Azabu Getaway, the fifth Book in the award-winning Detective Hiroshi series by Michael Pronko, out now as audiobook performed by legendary narrator Peter Berkrot
Hello again, dear audiobooks friends. Today’s spotlight article is dedicated to Azabu Getaway, the highly anticipated fifth novel in the award-winning Detective Hiroshi Series of mysteries set in the exotic metropolis of Tokyo, Japan.
If you’re not familiar yet with these novels, you should get acquainted with them as soon as possible because I can assure you that each is exquisitely written by the esteemed professor and multiple award-winning author, Michael Pronko.
As you should remember if you follow my articles here, I am a huge fan of Michael’s and I am always eagerly awaiting new installments in this captivating series. Azabu Getaway arrives one year after Tokyo Zangyo, the previous excellent installment starring Detective Hiroshi.
I’m really glad to see once again multiple award-winning narrator and actor Peter Berkrot stepping back into Detective Hiroshi’s shoes for this adventure and I can’t wait to see how he handles this latest challenge. The audio production is a little over nine hours and a half in duration, which is quite common for books in this series. Now, let’s take a look at the Publisher’s Summary and find out more about the story of Azabu Getaway. After that, I will tell you a few things about the author and the narrator, because both of them are amazing artists and have been awarded a lot of prizes.
Money isn’t the only thing. It’s the deadly thing.
After the murder of a high-flying executive in one of Tokyo’s wealth management firms, Detective Hiroshi finds himself investigating the financial schemes that secure the money of Tokyo’s elite investors. His forensic accounting gets sidetracked, though, by a second murder and the abduction of two girls from the home of a hotshot wealth manager.
The abducted girls are the daughters of an international couple who seemed to have it all—a large apartment in the high-end Azabu district, top schools for the children, and a life of happy affluence. Their life falls apart and they are swept up in threats and pursuits for reasons they cannot fathom.
Tracking the money and tracking the two daughters leads Hiroshi into Tokyo’s murky financial past and outside Japan’s borders as he discovers how overseas investments and tax shelters are really managed.
Hiroshi works with Sakaguchi and Takamatsu and others on the homicide team, including an assertive new detective, as they confront greed and violence in one of the wealthiest cities in the world.
Critic Reviews:
“A series that’s only getting better.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“If there’s a better crime series set in Japan, I’ve not yet read it.” (Crime Thriller Hound)
“Hiroshi is one of the most distinctive and intrepid detectives in contemporary crime fiction.” (Best Thrillers)
“Fans of quality police procedurals will welcome more of Hiroshi.” (Publishers Weekly)
Michael Pronko is a Tokyo-based writer of murder, memoir and music. His writing about Tokyo life and taut character-driven mysteries have won awards and five-star reviews. Kirkus Reviews selected his second novel, The Moving Blade for their Best Books of 2018. The Last Train won the Shelf Unbound Competition for Best Independently Published Book.
Michael runs the website, Jazz in Japan, which covers the vibrant jazz scene in Tokyo and Yokohama. During his 20 years in Japan, he has written about Japanese culture, art, society and politics for Newsweek Japan, The Japan Times, and Artscape Japan. He has read his essays on NHK TV and done programs for Nippon Television based on his writings.
A philosophy major, Michael traveled for years, ducking in and out of graduate schools, before finishing his PhD on Charles Dickens and film, and finally settling in Tokyo as a professor of American Literature at Meiji Gakuin University. His seminars focus on contemporary novels, short stories and film adaptations. You can find out more about Michael by visiting www.michaelpronko.com.
A veteran of stage and screen, Peter Berkrot‘s career spans four decades. Highlights include feature roles in Caddyshack and Showtime’s Brotherhood, and appearances on America’s Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. His voice can be heard on television, radio, video games, documentaries and industrials. He is a prominent acting coach and a regular contributor to the award-winning news program Frontline produced by WGBH in Boston.
Peter served as director of narration for the Emmy-nominated The Truth About Cancer. He has also voiced almost 500 audiobooks and more than 300 for children, winning 10 Earphones Awards and a 2012 Audie Award nomination. He received SOVAS awards in 2018 and 2019. His 2016 Audie Award was as part of a multi cast performance for THE STARLING PROJECT, starring Alfred Molina and was part of the ensemble in the Audible Original THE X-FILES: COLD CASES starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.
He was honored along with a brilliant cast of actors for THE VAULT OF HORROR, directed by William Dufris with an Independent Audiobook Award for AUDIO DRAMA. Favorite titles include Toby and the Secrets of the Tree by Timotee de Fombelle, Unholy Night by Seth Grahame- Smith, The Accident by Linwood Barclay, The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben H. Winters, the Junior Bender series for Timothy Hallinan and Caddyshack: The making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story in which he is also featured as a character.
Stay tuned for my review of Azabu Getaway in the upcoming weeks, but until then take care, stay safe, and don’t forget, always listen with your heart!
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Victor Dima
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