Tokyo Noir

Two years ago, I watched & read Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein & I did a Q&A with him & became internet friends. It’s hard to believe that I did one of my early Q&As with him nearly two years ago in July. We spoke about Tokyo Vice both the book & the show, his favorite places in Japan & the sequel Tokyo Noir. Tokyo Noir takes place right after the events of Tokyo Vice. Jake has turned from reporter to private eye and does due diligence work. Jake has gotten his enemy Goto Tadamasa banished from the yakuza. He doesn’t have to worry about this enemy for now. Hardship is about to hit Jake like a bus when he realizes he does have one enemy to fight, himself.

Writing, Favorite Line & Better Sequel Than The First Book

Everyone says that the first installment, whether it’s a book or a movie, is often always better than the second or umpteenth sequels afterword. Though there are a small number of times where the sequel is either just as good or better than the first part. In this case, Tokyo Noir was better than Tokyo Vice. It was interesting reading about TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) & the Fukishima Meltdown. We also read about the Olympic committee having yakuza ties. I had to pray several rosaries to get through this book, I was crying at certain points reading about Jakes personal life going downhill with liver cancer & other choices that he made that weren’t good & the death of his friend Micheil.

Also Saigo was back a few times and there was one part he gave Jake great advice that made me think, “Never did I feel as though I would hear him give profound advice.”   It wasn’t all sad though. I thought it humorous that Jake didn’t know what BFF meant and Beni had to explain it to him, and Michiel told him he was silly lol! My favorite line in Tokyo Noir is this If you don’t really want to know the answer, don’t ask the question. Many people think they want the truth, or ought to know the truth, but when you tell it to them, they act as though you’ve personally assaulted them. I can relate to this quote because I feel as though I have to discern when to say the truth and when to remain silent.

Overall

Theres a lot I could say in this review, but I would end up spoiling the entire book. If you read & enjoyed Tokyo Vice & The Last Yakuza you are definitely going to enjoy reading Tokyo Noir. If you are empathetic like I am, you or someone you know suffered having cancer and lived or died (as majority of us have) then you are going to shed tears. Tokyo Noir will be available in the US on October 1^st, its available in Australia today & July 18^th in the UK. Thank you, Jake, for writing this long awaited sequel and getting personal in it. I wish the best for you.