Azabu Getaway - by Michael Pronko (Paperback)

About the Book

"Money isn't everything. It's the deadly thing. After the murder of a high-flying executive in one of Tokyo's wealth management firms, Detective Hiroshi finds himself investigating the financial schemes that secure the money of Tokyo's elite investors. His forensic accounting gets sidetracked, though, by a second murder and the abduction of two girls from the home of a hotshot wealth manager. The abducted girls are the daughters of an international couple who seemed to have it all--a large apartment in the high-end Azabu district, top schools for the children, and a life of happy affluence. Their life falls apart and they are swept up in threats and pursuits for reasons they cannot fathom.Tracking the money and tracking the two daughters leads Hiroshi into Tokyo's murky financial past and outside Japan's borders as he discovers how overseas investments and tax shelters are really managed. Hiroshi works with Sakaguchi and Takamatsu and others on the homicide team, including an assertive new detective, as they confront greed and violence in one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Azabu Getaway is the fifth novel in the award-winning Detective Hiroshi series."--Page 4 of cover.

Book Synopsis

A father on the run. Two daughters in danger. Millions in dirty money moving overseas.

When a Tokyo financier vanishes with his two young daughters, Detective Hiroshi Shimizu is called in to track what looks like a desperate escape from a messy murder scene. But the trail of forged transfers, offshore accounts, and silent partners tells another story-a high-stakes financial heist disguised as a family getaway.

From the glass towers of Azabu to the backstreets of Shinjuku, Hiroshi chases a man who's outsmarting both the law and the criminals funding him. As the investigation widens, the money flies across borders-from small banks in Aomori to big banks of London to the tax-sheltered trusts in Wyoming-pulling Hiroshi into a global game where investing savvy is the only currency that loses value.

Every clue draws him deeper into Tokyo's polished corruption: investment firms laundering fortunes behind luxury doors, expats buying silence with yen, and a father willing to risk everything to give his daughters a way out. But the city doesn't forgive debts-and it never lets anyone get away clean.

Azabu Getaway is a razor-edged noir thriller that cuts across Tokyo's financial elite and into the heart of a family running out of time. In a world where money never sleeps, escape is just another transaction waiting to fail.

In Tokyo, money doesn't just move-it hunts. And there's no place to hide.

Winner Best Crime Thriller BestThrillers.com (2022)

Winner Mystery Independent Press Award (2023)

Finalist Clue Awards Thriller/Mystery (2022)

Gold Book Award Literary Titan (2022)

Bronze Medal Global Book Awards (2022)

Bronze Award Mystery/Thriller ReaderViews (2022)

Notable Indie Book of the Year Shelf Unbound Awards (2022)

Top Ten Indie Books of the Year The BookBag (2022)

Review Quotes

"A series that's only getting better."-Kirkus Reviews

"If there's a better crime series set in Japan, I've not yet read it."-Crime Thriller Hound

"Hiroshi is one of the most distinctive and intrepid detectives in contemporary crime fiction."-Best Thrillers

"Fans of quality police procedurals will welcome more of Hiroshi."-Publishers Weekly