Feeling Tokyo

  Michael Pronko contacted me out the of the blue one day, and it was the best kind of surprise. The second book of his Tokyo Mystery series, The Moving Blade was released September 30, and if you have an interest in Japanese culture in a crime fiction setting, give this serious consideration. The series follows detective Hiroshi Shimizu who is fluent in English due to his Boston education. He’s a numbers man, an accountant whose abilities are used in international cases where fraud and deception are involved. His main frustration, the prosecutions of the cases he works so hard at take place in other countries. A detective is a detective nonetheless, and he is dragged into cases where his language skills are needed – sometimes it’s murder. Shimizu would rather stay in his office dealing with police agencies around the world. Even if his minuscule space reeks of cleaning supplies from it’s previous incarnation as a janitorial room. With all this comes retired Sumo wrestlers who have joined the police force. I admit to never before considering what these wrestlers do when their careers are over. Really, that’s the broad strokes. The detail Pronko puts in his work has you sitting in the ramen noodle shops, drinking in Rohpinggo, or taking the subway home. We are told nothing and shown everything.  

The Last Train

  However, consider reading his first book in the series before The Moving Blade. I assure you The Last Train will not disappoint and here’s a list of awards to show I’m not alone:

Solo Medalist Winner New Apple Awards for Excellence 2017

Winner Crime Fiction Beverly Hills Book Awards 2017

Winner Best Mystery Book Excellence Awards 2017

Gold Award Literary Titan Book Award 2017

Top Ten Self-Published Books 2017 The Bookbag

Silver Award IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards 2017

Winner Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book 2018

Both books are highly recommended. ~ June Lorraine