Sayonara, Sweet Amaryllis

Tetsuo Otani #5

by James Melville

A clash of cultures, specifically, the Japanese taste of fugu fish and the Western delight in madrigal singing, lies at the heart of the unorthodox crime confounding Inspector Otani, whose investigation points to the guilt of one of his own aides

Genres: Japan, Mystery, Crime

196 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

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 3 out of 5]

I had the feeling I missed a lot going on in this story. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly gripping. It was rather like listening to someone telling me the story, and I wasn't listening closely enough, apparently.

There was a madrigal singing group, someone was murdered, and somehow drug smuggling is involved and so is Ninja's son..

The books where Otani and Hanae talk are more interesting to me.

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Inspector Otani mystery. This one deals with the difficult Korean-Japanese relationship. There is not as much detail on Otani's marriage and home life, which is a shame, as it weakens the interest in the setting, although the death by fugu poisoning is of interest.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a great mystery but a v interesting profile of Japan in the period shortly after WW2.