Matthew Legare - Historical, Thrillers, & Noir
Website for Matthew Legare, writer of historical, thriller, and noir novels, including the Reiko Watanabe/Inspector Aizawa series set in 1930s Japan.
1930s Shanghai has long captivated people for its lurid underworld, usually presented in the form of the notorious Green Gang. However, there was a brief period in Old Shanghai where a new batch of gangsters rose to prominence, and their story is told in Paul French’s Devils of Shanghai.
[Read more…] about City of Devils Review & Paul French Interview
Eye of the Red Tsar by Sam Eastland is a historical mystery set in 1929, during the early days of Stalinist Russia. The first of the Inspector 
Pekkala series, it shines a light on an often-overlooked period, when the USSR was a strange international pariah, rather than the Red Menace of the Cold War.
[Read more…] about Eye of the Red Tsar Review & Sam Eastland Interview
China Dawn by Robert L. Duncan is a historical epic novel from 1988, spanning the years of 1931 to 1981, moving through various locations, from Tokyo to Shanghai, to Manchukuo, to Singapore, to Paris.
[Read more…] about China Dawn by Robert L. Duncan Novel Review
Babylon Berlin returns for a third season, taking us back to the hectic and hedonistic days of 1929 Berlin. This season (or series as the Brits 
say; staffel fur die Deutschen) follows Detective Gereon Rath and his assistant/sidekick Charlotte Ritter as they investigate the strange murders on a movie set, committed by a mysterious and nightmarish Phantom. With them are enough side characters and subplots to give Deadwood a run for its money.
Moscow Investigator Arkady Renko is back for his ninth and possibly last book, The Siberian Dilemma by Martin Cruz Smith. As with all Arkady Renko books, it’s filled with murder, intrigue, and wry Russian humor.
Winter Raven by Adam Baker is a thriller novel mixed with espionage, philosophy, martial arts, and war, all set against the backdrop of 
Japan’s chaotic Sengoku Era.
[Read more…] about Winter Raven Review & Adam Baker Interview
Japanese cinema has never gained widespread acceptance in the West, save for Godzilla and Kurosawa films. But those are only a tiny pinprick of Japanese films, which cover all genres, including war. Aside from Tora Tora Tora and Letter From Iwo Jima, there haven’t been many movies that show war from a Japanese perspective that have gained traction in the West. I’d like to change that with 5 Japanese war movie recommendations.
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.
[Read more…] about A Trace of Smoke Review & Rebecca Cantrell Interview
Memoirs of Japanese Assassins in an anthology film from 1969 and directed by Sadao Nakajima, which dramatizes famous assassinations in modern Japanese history. Needless to say, I loved it.
[Read more…] about Memoirs of Japanese Assassins (1969) Movie Review
[Read more…] about The Jade Dragon Review & Garrett Hutson Interview