Japantown (Jim Brodie #1)

Japantown by Barry Lancet is the first book in his mystery series featuring Jim Brodie. Brodie grew up in Japan until the age of seventeen when his mother returned to California and his father stayed. He now lives in San Francisco where he runs an antiques business. He inherited half of his father's P.I. business - the main office is in Tokyo with a satellite in his antique shop in S.F.

When a family is murdered in the Japanese part of the city, SFPD Detective Renna calls Brodie in to consult. Brodie is an expert in the language and culture. At the scene, the kill has left a kanji, or Japanese character. Renna hopes that Brodie can read it. Unfortunately, Brodie has seen it before but could find no trace of it's origin or meaning.

As Brodie starts investigating, he gets the attention of a couple of people. A famous Japanese business man wants to hire him to do what the police have already hired him to do - but in exchange for a lot of money he wants the killer dead when found. And someone who was left behind to make sure the police investigation goes nowhere is wary of Brodie's involvement.

Lancet has created a great character in Jim Brodie. He has some Veronica Mars qualities, as he was trained by his father from an early age to be an investigator. His background and knowledge of two cultures makes his moves between the two seamless. I will be devouring the next two books right away and then impatiently awaiting the next.

Lancet, Barry. (2013). Japantown. New York: Simon and Schuester.