Idolmaker

Only In Tokyo Mystery #3

by Jonelle Patrick

A Japanese pop star is swept away in the tsunami following a devastating earthquake, and her fans erupt in a frenzy of mourning. In the wake of the disaster, Detective Kenji Nakamura is sent to investigate a death at a local shrine, but amid the rubble he finds evidence that suggests the impossible: How could the head priest have been murdered by the dead idol? It doesn’t help that the star’s body is still missing, and Kenji’s childhood friend Yumi Hata refuses to believe that her favorite artist is dead. She launches her own investigation to convince Kenji he’s on the wrong track. But by the time their race for the truth lands them backstage at a sold-out memorial concert for the dead guitarist, the one thing they’ve both learned is just how quickly the hunters can become the hunted.

Genres: Mystery, Japan, Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2013

About the author

Jonelle Patrick is the author of five novels set in Japan, and has been writing about Japanese culture and travel since she first moved to Tokyo in 2003. In addition to The Last Tea Bowl Thief and the Only In Tokyo mystery series, she produces the monthly newsletter Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and on her travel site, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.

She also teaches at writing workshops, appears as a panelist at Thrillerfest, and was the keynote speaker at the Arrow Rock Writing Workshop.

She’s a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Language Institute, she’s also a member of the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. She divides her time between Tokyo and San Francisco.

Author website: https://jonellepatrick.com
Only In Japan blog: http://jonellepatrick.me
Monthly newsletter: https://japanagram.me
Facebook: JonellePatrickAuthor
Twitter: @jonellepatrick
Instagram: @jonellepatrick

Reviews

[i. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third novel of the Only in Tokyo series and perhaps my favourite one. Jonelle Patricks takes the reader into the world of idols in Japan and also shows the devastating consequences of a tsunami.

I love the characters in this series. Yumi, a Japanese girl with modern ideas who is trapped in an unpleasant engagement.Kenji Nakamura, a brave detective who is madly in love with her. Suzuki, an expert on kanji characters and Oki an amateur psychologist, both skilful police officers at the Komagone police station and many interesting characters who depict different aspects of life in Japan.

The plot in this novel is as engaging as in the previous ones and the final chapters will keep you reading nonstop.

All in all another wonderful book set in modern Tokyo for lovers of Japanese culture and avid readers. To make the series even more amazing, the author includes several photographs at the end of each book that will take you to Tokyo and enable you to understand their culture much better.

www.theleisurediaries.blogspot.com

[Adelyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book of the Only in Tokyo series, and the last of the currently available four that I’m reading (I say currently available because I really hope there’s more in the pipeline, I really want more of Yumi and Kenji!). Although the cases are generally independent and the books can thus be read as stand-alones, having read all four I’d really recommend reading them in order as there are references to previous books in the ones that come later. It’s usually obvious what was in the prior storylines (or work-out-able from the context), but I imagine it would have been more enjoyable to follow the storyline from the start. For instance, this one ends with a lead into the fourth book, which would have been an amazing cliffhanger had I not already read the latter.

This one specifically I thought started off a bit too slowly. This could be because the cultural focus of this book (idol fandom in Japan), which tends to be the best part of the Only in Tokyo series of books, appealed to me less than the focus chosen in the other books (Roppongi / host cafes / arranged marriages to name a few). In the first bit of the book, I found that I was significantly more invested in the scenes at the shrine and less interested in Yumi running around with the idols, although suffice to say the storylines merge about halfway through and I thought it really got better from there.

I was slightly disappointed that I managed to guess the Flame / Taiga relationship as well as the Jimmy Harajuku / idols thing fairly early on, and there wasn’t really a twist in the tale, thought this one was a bit too obvious and unlike the other books which kept me guessing for far longer. Yumi also seems to be a bit of a less “clever investigator” in this one, she seemed to have a more structured approach in some of the other books which made her a really fun character to read about – investigating on the by-line without actual official credentials to be doing so. I suppose this in part shows how fans are like when around their idols (alluding to a more emotional, non-professional side of our protagonists I guess, the way Painted Doll brings out a different side of Kenji – though I thought that one was better done), which is a big thing in the Korea/Japan part of the world.

Some fellow readers of this series on another books forum platform that I’m on commented that she wasn’t too big a fan of the loveline in general, while I agree can be slightly cliché in parts I’m generally enjoying the overarching loveline that stretches across the books. It’s really cute how Kenji looks out for Yumi, his childhood crush, but then again I’m a bit of a sucker for these kinds of love stories.

All in all, for a mystery, this one still did a fairly good job and one that I enjoyed reading. The closing scenes were narrated far too quickly (everything was wrapped up in only the space of a couple of chapters) and I was disappointed that it wasn’t more unexpected, but I enjoyed the ride nonetheless. 4 stars.

[Timothy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Tokyo, an earthquake can put a crimp in your wedding plans. But only a murder can put the kibosh on them. That's right, we're back with detective Kenji Nakamura, the love of his life Yumi (who's about to say I do to someone else) judo sensei Sgt. Oki, and the most important character in this series, Tokyo itself.
And this time we're in the mad world of Japanese teen music idols. Now I'm guessing that the world of teen music idols is probably crazy worldwide, but nowhere near as crazy as in Tokyo, where they seem to squeeze them out like sausage. Is there murder? Of course. A couple ok 'em. And perversion? A soupcon. And a manhunt (or rather a woman-hunt which becomes...oh, never mind).
What you need to know is that there are more satisfying twists and turns than ever, against a backdrop which mixes ancient customs with cutting-edge culture by an author who knows and loves Japan down to her toes.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

After previously reading book number 2 in the Only in Tokyo series, Fallen Angel, I was thrilled when Jonelle contacted me asking if I would like to read Idolmaker, and I was even more thrilled when I started reading and found that Detective Nakamura and Yumi Hata were both back, as I love these characters!

Fallen Angel was such a brilliant mystery with incredible twists and turns to the plot, I desperately hoped Idolmaker would be the same, and I was not left disappointed! With an intricately weaved web of suspects and fantastic characters, yet again Jonelle got me with a mystery I just couldn’t work out for myself and the ending left me amazed at how cleverly she had worked her plot.

As someone with very little knowledge of pretty much anything Japanese related, and I admitted in my last review I struggled with a few things, I found myself easily picking up some of the ‘un-known to me’ parts of the story thanks to the incredible way Jonelle explains things in an easy to understand way, and by the end of the book the terminology and such were easy for me to understand what I was reading.

Idolmaker focuses on the pop star life in Japan, and I again, had my eyes opened and it was fascinating to read, with some larger than life characters that I loved, but also we learn a bit about the happenings that occur when an earthquake, followed by a tsunami, hit. Its common knowledge that these natural disasters occur too regularly in Japan so again my eyes were opened and the injection of reality in the book was brilliant.

I don’t want to give anything away about the ending, but I have been rooting for this since Fallen Angel, so I was super happy with what happened as the book progressed and by the end. I also loved the way Idolmaker was left wide open for the next book in the saga and I cannot wait.

I read these books in e-book form, and I don’t often buy real books now, but the stunning covers of these books and how amazing I am finding these stories, I will be buying myself these books to have pride of place on my bookshelf!

[Cinta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Even though it is the third book in a series and I haven't read the previous ones... yet, I have enjoyed this book very much. Since every book deals with a different mystery, they can be read like stand-alone novels. I have always felt some sort of fascination for the Japanese culture and this book is a good example of how to reflect perfectly a different culture to the one the author belongs to. And the author does that in an amazing way.

In the wake of a deadly disaster, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Detective Kenji Nakamura and English translator Yumi Hata suspect a killer has seized a perfect opportunity to commit the perfect crime. There is an earthquake and a Tsunami in Tokyo, right the day when Yumi was going to get married. However, the wedding gets cancelled when they discover that the priest who was going to officiate the wedding has died in the earthquake. But his death doesn't seem to be an accident. Detective Nakamura starts investigating and discovers that the apparent death of a pop idol can be related to the priest's death. What's going on? Will they solve the mystery? Will Yumy get married after all of this?

The story is good and it has some twists that keep you turning the pages non-stop. The characters are very well developed and each of them has a distinctive voice. For me, that's a big achievement. However, I think that this book could have made good use of the inclusion of a glossary, because it contains a lot of Japanese words and expressions that weren't too clear for me. It shows that the author knows Japan and its language very well, but it can make the reader feel confused. It also had some predictable bits, but overall it is a great story and I highly recommend it to anybody who like reading thrillers set in different cultures. The descriptions are amazing without being overwhelming and it make you feel that you are in Tokyo. A good read.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book via NetGalley to give an honest review.

When starting the book I was getting kind of confused with the characters as the names were a bit different for me and they seemed to run together at times. But after getting about a 1/4 of the way into the book I was able to distinguished the characters and the story started getting good.
This book is part of a series but you can read them as a stand-alone which is really good. You start off with a murder and then you start on the path with Detective Kenja and Okai to finding out who did it. With the help of Yumi who I am not certain what her job is, but in this book she is a translator for some musicians. Now there is a bit of romance but it is not all the gushy stuff that you normally find in murder mysteries that involve a man and a woman.
We get pulled into a world where a priest is murdered, a earthquake and a tsunami hits, a guitarist is either missing or dead and the detectives have their hands full with trying to figure everything out. With Idoalmaker there is a lot of Japan's pop cultural that makes the story and I have to say I liked it truly.
I enjoy Japanese inspired things and I was really glad that the author did a good job with creating the world, the traditions, and even using some of the words within the story. Though I didn't know what they meant I think the author could have probably used maybe a glossary lettings us readers know what the words meant.

Overall a great story that I would highly recommend. I plan on reading more from this author to get a full grasps on the characters and the world that has been created in Japan.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was given this complimentary copy of Idolmaker by the author, Jonelle Patrick for an honest review.

I can't believe I am finished with yet another of the Tokyo Mysteries. I so love this series. Though I have tagged this as romance, it isn't led by that squishy, gooey stuff rather, these are people and caring is a part of their being.

These books do start with a murder and a wonder as to who did it and why. But the most important feature of the books is the character driven adventure of the two main characters, Yumi and Kenji. Thrown in the recent historical event of earthquake and tsunami, the criminal investigation is thrown for a loop.

The characters are believable and likable. I feel I have become friends with them through Jonelle Patrick's ability to write from each character's point of view.

Oh, what the couple goes through! Then the book wraps up nicely with only a small thread that gives promise that I don't have to give up on my favorite Japanese couple. :-)

Thanks for letting me read this, Jonelle!

[Kristin Scearce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received in e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

She's done it again! This series has yet to disappoint me; it's only gotten better over time. The characters jump off the page, and her sense of imagery knows no bounds, as I always picture myself actually IN Japan. I hope for another book in this series soon, as I'd love to know more about Yumi and Kenji and how their story continues.

5 stars =)

[Marina Sofia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do I detect a jibe at Simon Cowell here? Great fun and some fascinating insights about Japan, arranged marriages, celebrity culture and temple politics. It got a little bit messy towards the end (perhaps veering more towards slapstick than truly menacing), especially when I compare it with the previous one in the series, Fallen Angel (much more sinister).