A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell is a noir mystery set in the seedy streets of 1931 Berlin, full of vice, intrigue, and murder.
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Reviews
The Jade Dragon Review & Garrett Hutson Interview
The Jade Dragon by Garrett Hutson is a murder mystery set against the backdrop of 1930s Shanghai. Full of gangsters, intrigue, spies, and politics, we follow the journey of one American determined to solve the murder of his friend.
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Death in Shanghai Review & MJ Lee Interview
Shanghai 1928 – the body of blonde woman is found dead, washed up on the “Beach of Dead Babies.” The mutilated corpse is marked with the Chinese character for “justice.” It’s with this gruesome and foreboding atmosphere that Death in Shanghai by MJ Lee, and the Inspector Danilov series begins.
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Shanghai Story Review & Alexa Kang Interview
Shanghai Story by the great Alexa Kang is a historical epic in the vein of such classics as The 
Winds of War and War and Remembrance. Whereas those books concentrated on the well-represented European Theater of World War II, Kang’s trilogy will focus on the lesser-known Sino-Japanese War.
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The Last Train Review & Michael Pronko Interview
In modern-day Tokyo, an American businessman meets a grisly end underneath an oncoming subway train. But it was no accident. He was pushed, and furthermore, we know who did it. Michiko Suzuki, a seriously damaged young woman, is the murderer, but why did she do it? So begins The Last Train by Michael Pronko.
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A Rising Man Review & Abir Mukherjee Interview
Calcutta, 1919 – In the sweltering Indian heat, a British civil servant is found brutally murdered with a note shoved in his mouth. The note is a warning to the British – quit India or else. Thus begins A Rising Man, a historical murder mystery and the first in the Sam Wyndham series by Abir Mukherjee.
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Tokyo Kill Review & Barry Lancet Interview
Full of international intrigue, long-buried historical secrets, and criminal conspiracies, Tokyo Kill is a worthy follow up to Barry Lancet’s Japantown and Book 2 in the Jim Brodie series.
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Sex Slaves of the Dragon Tong Review & F. Paul Wilson Interview
Sex Slaves of the Dragon Tong. With a title as lurid as that, how can you not be interested?
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Tokyo Black Review & Andrew Warren Interview
Tokyo Black by Andrew Warren has everything that thriller readers like. A burned ex-CIA operative hiding out in 
exile. High-stakes geopolitical tension. A gang of villains ready to kill anyone to bring out their plans. And most importantly, lots of action.
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7 Edogawa Ranpo Recommendations
Edogawa Ranpo has become synonymous with Japanese horror and mystery fiction. Using a pen name based off of Edgar Allen Poe, (try saying it three times fast), the author Taro Hirai wrote many short stories and novels as Edogawa Ranpo (sometimes Romanized as Rampo). Like his namesake, Ranpo wrote mostly horror and mystery stories, basically introducing the genres into Japanese literature. While Ranpo has a plethora of material to choose from, here are my recommendations on where to start with his writing and films based off his work.