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Simon Rowe

Goodreads Author

Born

Rotorua, New Zealand

Website

https://www.mightytales.net/

Twitter

mistersism

Genre

Fiction, Classics, Mystery

Influences

Raymond Chandler, Graham Greene, Matusmoto Seicho, Kaoru Takamura, Mat ...more

Member Since

February 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/simonrowe

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Simon Rowe has lived in Japan for more than 28 years, winning numerous awards for his short fiction and screenplays, including Good Night Papa (2013 Asian Short Screenplay Contest) and Pearl City: Stories from Japan and Elsewhere (2021 Best Indie Book Award).

His stories about Japanese life and culture have appeared in The Paris Review, the New York Times, TIME (Asia), the South China Morning Post, The Straits Times, The Australian, and the Australian Financial Review

He is originally from New Zealand.

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Combine Editions
Simon Rowe’s books

Average rating: 3.91 · 262 ratings · 84 reviews · 8 distinct works • Similar authors

	Mami Suzuki: Private Eye 3.87 avg rating — 148 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	FLESH: A Southeast Asian Urban Anthology by Cassandra Khaw (Goodreads Author) (editor), Angeline Woon (Goodreads Author) (editor), Terence Toh (Goodreads Author) 3.38 avg rating — 48 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pearl City: Stories from Japan and Elsewhere 4.39 avg rating — 33 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Good Night Papa: Short Stories from Japan and Elsewhere 4.50 avg rating — 18 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Noir Nation No. 3 - India by Gila Green (Goodreads Author), Eddie Vega (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Kshemendra 4.50 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Another Time Another Place: A Collection of Short Stories by Monica Cook (Editor), Sarah Mokrzycki (Editor), Anna de Souza (Contributor) 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Zawadi & other short stories 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Noir Nation No. 7: The Golden Fedora Poetry Prize Issue really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Simon Rowe's Blog

Travelling North: A Hitchhiker's Tale

Uramoto-san was short, in his thirties, with a buzz cut and a smile that practically broke his face in half. At eight p.m. he fired up his Fuso and told me to jump in. We would be carrying a consignment of senbei to Kōfu city in Yamanashi prefecture, he said. As we pulled out of Himeji under stormy skies, I imagined the accident scene—the cops, ambulance crew, everyone standing around munching o Read more of this blog post »

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Published on February 09, 2025 04:27

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Simon is Currently Reading

Simon Rowe is currently reading

Never Let Me Go

by Kazuo Ishiguro (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 22, 2016 04:41PM

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Simon’s Recent Updates

Simon Rowe liked Hazel Edwards's review of Pearl City: Stories from Japan and Elsewhere: " In Pearl City, Ms Suzuki is the single mother of a young child, but also a Japanese sleuth who solves cases and still works shifts as a hotel receptionist. She intrigued me. She's a contemporary woman juggling roles. This is the leading short story " Read more of this review »
Feb 19, 2026 05:41PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Pearl City by Simon Rowe. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Pearl City by Simon Rowe <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Simon Rowe and 160 other people liked Deb's review of Shuggie Bain: ""Shuggie eventually grew bored with the brutality." (p. 375) Me too, but a lot sooner. "
Dec 18, 2025 04:21PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Simon Rowe liked Nanda Qonita's review of Detektif Swasta Mami Suzuki: "I like detective stories. This one is on the light side of the genre. Fun, enjoyable, and... the resolution of the cases isn't conventional. It's new to me. Making it distinctive from other detective stories. But, I think 1 book is enough. No need for" Read more of this review »
Oct 09, 2025 06:05PM · see review
Simon Rowe liked Hujan Buku's review of Detektif Swasta Mami Suzuki: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Oct 09, 2025 06:05PM · see review
Simon Rowe made a comment on Trevor Raichura’s review of Pearl City: Stories from Japan and Elsewhere " Thanks Trevor. More coming in '25! Thanks Trevor. More coming in '25! ...more "
Jan 12, 2025 04:16PM · see review
Simon Rowe rated a book it was amazing Countdown to Decryption by DC Palter (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A rollicking read which reminded me a lot of of Dan Brown's cyber thriller "Digital Fortress", only with more dry humor and Japanese sake (or should that be humor and dry sake?). Although this is the second installment in the Ted Hara series, it's ea ...more
Jul 14, 2024 05:42AM · 1 like · like · see review
Simon Rowe is now following Ari's Library \|\| booksandpieces and Krutika
Mar 25, 2024 06:02PM

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Simon’s Quotes

“I'm an occasional drinker, the kind of guy who goes out for a beer and wakes up in Singapore with a full beard.”
― Raymond Chandler, Philip Marlowe's Guide to Life

tags: dicks

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