Tokyo Zangyo by Michael Pronko
TITLE INFORMATION
Tokyo Zangyo
Michael Pronko
Raked Gravel Press, 340 pages
9781942410256, 7.30.21
BOOK REVIEW
Overall Rating = 4.67
Storyline & Concept = 4.5
Writing & Delivery = 5
Editorial = 4.5
Tokyo Zangyo, the fourth in the series by Michael Pronko, features Detective Hiroshi and his troupe of sidekicks, who are called upon to investigate the death of a manager of a large Japanese media company. While some want to write it off as a suicide, Hiroshi is forced to dig into the mire of unpaid overtime and harassment common to Japanese workplaces in order to discover the truth.
Michael Pronko has created a varied and intriguing cast of characters to complement the hard-working and empathetic protagonist, Hiroshi, and to bring several layers of entertainment to the story. Pronko takes the reader deep into the culture of Japanese businesses and gives us insight into the rigid expectations of the Nippon hierarchy and the toxic effect they have on employees. He exposes the Japanese lifestyle with vivid descriptions of Tokyo, the food, and the people, adding a heavy dose of charm to the narrative. Hiroshi is an interesting and relatable character, and it’s easy to understand how he has carried this series to four books (and hopefully more to come). As this was my first experience with Pronko’s writing, I will definitely be checking out the first three in the series.
Sublime Line: “Tokyo Zangyo is an attention-grabbing police procedural that checks off all the boxes for a winning mystery.”
Sublime Book Review
sbr@sublimebookreview.com
www.sublimebookreview.com
