Review: The Last Train by Michael Pronko, read by Peter Berkrot
The Last Train is the first book in the Detective Hiroshi series of mysteries by award-winning author Michael Pronko, set in Tokyo, Japan. This is the second time I listened to an audiobook version of this superb story and I can say without a doubt that Peter Berkrot, the new narrator, is a great addition to these novels. Below, you’ll find a short, spoiler free, review for this great story.
In The Last Train the story follows Detective Hiroshi Shimizu of the Tokyo Police Department as he is pulled from his safe desk job into an investigation about the suspicious deaths of some very wealthy individuals, residents of Japan and even a few foreigners. Working alongside his colleagues, he discovers that the victims are related and realize they might have on their hands a case which won’t be easy to solve.
Filled with drama, murder, police work and even occasional comedy, The Last Train picks up speed from the intense beginning and keeps the listener on the edge of their seat until the heartbreaking conclusion.
Michael Pronko is a Professor of literature at a prestigious Tokyo university and he is living in Japan for more than 20 years now. I found his insights into the Japanese culture very interesting and it is evident how much he loves and respects their customs and beliefs. All of the above are reflected into a well written story of The Last Train, making the experience richer and completly immersive.
The audio version of The Last Train is brought to life by renowned narrator, talented actor and award-winning voiceover artist Peter Berkrot. Drawing from his experience of over 40 years in the entertainment industry, Peter brings all the characters, locations and events to life in a perfect performance.
Just like he did with Tokyo Traffic, the third book in this series, he reads in a calm, soothing voice, infuses the events with just the right level of emotion and switches with ease between voices and accents. It seems that he settles very well into Detective Hiroshi’s shoes and manages to capture and relay all the nuances in The Last Train.
I especially respect the fact that Peter took the time to learn how to pronounce words and names in Japanese, offering an even more elevated narrative experience to the listener.
Fans of Murder Mysteries and of Police Procedurals should pick The Last Train up without hesitation. This first book in the Detective Hiroshi series reminded me of the earlier Harry Bosch novels by best-selling author Michael Connelly, but in place of the wellbitten streets of Los Angeles, United States, the action takes place in the exotic and mysterious city of Tokyo, Japan.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I love this series, its characters and the setting, so I highly recommend the entire Detective Hiroshi series by Michael Pronko to all fans of good mysteries.
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Victor Dima
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