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Mr. Moto #2
Thank You Mr Moto
In this story of suspense and intrigue in the Far East, Mr. Moto comes up against some very clever people who are all plaoying high stakes - stakes which involve eight old Chinese scrolls and the destiny of two countries and perhaps the entire world.
278 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1936
28 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
John P. Marquand
92 books60 followersPulitzer Prize for Novel in 1938 for The Late George Apley
John Phillips Marquand (November 10, 1893 – July 16, 1960) was an American writer. Originally best known for his Mr. Moto spy stories, he achieved popular success and critical respect for his satirical novels, winning a Pulitzer Prize for The Late George Apley in 1938. One of his abiding themes was the confining nature of life in America's upper class and among those who aspired to join it. Marquand treated those whose lives were bound by these unwritten codes with a characteristic mix of respect and satire.
By the mid-1930s he was a prolific and successful writer of fiction for slick magazines like the Saturday Evening Post. Some of these short stories were of an historical nature as had been Marquand's first two novels (The Unspeakable Gentleman and The Black Cargo). These would later be characterized by Marquand as “costume fiction”, of which he stated that an author “can only approximate (his characters) provided he has been steeped in the (relevant) tradition”. Marquand had abandoned “costume fiction” by the mid-1930s.
In the late-1930s, Marquand began producing a series of novels on the dilemmas of class, most centered on New England. The first of these, The Late George Apley (1937), a satire of Boston's upper class, won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1938. Other Marquand novels exploring New England and class themes include Wickford Point (1939), H.M. Pulham, Esquire (1941), and Point of No Return (1949). The last is especially notable for its satirical portrayal of Harvard anthropologist W. Lloyd Warner, whose Yankee City study attempted (and in Marquand's view, dismally failed) to describe and analyze the manners and mores of Marquand's Newburyport
John Phillips Marquand (November 10, 1893 – July 16, 1960) was an American writer. Originally best known for his Mr. Moto spy stories, he achieved popular success and critical respect for his satirical novels, winning a Pulitzer Prize for The Late George Apley in 1938. One of his abiding themes was the confining nature of life in America's upper class and among those who aspired to join it. Marquand treated those whose lives were bound by these unwritten codes with a characteristic mix of respect and satire.
By the mid-1930s he was a prolific and successful writer of fiction for slick magazines like the Saturday Evening Post. Some of these short stories were of an historical nature as had been Marquand's first two novels (The Unspeakable Gentleman and The Black Cargo). These would later be characterized by Marquand as “costume fiction”, of which he stated that an author “can only approximate (his characters) provided he has been steeped in the (relevant) tradition”. Marquand had abandoned “costume fiction” by the mid-1930s.
In the late-1930s, Marquand began producing a series of novels on the dilemmas of class, most centered on New England. The first of these, The Late George Apley (1937), a satire of Boston's upper class, won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1938. Other Marquand novels exploring New England and class themes include Wickford Point (1939), H.M. Pulham, Esquire (1941), and Point of No Return (1949). The last is especially notable for its satirical portrayal of Harvard anthropologist W. Lloyd Warner, whose Yankee City study attempted (and in Marquand's view, dismally failed) to describe and analyze the manners and mores of Marquand's Newburyport
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 26, 2022
This second book in the Mr. Moto series is a solid step up over the first one. Here is a much more intense story and more psychologically developed main characters. As with the first book, No Hero, Mr. Moto is a secondary figure to the main protagonist, Tom Nelson, and Eleanor Joyce, an art dealer who has beguiled Nelson and leads him into a nest of spies.
But Moto, too, is much more fully fleshed out than in No Hero. In fact, the entire issue of Japan's occupation of China becomes much more complex and hard to define. Marquand actually expresses some degree of understanding for Japan's "manifest destiny" to rule over at least parts of China and the Asian mainland. The only issue is whether that colonialization will be done at the hands of radicals or more moderate Japanese figures. Mr. Moto is made to represent the more moderate and even friendly face of Japan, although once again, as in No Hero, Moto is also depicted as a ruthless killer, if need be.
The scope of the story takes place over only a couple of days in Peking. But Tom Nelson is changed forever during this time. From being an expatriate satisfied with his easy life in China, he reacquires his loyalty to his country. He also comes to see that there will always be a divide, racially, culturally, and spiritually, between the West and the East.
Addendum 26 October 2022: Reading Paul French's Destination Peking, I see that he often refers to Marquand's stay in Peking and how it influenced this book. Well worth reading French for anyone interested in Marquand's Mr. Moto.
But Moto, too, is much more fully fleshed out than in No Hero. In fact, the entire issue of Japan's occupation of China becomes much more complex and hard to define. Marquand actually expresses some degree of understanding for Japan's "manifest destiny" to rule over at least parts of China and the Asian mainland. The only issue is whether that colonialization will be done at the hands of radicals or more moderate Japanese figures. Mr. Moto is made to represent the more moderate and even friendly face of Japan, although once again, as in No Hero, Moto is also depicted as a ruthless killer, if need be.
The scope of the story takes place over only a couple of days in Peking. But Tom Nelson is changed forever during this time. From being an expatriate satisfied with his easy life in China, he reacquires his loyalty to his country. He also comes to see that there will always be a divide, racially, culturally, and spiritually, between the West and the East.
Addendum 26 October 2022: Reading Paul French's Destination Peking, I see that he often refers to Marquand's stay in Peking and how it influenced this book. Well worth reading French for anyone interested in Marquand's Mr. Moto.
May 6, 2015
This is a crackling, exciting adventure tale with plenty of intrigue and political wrangling. I especially enjoyed having characters who have some depth and aren’t merely stereotypical representations (a decided problem with many mystery and espionage stories of this period).
Even though he is on the periphery of events, Mr. Moto exerts his influence throughout the events, and I find him to be a fascinating character in spy fiction. Originally designed as an answer to the popularity of Charlie Chan, the more we learn about Mr. Moto, the greater the mystery that he becomes. As a Japanese government agent, his alliances are strongly influenced by the ever-changing politics of the day. This story takes place in Peking, so the enmity between China and Japan plays a key role…and contains some true surprises!
The writer was well-traveled in Asia and his descriptions of the locations ring authentic instead of the usual “exotic imaginings” of many writers who perpetuated “oriental myths.” His characters are also steeped in their culture, demonstrating an outward appearance that belies their true thoughts and attitudes…and perplexes the central characters who are expatriates to the area. The more culturally aware they become, the greater the understanding of what is happening beneath the surface.
Although from the writer’s description, Mr. Moto does not look like the film version wonderfully portrayed by Peter Lorre, I constantly saw the great German actor in his guise whenever Mr. Moto appeared. (THANK YOU, MR. MOTO was also my favorite of the film series, although it was significantly changed from the book. And, no, the book Mr. Moto is not addicted to milk!) The image is a fine one to hold while reading, though.
I definitely recommend this one.
Even though he is on the periphery of events, Mr. Moto exerts his influence throughout the events, and I find him to be a fascinating character in spy fiction. Originally designed as an answer to the popularity of Charlie Chan, the more we learn about Mr. Moto, the greater the mystery that he becomes. As a Japanese government agent, his alliances are strongly influenced by the ever-changing politics of the day. This story takes place in Peking, so the enmity between China and Japan plays a key role…and contains some true surprises!
The writer was well-traveled in Asia and his descriptions of the locations ring authentic instead of the usual “exotic imaginings” of many writers who perpetuated “oriental myths.” His characters are also steeped in their culture, demonstrating an outward appearance that belies their true thoughts and attitudes…and perplexes the central characters who are expatriates to the area. The more culturally aware they become, the greater the understanding of what is happening beneath the surface.
Although from the writer’s description, Mr. Moto does not look like the film version wonderfully portrayed by Peter Lorre, I constantly saw the great German actor in his guise whenever Mr. Moto appeared. (THANK YOU, MR. MOTO was also my favorite of the film series, although it was significantly changed from the book. And, no, the book Mr. Moto is not addicted to milk!) The image is a fine one to hold while reading, though.
I definitely recommend this one.
October 6, 2018
This was more an old fashioned adventure story than a mystery. It had the tried and true story line of the innocent man at the wrong place at the wrong time who finds himself (along with a beautiful girl) in the middle of an international incident. Mr. Moto is actually a secondary character. The setting is China during the time of the Japanese occupation but before WWII had started in Europe. There is much that is stereotyped about the far East but there is still an appreciation for the appeal of the culture. I don't know how or why Marquand decided on the far East for his Moto series, I don't think he was ever there. The appeal of the exotic, I guess.
July 4, 2020
Listened to the audiobook. Kind of a frustrating book, really. I didn’t find the story about intrigue centering on Chinese artwork very interesting, and the main character... I was never even sure what he was doing in China. He didn’t seem to have a job and just seemed to be independently wealthy. He wasn’t very likable or interesting to me, and I got sick of his “but it doesn’t matter, does it” catchphrase. His romance with the girl, I found, was also dumb and pretty forced. I knew Mr. Moto was not a main character, but he was in the book even less than I thought he would be. Still, it’s fairly fast-paced, and it has some interesting depictions and commentary on China.
April 24, 2022
As with "Your Turn, Mr. Moto," our hero is an English-seeming American expatriate who thinks he understands the Mysterious East but gets involved in an intrigue he barely understands, mostly about the search for a MacGuffin, and he falls for a woman who's got a lot more on the ball than he does. The previous novel's heroine was a Russian with a built-in tragic background; here it's an American who keeps insisting she doesn't need to be protected, and who really doesn't, all in all. She's barely paper-thin, but she's feisty. The hero is a pathetic bore who becomes slightly less pathetic when confronted with the plot contrivances.
In "Your Turn, Mr. Moto," Marquand provided a snapshot of the rapidly-changing Japan of 1935, and a sense that war between that country and the U.S. was almost inevitable. Here, the setting is Peking (as Beijing was called in 1936) and the action is mostly among the European enclave. Mr. Moto is an agent for an aggressive, expansive Japanese government, but Marquand defends Japan's aggression as the sort of imperialism that the U.S. and England have been practicing for decades, and sees nothing wrong with Japan controlling China. Partly because China, outside the capital, is a mess of warring factions, but also, partly, because China is so deep and ancient that no outside force can ultimately control it. That's the poetic excuse; basically, Marquand's okay with ruthless power politics. But Mr. Moto is up against a more aggressive element in his own government that's pushing things too fast and too violently, preparing a phony "incident" that will trigger a takeover of Peking. Interestingly, a few weeks before this story started serializing in The Saturday Evening Post, a violent section of the military tried to take over the Japanese government and killed many officials. So this notion of a "much worse" faction is not a fantasy. And, ironically, while Marquand's hero keeps talking about Peking as the safest city in China, one year later, in 1937, the city would in fact fall to the Japanese following a fake incident on the Marco Polo Bridge. At the time, "Thank You, Mr. Moto" was a very contemporary thriller, and the historical context made it especially interesting for me.
In "Your Turn, Mr. Moto," Marquand provided a snapshot of the rapidly-changing Japan of 1935, and a sense that war between that country and the U.S. was almost inevitable. Here, the setting is Peking (as Beijing was called in 1936) and the action is mostly among the European enclave. Mr. Moto is an agent for an aggressive, expansive Japanese government, but Marquand defends Japan's aggression as the sort of imperialism that the U.S. and England have been practicing for decades, and sees nothing wrong with Japan controlling China. Partly because China, outside the capital, is a mess of warring factions, but also, partly, because China is so deep and ancient that no outside force can ultimately control it. That's the poetic excuse; basically, Marquand's okay with ruthless power politics. But Mr. Moto is up against a more aggressive element in his own government that's pushing things too fast and too violently, preparing a phony "incident" that will trigger a takeover of Peking. Interestingly, a few weeks before this story started serializing in The Saturday Evening Post, a violent section of the military tried to take over the Japanese government and killed many officials. So this notion of a "much worse" faction is not a fantasy. And, ironically, while Marquand's hero keeps talking about Peking as the safest city in China, one year later, in 1937, the city would in fact fall to the Japanese following a fake incident on the Marco Polo Bridge. At the time, "Thank You, Mr. Moto" was a very contemporary thriller, and the historical context made it especially interesting for me.
May 10, 2018
Over sixty years ago, I discovered Mr. Moto, Charlie Chan, Boston Blackie, and others on 50’s TV on those Black & White television movies. The Mr. Moto movies include eight motion pictures starring Peter Lorre as Moto between 1937 and 1939. Mr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Later in life, I discovered the delight found in the pages of Earl Derr Bigger’s Charlie Chan novels, also six novels. Now, I am also becoming quite a fan of John P. Marquand's adventures of Mr. Moto. In some ways, there was a greater delight found in the movies of my youth; perhaps because I was younger, but also because the story lines fit into the world as it was then. Now, it reads a bit dated, but in reality so does Fleming’s James Bond printed stories.
“Thank You, Mr. Moto” is set in 1936, pre-WWII, China in the city of Peking (Beijing). This was the second in the Mr. Moto series, begun shortly after Marquand returned from his 1935 China trip. Northern China has been overrun by the Empire of Japan. I do enjoy history, and this story gave me greater insight into what was happening in the Pacific prior to the Second World War. At this time the United State was neutral. The story reveals the beginnings of the People's (Communist) Uprising, martial law in the streets of the City, a charming Prince Tung as well as English and Americans in the area. Within this historical period, Marquand carefully crafted his plot and refined his character of Mr. Moto. Like the Charlie Chan and the Fu Manchu stories, in order to enjoy the stories, the reader will have to ignore some 1930's racial stereotypes – a product of the times. For example, Moto often speaks with broken English, perhaps even a faintly comic English, with elaborate 'Oriental'-style politeness. However, as with Chan, this is used by the character as a device to make people underestimate him. Overall, “Thank You, Mr. Moto” is an enjoyable story.
“Thank You, Mr. Moto” is set in 1936, pre-WWII, China in the city of Peking (Beijing). This was the second in the Mr. Moto series, begun shortly after Marquand returned from his 1935 China trip. Northern China has been overrun by the Empire of Japan. I do enjoy history, and this story gave me greater insight into what was happening in the Pacific prior to the Second World War. At this time the United State was neutral. The story reveals the beginnings of the People's (Communist) Uprising, martial law in the streets of the City, a charming Prince Tung as well as English and Americans in the area. Within this historical period, Marquand carefully crafted his plot and refined his character of Mr. Moto. Like the Charlie Chan and the Fu Manchu stories, in order to enjoy the stories, the reader will have to ignore some 1930's racial stereotypes – a product of the times. For example, Moto often speaks with broken English, perhaps even a faintly comic English, with elaborate 'Oriental'-style politeness. However, as with Chan, this is used by the character as a device to make people underestimate him. Overall, “Thank You, Mr. Moto” is an enjoyable story.
August 24, 2019
Pas terrible, but rather pointless.
All the action takes place in 48 hours. Marquand rings the changes on what is now his stock tale of a rich American boy with (never described) trouble at home, who "goes native" in Peking, all the while condescending to everyone and everything around him: the culture, the city, its history, other people--even himself. He "gets the girl" (and nothing else), "learns his lesson" and goes home. And of course those valuable cultural artefacts are better off in the US than in the country where they were created. Of course! Marquand never travelled in the "mysterious East" before WW2, and it shows.
What was the point of this story? I guess it was an exercise in anti-Chinese propaganda or something. It's all one long stereotype, with Mr Moto as an odd Deus Ex Machina figure who swoops in and sorts it all out, so that...well basically nothing happens, nothing changes, it's all business as usual.
But it doesn't really matter, does it?
All the action takes place in 48 hours. Marquand rings the changes on what is now his stock tale of a rich American boy with (never described) trouble at home, who "goes native" in Peking, all the while condescending to everyone and everything around him: the culture, the city, its history, other people--even himself. He "gets the girl" (and nothing else), "learns his lesson" and goes home. And of course those valuable cultural artefacts are better off in the US than in the country where they were created. Of course! Marquand never travelled in the "mysterious East" before WW2, and it shows.
What was the point of this story? I guess it was an exercise in anti-Chinese propaganda or something. It's all one long stereotype, with Mr Moto as an odd Deus Ex Machina figure who swoops in and sorts it all out, so that...well basically nothing happens, nothing changes, it's all business as usual.
But it doesn't really matter, does it?
July 21, 2024
Highly enjoyable genre fiction. I found this book completely by chance since I didn't know that Marquand, an author I've long meant to explore in more detail, started his career with espionage fiction. This installment shows Tom Nelson, a 34 year old American lawyer who decamped to China after some misunderstanding with his senior partners, getting involved against his better judgement into preventing a coup in Beijing. Nelson is a highly cultured man who's become fluent in Chinese and has an amused respect for Chinese social customs. He's good friends with the last descendant of a once powerful Manchu dynasty, Prince Tung. At the beginning of the novel, he accepts an invitation from Best, a former British officer turned grave robber and other things besides. Shortly after their dinner together, Best is shot dead with a bow and arrow. Nelson starts to wonder what role a beautiful American woman, Eleanor Joyce, plays in all this, since he met her on Best's doorstep as he was leaving. Predictably, he is already in love with her without knowing it. Later it is revealed that Eleanor came to Beijing in order to buy 8 extremely rare scroll paintings, which unbeknownst to her were the property of Prince Tung. At the end of the day, Nelson, Eleanor and the unprepossessing but devilishly efficient Japanese secret agent Mr. Moto manage to get rid of Best's former business partner, warlord Wu, and his Japanese acolyte, who were planning a take-over of Beijing judged premature by the Japanese government. Marquand isn't John Le Carré and his plot doesn't throw any light on the issue of Sino-Japanese relations of the period, but this is good fare of its kind and some of Nelson's reflections on what it means to be an expatriate were of interest to me.
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June 16, 2020This is an interesting time to be reading [Thank You, Mr. Moto]. It is clear that [[John Marquand]] admires much about both Chinese and Japanese culture and manners, and is critical of the ex-pat community. He supplies much more historical and cultural information, however filtered through his outsider perspective, than is normally present in thrillers of this era and for a long time to come. It seems to me that Marquand, writing in the 1930s, is doing his best to bring an unprejudiced eye to the people and cultures that his American protagonist both loves and has an incomplete understanding of, that he is encouraging us to question _our_ prejudices. This isn’t completely surprising, coming as he did from a situation where he faced prejudice because of his family’s fall from wealth, and having several aunts who actively worked for abolition. And yet he is so steeped in his culture's racism that he can’t see it when he is perpetuating it himself.
I think this would be a useful tool for people from our dominant cultures today to read. We have learned so much about racism in the eighty-odd years since it was written. We feel pretty Woke. Yet we still are blinkered around so many of our own assumptions. To look at our counterpart from another time makes that disjunct more apparent.
May 20, 2019
An interesting book in good and bad ways.
The good ways:
Marquand was at his best in these Moto novels. His mainstream work is given to melodrama, so the built-in melodrama of the spy genre suited his talents better. This is a good example of a Moto thriller, of the thriller genre as it developed to 1936, and while the characters are fairly shallow, they are deftly constructed to function in this story.
The bad ways:
The book is racist as Hell, delivering stereotypes on both eastern and western characters, but Marquand does not bother to give the eastern characters most of the character construction given to the western characters. Not that this is a surprise in a book set in China that was written in 1936, but Marquand did not know this kind of casual racism was racist, and neither, I guess, do the people who defend this kind of racism today when they say things such as, "That was acceptable at the time." If you post that sentiment here, you will give me the pleasure of calling you a racist to your virtual face. Marquand does trouble the clichés of race here and there, but barely. Mostly, the generalizations stand.
The good ways:
Marquand was at his best in these Moto novels. His mainstream work is given to melodrama, so the built-in melodrama of the spy genre suited his talents better. This is a good example of a Moto thriller, of the thriller genre as it developed to 1936, and while the characters are fairly shallow, they are deftly constructed to function in this story.
The bad ways:
The book is racist as Hell, delivering stereotypes on both eastern and western characters, but Marquand does not bother to give the eastern characters most of the character construction given to the western characters. Not that this is a surprise in a book set in China that was written in 1936, but Marquand did not know this kind of casual racism was racist, and neither, I guess, do the people who defend this kind of racism today when they say things such as, "That was acceptable at the time." If you post that sentiment here, you will give me the pleasure of calling you a racist to your virtual face. Marquand does trouble the clichés of race here and there, but barely. Mostly, the generalizations stand.
June 18, 2024
Somewhere in my youth, I ran across Mr. Moto movies. Mr. Moto was played, in black and white, by the great character actor Peter Lorre, who was not Japanese, Asian or anything remotely close. However, I remember enjoying the movies. Then in July of 2022, I ran across a copy of Think Fast, Mr. Moto. Apparently, the second in a series of Mr. Moto books. Looking through it I realized the writing was very good. Bought it, read it, loved it. So this book is the second in the series. The writing was just as good, it has that flavor of writing from the 20's and 30's, and I enjoyed it a great deal. If my time remaining allows, I will try to complete the entire series.
Warning: If you are sensitive to depictions of Asians being represented in an unfair light, this is not the series of books for you. But having read the entire Sax Rohmer, Fu Manchu Omnibus (4 volumes) and still have respect for the Chinese, having been there many times, this series does not bother me and the writing is still very good.
Warning: If you are sensitive to depictions of Asians being represented in an unfair light, this is not the series of books for you. But having read the entire Sax Rohmer, Fu Manchu Omnibus (4 volumes) and still have respect for the Chinese, having been there many times, this series does not bother me and the writing is still very good.
February 22, 2018
Written in the 1930's, there were phrases I was not acquainted with and this tended to slow the reading a bit. The setting was in China and the Japanese power struggle that was occurring at that time in history in China. The differences in the two races is something I had not read about before and the presentation of the Oriental mind was fascinating. The drama that was the focal point of the book was not as compelling, although it was quite good, as the various philosophies being portrayed. I am happy I came across this book as I think it gave me a much broader understanding of the politics of the '30's as well as the culture in which Americans were thrust when living in China at that time.
July 29, 2021
Set in pre-WWII Peking, Tom Nelson, an American ex-pat finds himself unexpectedly drawn into a murder, stolen art, a mysterious woman, whilst sorting out his trust for the conundrum of Mr. Moto.
The author, having spent time in China, provides ample setting and character details; however, the dialogue borders of being wince-worthy stereotypical of both Americans and the Asians. A bit too much narrative at times. Moto made infrequent appearances, since the story focused mainly on Tom Nelson.
Having watched the Peter Lorre Mr Moto movies I went to the source material. I have to admit the movie is much more enjoyable. There are plenty of Moto books, and maybe the others will be better.
The author, having spent time in China, provides ample setting and character details; however, the dialogue borders of being wince-worthy stereotypical of both Americans and the Asians. A bit too much narrative at times. Moto made infrequent appearances, since the story focused mainly on Tom Nelson.
Having watched the Peter Lorre Mr Moto movies I went to the source material. I have to admit the movie is much more enjoyable. There are plenty of Moto books, and maybe the others will be better.
November 7, 2017
Much better than expected - simple murder mystery in 1936 Peking involving American ex-patriot and a beautiful art dealer - but very well executed. Characters are interesting, and although the narrative is filled with racist descriptions of the Chinese people as coolies, rickshas, and boys, it does not come across as hateful. In fact, there was a long passage describing the Chinese people as logical and unemotional, just like Mr. Spock of the Star Trek series, but the Mr. Moto books were written in the 1930s. Mr. Moto is actually a minor character with minimal involvement.
January 28, 2022
For a book whose title actually contained the name Mr. Moto, there really wasn’t enough of Mr. Moto. I certainly liked the main character, and the plot was very interesting and engaging, but quite frankly, I simply would have liked to have seen more of the Japanese spy. The political intrigue was exciting, and Mr. Moto was a sort of background character who knows all. I really liked the book, and if it had just had like maybe 25% more of Mr. Moto, I think it would have been damn near perfect.
July 7, 2024
Somewhere in my past I have seen a Peter Lorre Mr. Moto movie or two, and have read Earl Der Biggers and Sax Rohmer and enjoyed the atmospherics of a mysterious far east time and place.
And I enjoyed Marquand's Boston novels. But atmosphere alone, coupled with the plot's inaction and the narrator's overwhelming ennui. Enough! For ennui done right give me Goncharov’s Oblomov any endless day. For a paperback plot give me a Fawcett Gold Medal, a Mike Hammer, a Matt Helm, a Modesty Blaise !
And I enjoyed Marquand's Boston novels. But atmosphere alone, coupled with the plot's inaction and the narrator's overwhelming ennui. Enough! For ennui done right give me Goncharov’s Oblomov any endless day. For a paperback plot give me a Fawcett Gold Medal, a Mike Hammer, a Matt Helm, a Modesty Blaise !
May 28, 2018
Interesting spy thriller set in 1930s Beijing. Good depiction of foreign expat life at that time, as well as Japanese collusion with Chinese warlord to cause political unrest. There is also an interesting side story on foreign museum curators buying Chinese stolen arts.
July 9, 2019
I read a bunch of these a few decades ago and enjoyed them. This one was particularly racist and sexist unfortunately. Goodbye, Mr. Moto.
January 1, 2022
If you are looking for Peter Lorre's "Mr. Moto," you will not find him here. Much more sinister and mysterious here.
June 24, 2023
A big dropoff in quality from the first book. The pace is leaden and the story is as dull as ditchwater. Nothing of real note even happens in the first fifty pages.
December 26, 2024
#2 in the Mr. Moto series.
January 31, 2025
Basically, a hard-boiled novel in a Chinese setting. These novels so far have rather weak endings, but other than that, the prose, the characters, the dialogue, the philosophy are very, very good.
August 23, 2025
I find it interesting how the Chinese culture is portrayed in the Mr. Moto novels. This novel could have had more depth, but it was a good mystery nevertheless.
March 18, 2017
Yes, thank-you, Mr. Moto!
March 15, 2016
So, as in the first book of the series, the main character is a feckless American who is caught up in intrigue between China and Japan, and Mr. Moto pops in, sort of like a Deus Ex Machina, perhaps, to fix things at the end.
In this case, the protagonist, Tom Nelson, is an American lawyer (from Boston, I believe), who has taken up life with the ex-pat community in Peking, and has more-or-less "gone native". He just slides through his life. "It doesn't matter, does it?" is his favorite and oft repeated phrase.
Tom gets involved with a beautiful young woman, Eleanor Joyce, who is in Peking to buy art antiquities for an American museum. She has a sort of Wernher von Braun approach to her work. Von Braun is known as the guy whose job was to get rockets into the air. Where they came down was not his concern (his original rockets, made for the Nazi's, were V2 rockets designed to blow up patches of London. Later the U.S. hired him to design ICBMs to blow up patches of the Soviet Union).
A Japanese spy from a different government faction than Mr. Moto's is trying to foment unrest in China, the unrest being financed by the art deal. Mr. Moto's government faction, is trying to quell the unrest. They don't want further unpleasantness in China to be blamed on the Japanese. They think they can expand their empire via more subtle means, or something.
Whatever, there's lots of skullduggery, tight scrapes and so forth. Tom's paternalistic attitude toward Eleanor gets a bit wearying. She's the competent one in the bunch, but he thinks, by dint of his having a y-chromosome, that he is naturally meant to be the decider and the protector. I'm glad we've evolved, at least a little bit, from that 1930s nonsense.
Anyway, this is a quite good book. I don't know enough about 1930s Chinese culture to know if the setting is more-or-less appropriate. I'm guessing Marquand did enough research to make things a reasonably accurate reflection of the times, or at least the book's subset of those times.
In this case, the protagonist, Tom Nelson, is an American lawyer (from Boston, I believe), who has taken up life with the ex-pat community in Peking, and has more-or-less "gone native". He just slides through his life. "It doesn't matter, does it?" is his favorite and oft repeated phrase.
Tom gets involved with a beautiful young woman, Eleanor Joyce, who is in Peking to buy art antiquities for an American museum. She has a sort of Wernher von Braun approach to her work. Von Braun is known as the guy whose job was to get rockets into the air. Where they came down was not his concern (his original rockets, made for the Nazi's, were V2 rockets designed to blow up patches of London. Later the U.S. hired him to design ICBMs to blow up patches of the Soviet Union).
"Once the rockets are up,Eleanor's job is to buy art. Where the art comes from is not her concern. In this book, the art is being stolen by some Chinese brigands who hope to finance a rebellion. A British ex-major is helping broker the deal, but then ends up inconveniently murdered, just after Tom, and slightly later on, Eleanor have visited the major. So, they become implicated and are, perhaps, the next victims on the list.
who cares where they come down?
That's not my department,"
says Wernher von Braun
—Tom Leher
A Japanese spy from a different government faction than Mr. Moto's is trying to foment unrest in China, the unrest being financed by the art deal. Mr. Moto's government faction, is trying to quell the unrest. They don't want further unpleasantness in China to be blamed on the Japanese. They think they can expand their empire via more subtle means, or something.
Whatever, there's lots of skullduggery, tight scrapes and so forth. Tom's paternalistic attitude toward Eleanor gets a bit wearying. She's the competent one in the bunch, but he thinks, by dint of his having a y-chromosome, that he is naturally meant to be the decider and the protector. I'm glad we've evolved, at least a little bit, from that 1930s nonsense.
Anyway, this is a quite good book. I don't know enough about 1930s Chinese culture to know if the setting is more-or-less appropriate. I'm guessing Marquand did enough research to make things a reasonably accurate reflection of the times, or at least the book's subset of those times.
May 28, 2019
Tom Nelson, cynical American expatriate "gone native" in China, stumbles into the path of the expansionist Japanese government's incursion into Northern China and is catapulted out of his world-weary apathy. Also, if not quite so innocently, caught in the gossamer but deadly web of Japanese plans is Eleanor Joyce, a woman on a mission, full of secrets, pure, bright, and lovely. Enter Mr. Moto, the suave and courageous Japanese agent - committed to serving his emperor yet "so very very sorry" that innocent lives must hang in the balance. It is he who brought Eleanor and Tom together - and now it is he who must try to save them.
September 16, 2010
A British man living in China gets caught in a dangerous art robbery involving his friend, Major Best, a young American art buyer, Eleanor Joyce, his Chinese friend Prince Chung, and possible Japanese spy, Mr. Moto. The Major is killed, and the bad guys think he gave information to the narrator before he died. The narrator tries to protect Ms Joyce, but they end up being kidnapped, probably to be killed.
August 8, 2011
I expected classic pulp fiction, but I got a liitle more. The book is maybe half
plot-oriented thriller and half cultural observation of China. I don't know how true to life, but intriguing to read.
Set in China around the time it was written, 1937, the author appears to support the idea of Japan conquering China. He even refers to it as Manifest Destiny. Now I'm curious to read one of the series written after WWII to see if the presentation of Japan changes.
plot-oriented thriller and half cultural observation of China. I don't know how true to life, but intriguing to read.
Set in China around the time it was written, 1937, the author appears to support the idea of Japan conquering China. He even refers to it as Manifest Destiny. Now I'm curious to read one of the series written after WWII to see if the presentation of Japan changes.
October 2, 2013
Set in Peking, this is ritualized suspense. The plot is nothing special, but Marquand's insights or prejudices of the mid-thirties, whichever they be, make for interesting reading. It'd be a shame to speed through it too quickly. The author, it seems, would emulate Buchan's adventures, but easily surpasses his putative model.
July 29, 2008
An interesting little novel, even if only as a contemporary view of 1930s China and all the unrest and politics going on in Peking, from the viewpoint of an American expatriot. The mystery itself is a little less than gripping.
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