The Death Ceremony

Tetsuo Otani #7

by James Melville

While attending a ritualistic Japanese tea ceremony, Superintendent Otani becomes a witness to the shooting murder of the Grand Master

Genres: Mystery, Japan

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Roy Peter Martin is an English author who has written under the pseudonyms James Melville and Hampton Charles.

James Melville was born in London in 1931 and educated in North London. He read philosophy at Birkbeck College before being conscripted into the RAF, then took up school-teaching and adult education. Most of his subsequent career has been spent overseas in cultural diplomacy and educational development, and it was in this capacity that he came to know, love, and write about Japan and the Japanese. His Superintendent Otani crime novels combines superb story-telling with a fascinating insight into modern Japanese life. He has also written an historical novel set in Japan, The Imperial Way.

Reviews

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series particularly for its Japanese history/culture insights, as well as the human ones.

The who dunnit part and why is excellent, but I found the back stories of several people to be even more fascinating.

And the English don't come off as being particularly polite, especially in a culture that values that above much else.

[John Dyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of Melville's books I've read so far.