When five members of a Tokyo family are murdered in San Francisco's Japantown, the police bring in Jim Brodie, a private investigator/antiques dealer proficient in Japanese, to decipher the only clue left behind -- a piece of paper displaying an unusual Japanese character, called a kanji, written on it. Brodie is familiar with the kanji, since it is identical to one he found at the house fire that killed his wife, Mieko, several years ago. Could his wife's death be connected to this case in some way? Is it the work of a serial killer, or is something even more sinister going on?

Jim Brodie is an American who spent the first 17 years of his life in Tokyo being raised by a rough and rugged Irish- American father and an American mother who loved art. Brodie's expertise with antiques came from her, while his father taught him the law enforcement trade, eventually leaving Brodie his half of a Tokyo-based PI/security firm. This background gives Brodie a unique niche in San Francisco and Tokyo.

When Brodie is hired by a Tokyo business mogul to find out who murdered his family in Japantown, the investigation leads Brodie and his operatives to the brutal Soga, a secret society of Japanese assassins. Launched by a renegade samurai general three centuries ago, the Soga will do whatever it takes to protect themselves. With their covert enterprise in danger of exposure, the Soga target Brodie, as well as everyone connected to him, as the body count increases.

Having lived and worked for several decades in Japan, Barry Lancet's skillful writing of Japanese culture and history is certainly evident in JAPANTOWN, his debut international thriller. As the first book in his dynamic Jim Brodie series, JAPANTOWN is a tense, gripping novel loaded with lots of nail-biting action and suspense. The mystery is rock-solid with multifaceted plotting and vivid characterization that benefits immensely from the atmospheric narrative. I also reviewed -- and greatly enjoyed -- the second Jim Brodie thriller, TOKYO KILLS, which is currently available for your reading enjoyment. Now, I am ready for the next Jim Brodie thriller!