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Michael Pronko
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Tokyo Traffic (Detective Hiroshi) Paperback – June 20, 2020

by Michael Pronko (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 649 ratings
See all formats and editions
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  1. Foreword INDIES Book of the Year AwardWinner, 2020
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Running from a life she didn't choose, in a city she doesn't know

Sukanya, a young Thai girl, escapes into Tokyo. With her Bangkok street smarts, she stays ahead of traffickers willing to do anything to recover the computer she took when she fled a murder scene. After befriending Chiho, a Japanese girl living in an internet café, Sukanya tries to rid herself of her pursuers, and her past, forever.

In Tokyo, street smarts aren't always enough

Detective Hiroshi Shimizu leaves the safe confines of his office to investigate a triple murder at a porn studio. The studio's accounts point him in multiple directions at once. Together with ex-sumo wrestler Sakaguchi and old-school Takamatsu, Hiroshi tracks the killers through Tokyo's teen hangouts, bayside docks, and crowded squares, straight into the underbelly of the global economy.

As bodies wash up from Tokyo Bay, Hiroshi tries to find the Thai girl whose name he doesn't even know. He uncovers trafficking rings and cryptocurrency scammers whose connections extend to the highest levels of Tokyo's power elite.

TOKYO TRAFFIC is the third in the Tokyo-based Detective Hiroshi series by award-winning author Michael Pronko.
 
Gold Award Literary Titan (2020)
Gold Medallion Book Readers Appreciation Group (B.R.A.G.) (2020)
Long-listed Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book (2020)
Reviewer's Choice Feathered Quill Book Awards (2020)
Winner Thriller Independent Press Award (2021)
Winner Thriller National Indie Excellence Awards (2021)
First Runner-Up Eric Hoffer Award 2021
Shortlist Rubery Book Awards for fiction 2021
Previous page
  1. Book 3 of 6
    Detective Hiroshi Series
  2. Print length
    294 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Raked Gravel Press
  5. Publication date
    June 20, 2020
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.66 x 8.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1942410190
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1942410195
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great page-turner with real tension towards the endand I hope that it won't be too long before we hear more about Hiroshi," The Bookbag. ★★★★

"A dark and striking thriller with an indelible cast and setting," Kirkus Reviews.

"Starts fast and doesn't let up on its breakneck pace until bodies (both living and dead) are strewn all over the place," Pacific Book Review.

"With Tokyo Traffic, Pronko further establishes Hiroshi as one of the most distinctive and intrepid detectives in contemporary crime fiction," Best Thrillers.

"This is a classic thriller in terms of the gritty atmosphere, the dark characters and the brave and slightly broken hero," The Wishing Shelf. ★★★★★

"Pronko develops characters that leap off the page. We want them to escape, we want them to get caught, we want them to solve the case," Chanticleer Book Reviews. ★★★★★

"Combining old-fashioned gumshoeing with modern-day social conventions, Pronko's tale is as much a Tokyo detective's diary as it is a gritty underworld whodunit," US Review of Books.

"Tokyo is described in all of its beauty and ugliness, where the sparkling world of music clubs, internet cafes and teen hangouts are tainted by a dismaying traffic of young people," Advicesbooks.

"Pronko's characters are fully developed, his dialogue is authentic, and his writing is clear and concise," San Francisco Book Review. ★★★★½

"It's clear the author knows Japan deep in his soul. Pronko is also a masterful storyteller. As the narrative's tension builds, readers will find themselves racing toward the inexorable moment when police, victims and villains collide," Blue Ink Review. Starred Review

"A high-energy thriller set in the gruesome world of human trafficking and child pornography, TOKYO TRAFFIC keeps the adrenaline pumping until the very end," IndieReader. ★★★★½

"The novel gives us deep insight into the criminal underbelly of Japan and how the different criminal activities are inter-related and inter-dependent on each other," Reedsy Discovery. ★★★★★

"A story that winds through Tokyo's streets and Hiroshi's heart alike, drawing readers through a dangerous game that culminates in an unexpected, satisfying conclusion," Midwest Book Review.

"Taut and terse, this noir novel is executed to perfection," Foreword Clarion Reviews. ★★★★★

"Pronko creates the backdrop to this story as if it is a character all on its own and invites readers into this colorful world in an easy yet striking way. Thrilling crime fiction set in an exotic location," Literary Titan. ★★★★★
"Raw and gripping, told by a confident, complex, and creative author. Pronko is deeply in tune with emotional language and human connection. Moments of intimacy and closeness are told with the same authenticity as the most gritty and suspenseful passages in the prose. As has been true for all of the Detective Hiroshi novels, Pronko beautifully captures the alluring and mysterious essence of Tokyo. Such a thorough immersion in a culture and people allows for an unusually intimate understanding of the cultural nuance and minutiae, which makes the reading experience rich and addictive. As both a love letter to Japan and a bold condemnation of certain human rights crises still alive and well in our modern world, Tokyo Traffic is a superlative addition to the Detective Hiroshi series." Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★★

About the Author

Michael Pronko is a Tokyo-based writer of murder, memoir and music. His writing about Tokyo life and his 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 also 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. He finally settled in Tokyo as a professor of American Literature at Meiji Gakuin University. His seminars focus on contemporary novels, short stories and film adaptations.

 

More about Michael's life and writings in Tokyo at:
michaelpronko.com  
facebook.com/pronkoauthor
twitter.com/pronkomichael

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Raked Gravel Press (June 20, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 294 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1942410190
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1942410195
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.66 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 649 ratings

About the author

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Michael Pronko

Michael Pronko

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Michael Pronko is a Tokyo-based writer of murder, memoir, and music. His writing about Tokyo life and his 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 also 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. He finally settled in Tokyo as a professor of American Literature at Meiji Gakuin University. His seminars focus on contemporary novels, short stories and film adaptations.

“All of my books are set in Tokyo, a city I’ve become addicted to for its size, sweep, and speed. It’s an amazing place to experience on a daily basis, to try to get hold of. I’m still overwhelmed by it at times, maybe most of the time, but writing about Tokyo in both fiction and non-fiction is one way to understand the place, and to understand myself, too,” Michael said.

“I’ve come to feel that our lives are constructed by stories. We all have problems, conflicts, and confusions, but also moments when the sheer beauty of the world shines through. Thinking of those ups and downs, I feel stories are essential to live more freely and more creatively. They restore our humanity. Stories are also great fun! I feel privileged to keep working with stories and to be able to share those stories with others.”

More about Michael’s life and writings in Tokyo at:

www.michaelpronko.com

facebook.com/pronkoauthor

twitter.com/pronkomichael

www.instagram.com/michaelpronko

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
649 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

sandrajean wainwright
5.0 out of 5 stars good fast read
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2024
Verified Purchase
well it is unfortunate that I left this book in the Palm Springs airport half read....! because it was interesting enough to replace. the Japanese culture, included in the story, is worth the book alone. fascinating.
the company that sold the book was on time and the book in excellent condition.
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Paul
4.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
I have been reading the Hiroshima series in order so far, and each one has been better than the last, overall. There was just one thing that bothered me about this one: without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that there’s a sequence that looks like one thing but then gets explained to be something else. It is the first time that the author has used this technique, and it felt like I had been tricked.
But overall, it was a good read. I recommend it.
One person found this helpful
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DAE
5.0 out of 5 stars Tokyo Traffic
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
Hiroshi is more engaged, takes more risks, holds and uses his accounting insights and understanding. His assistant gains identity by having more involvement, more acceptance of her having independent decision-making. The two female characters at the center of the plot are superbly developed. The unfolding swirls around them
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John Arthur Bacon
4.0 out of 5 stars Modern Japanese Culture
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2020
Verified Purchase
Pronko describes life in Tokyo excellently. Great job with character development. Romance not corny. He's really a skilled storyteller.
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Agamemnon
3.0 out of 5 stars Human Trafficking
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
Human trafficking is the business of stealing freedom for profit.
This is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion against the most vulnerable women and children in the world.
This was an okay read. The book had too much filler. Pages of what the characters were eating and what clothes they were wearing. I wanted too read about the struggle the women go through, how the financing works, and what the police do to stop the exploitation of the most vulnerable people.

"Pornography is what men make. Passion-ography is what women make." -Haruka
Gotcha

"You think money is the root of all evil." -Takamatsu
"No, but it finances it." -Hiroshi
4 people found this helpful
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dr lish
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good read
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
Pronko's books are always engaging, with very real and likeable characters (except the real and unlikeable villains) I learn a lot about Tokyo and Japanese policing and culture today.
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InVinoVeritas
5.0 out of 5 stars Another vicarious trip to the Tokyo underworld with Hiroshi
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2023
Verified Purchase
Pronko's characters, from Hiroshi to his former sumo and rugby playing colleagues make for an interesting cast. The plot deals with the gruesome aspect of human trafficking, porn and its finances (as well as the creeps that run it) - the story is pretty gripping until the end.
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novalax
4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, but a timely and disturbing plot
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
Compelling story about human trafficking, but the action seemed stilted. This did not have the insight into the Japanese mentally and culture that the prior books did, but that may have been by design. A good, but not great, read
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Lagoon
3.0 out of 5 stars Didn’t grab me.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
Tokyo always makes for a vibrant crime fiction setting. Whilst descriptions of the food had my mouth watering, the story, unfortunately, did not have me salivating. The aspects concerning cryptocurrencies and the porn industry in Japan were enlightening but there was a lack of pace and menace throughout. I never felt that the young lady on the run was in any real danger and the bad guys didn’t seem particularly evil.
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Ben Sandford
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
Reviewed in Australia on October 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
Brilliant read, strong characters and believable story, very very interesting plot, and its good to see Detective Hiroshi continuing on
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graeme W
4.0 out of 5 stars Convoluted but Fascinating
Reviewed in Australia on May 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
I have now read the three Detective Hiroshi series. I started with book 2. Haha I had to write down the names of the protagonists because otherwise, I had to go back to check who they were!. Also the settings were somewhat confusing until I got into the meat of the novel. After I finished book 1, I was more relaxed with the characters and current and historical settings.,Now half way through book 3, I am totally involved with the intricacies and fast flow of the story. Great read!!!!
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