Barry Lancet

Barry Lancet's Japantown, an international thriller, was selected by both Suspense Magazine and renowned mystery critic Oline Cogdill as one of the Best Debuts of the Year, and has been optioned by J. J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Lancet's connection with Japan began more than thirty years ago with a short exploratory trip from his California home to Tokyo. Five years later his visit turned into a long-term stay in the Japanese capital, a thriving metropolis he found endlessly fascinating. Lancet landed a position at one of the country's top publishing houses, and in twenty-five years he developed numerous books across many fields but mostly on Japanese culture—including art, crafts, cuisine, history, fiction, Zen gardens, martial arts, Asian philosophy, and more. All of which were sold in the United States, Europe, and the rest of the world. The work opened doors to many traditional worlds, lending a unique insider's view to his own writing. One incident in particular started him on his present course of writing, and led to Japantown and the Jim Brodie series (the next book is in the editing stages; the third is in the works). Early on during his return to Japan, Lancet was directed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to come down to the stationhouse for a "voluntary interview." The MPD proceeded to interrogate him for three hours over what turned out to be a minor, noncriminal infraction. The police grilling evolved into one of the most intensive psychological battles of cat-and-mouse Lancet had faced up to that point in his stay in Asia, and caused him to view many of his experiences, past and future, in a whole new light. The encounter was also instrumental in shaping Lancet's approach to his novels.