. The other authors I mentioned above are MUCH more enjoyable reads.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of time and money
Review: I think it is an insult to list this book with the likes of Takagi and Matsumoto, who are superb murder mysterdy writers. They are professionals, which is not what can be said of Dale Furutani. I found this book annoying to say the least. Being half Japanese, the "Japanese" aspect of this book annoyed me to no end - can one be more cliche? Don't waste your time or moeny reading or buying this book. If you want an excellent Japanese murder mystery (although both writers I mentioned can be classified as excellent murder mystery writers even outside of Japan), look for books by the two authors I mentioned above.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of time and money
Review: I think it is an insult to list this book with the likes of Takagi and Matsumoto, who are superb murder mysterdy writers. They are professionals, which is not what can be said of Dale Furutani. I found this book annoying to say the least. Being half Japanese, the "Japanese" aspect of this book annoyed me to no end - can one be more cliche? Don't waste your time or moeny reading or buying this book. If you want an excellent Japanese murder mystery (although both writers I mentioned can be classified as excellent murder mystery writers even outside of Japan), look for books by the two authors I mentioned above.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, but no Thriller Diller!
Review: Ken Tanaka is getting his shot at fame in 'Big' Tokyo this time around, thanks to his girlfriends' promotion of his first adventure. The book starts out great, but quickly hits a slow patch. Deadly ninjas, the Japanese Yakuza (Mafia), royal intrigue, ancient swords, the new Japan, and the mystery of buried treasure, et al, somehow adds up to merely a pleasant read. Although it was nice visiting Japan with Ken and friends, the writing could have been sharper. members.aol.com/raywking
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but the main character is annoying
Review: The book has a fun and interesting setting -- contrasting new & old Japan -- as well as some well-written characterizations. However -- as a Japanese-American who has traveled throughout Japan -- I found Ken Tanaka's obtuseness about the Japanese irritating and somewhat unbelievable. Early on, Tanaka claims to have had a "lifelong" interest in Japanese culture -- well, perhaps, though we are told few specifics. He thens proceeds to address everyone he meets in Japan in English and seems surprised that they can't understand him. Worse, he then disses them (at least to himself) for assuming he speaks Japanese. Does the fact that he's in Japan, where Japanese IS the primary language, ever cross his mind? Not really. Does it occur to him that learning a bit of Japanese might help him communicate? Apparently not. Okay, he is three generations removed from Japan, but STILL -- what kind of idiot travels the world expecting everyone to speak English fluently? On the plus side, Junko, the Korean-Japanese producer, is well-rounded and used to illuminate some of the contradictions of modern Japan. I have not read "Death in Little Tokyo" but feel I should in order to fill in some gaps in "Toyotomi Blades". His Japanese-American girlfriend, Mariko, for example -- is it her first trip to Japan? What part of Japan is her family from? Some of the things that would naturally come up when Japanese-Americans visit Japan are oddly missing from this story.
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