Which is to say that Crichton does a good job of emulating the kind of mystery that one might find in an Agatha Christie; the two leads even share a rather Hastings/Poirot relationship in a way. Yet as with nearly every Crichton novel, there is some sort of topic that he would like to go into depth, and this is where I feel this novel kind of falls flat.
The story is one of the few stories of Crichton's fiction that is more "grounded" in reality: When a murder is committed on the floor above the grand opening of a Japanese office building in L.A., the officer who deals with foreign/political incidents is called to come help the investigation and to bring a semi-retired officer who has extensive knowledge of Japanese culture. As the investigation continues, motivations and suspects get caught up in the potential political/economic effects of the Japanese company, and the two officers must fight hard to find the truth in the mess.
The greatest strength of this novel is how well it works as a mystery, because the crime and investigation are rather intriguing, leaving you guessing until the end. As I said early, this does feel as if Crichton emulated Christie while writing not only the mystery but also the main characters in roles similar to the Hastings/Poirot so that there is an almost everyman's view and one from a person who know what to do and how to proceed. Another good thing about the novel is that Crichton does a good job at making his author tracts flow with the narrative, having them spoken by various characters.
The main problem that I had with the novel is the way Crichton portrays the Japanese, i.e. his author tracts. Maybe I had to be there in 1992, but in 2012, I don't see the Japanese the same way Crichton wants me to see them. I'm not trying to say that all Japanese are good or bad, but I kind of wish the book did, because it flips back and forth between these two views given by many different characters. Even towards the end of the book the main character is tired about hearing about the Japanese constantly.
In the end this is a solid mystery novel written like an Agatha Christie novel with Crichton's touches to it, even if hampered by the inconsistent portrayal of the Japanese.
Literature Rising Sun: Works as a mystery novel
Which is to say that Crichton does a good job of emulating the kind of mystery that one might find in an Agatha Christie; the two leads even share a rather Hastings/Poirot relationship in a way. Yet as with nearly every Crichton novel, there is some sort of topic that he would like to go into depth, and this is where I feel this novel kind of falls flat.
The story is one of the few stories of Crichton's fiction that is more "grounded" in reality: When a murder is committed on the floor above the grand opening of a Japanese office building in L.A., the officer who deals with foreign/political incidents is called to come help the investigation and to bring a semi-retired officer who has extensive knowledge of Japanese culture. As the investigation continues, motivations and suspects get caught up in the potential political/economic effects of the Japanese company, and the two officers must fight hard to find the truth in the mess.
The greatest strength of this novel is how well it works as a mystery, because the crime and investigation are rather intriguing, leaving you guessing until the end. As I said early, this does feel as if Crichton emulated Christie while writing not only the mystery but also the main characters in roles similar to the Hastings/Poirot so that there is an almost everyman's view and one from a person who know what to do and how to proceed. Another good thing about the novel is that Crichton does a good job at making his author tracts flow with the narrative, having them spoken by various characters.
The main problem that I had with the novel is the way Crichton portrays the Japanese, i.e. his author tracts. Maybe I had to be there in 1992, but in 2012, I don't see the Japanese the same way Crichton wants me to see them. I'm not trying to say that all Japanese are good or bad, but I kind of wish the book did, because it flips back and forth between these two views given by many different characters. Even towards the end of the book the main character is tired about hearing about the Japanese constantly.
In the end this is a solid mystery novel written like an Agatha Christie novel with Crichton's touches to it, even if hampered by the inconsistent portrayal of the Japanese.