Shinjuku Shark (Shinjuku Shark Series #1)

by Arimasa Osawa, Andrew Clare (Translator)

Overview

A serial cop-killer is running rampant in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward and only one man has the connections and the courage to find and stop him — The Shark. Filled with volatile characters, each wiht his own unique ties, Shinjuku Shark is a masterpiece of nonstop tension.

Arimasa Osawa is one of Japan's leading hardboiled novelists, influenced by American authors such as Elmore Leonard. His famous work, Shinjuku Shark (the first installment in a series) won the Eiji Yoshikawa Award for fiction and the Naoki Prize.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781932234374
Publisher:	Kodansha USA
Publication date:	01/08/2008
Series:	Shinjuku Shark Series , #1
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.15(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Arimasa Osawa was born in 1956 in Nagoya. After dropping out of Keio University, he dove head first into fiction writing, winning the First Detective Fiction Award in 1979 for his first novel, The Sentimental Street Corner. In 1991, he won the Eiji Yoshikawa Award and Japan Mystery Writers Association Award, and in 1993, the Naoki Award, all for installments in the Shinjuku Shark series.

Editorial Reviews

Samejima's compelling struggle to find the truth and the startling revelation of the killer's motive will leave most readers eager for the next book in the series to become available.” — Publishers Weekly
"A tough, taut book with loads of action. Ed McBain would love this guy. The good news is that Shinjuku Shark is the first of a series and there are plenty more to come." — The Globe and Mail
“His popular detective series, now available in English, gives hard-boiled fans and police drama enthusiasts what they are hungry for.” - Library Journal
“The series has sold like crazy in Japan and inspired a screen adaptation, and it’s not hard to see why–its pavement-level fascination with the grimy criminal underworld of Japan comes through on every page like weeds shoving through concrete.” — The Gline
“This is an engaging book that will be enjoyed by mystery fans in general and police procedural fans in particular.” — MangaCast
"Shinjuku Shark is a rich, heavily-styled crime thriller worth the wait for its debut in English... This heated, hardboiled tale maintains its satisfying mystery through the final pages." — News Review

From the Publisher

Osawa's popular Japanese police procedural series makes its U.S. debut with this translation of the first volume. Maverick detective Samejima has made enemies on both sides of the law. Unwilling to compromise his principles, the young policeman refuses to turn a blind eye to the corruption engendered by the Yakuza, a powerful organized crime syndicate, and finds himself stuck patrolling Tokyo's grimy Shinjuku district and increasingly isolated on the force. That ostracism forces Samejima to launch his own probe when an elusive sniper begins targeting his fellow officers, using an unconventional weapon to kill them in pairs. While some rough sections of exposition disrupt the narrative flow, Samejima's compelling struggle to find the truth and the startling revelation of the killer's motive will leave most readers eager for the next book in the series to become available. (Aug.)

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Publishers Weekly

Japanese screenwriter and novelist Osawa might find good company with television writers/producers like David Milch (NYPD Blue) or Barry Levinson (Homicide: Life on the Streets) for his depictions on television and in print of hard-hitting action and gritty police life. His popular detective series, now available in English, gives hard-boiled fans and police drama enthusiasts what they are hungry for. Tokyo detective Samejima is so methodical and unrelenting in hunting criminals and thugs that he is known as the Shinjuku Shark. Feared by the yakuza (Japanese mob), he's reckless and a loner. But when a serial killer targets the city's officers with a mysterious weapon, Samejima begins investigating illegal arms dealers and gun traffickers who might know about the weapon and who has been using it. The nonstop action and suspense keep the pages turning, but the pace sometimes slows in the shadows of the Shark's personal life. A good selection for libraries with a large crime fiction and mystery following.
—Ron Samul

Library Journal