Shitamachi Scam - by Michael Pronko (Paperback)

About the Book

After the suspicious deaths of a seventy-something woman and a student recluse, Detective Hiroshi tracks a gang of scammers who have been ripping off retirees in shitamachi, the old part of Tokyo to find the killer.

Book Synopsis

In Tokyo's old quarter, the past doesn't fade. It gets stolen.

A frail woman is hit by a motorscooter on a quiet street in the Shitamachi district-one of Tokyo's last neighborhoods untouched by the high-rises and commercial sprawl. To Detective Hiroshi Shimizu, it seems more than an accident. And then the money starts to move.

As Hiroshi digs deeper, he uncovers a slick network of scammers targeting Tokyo's elderly-con artists draining savings, pensions, deeds, and lives. With his mentor Takamatsu, his razor-sharp colleague Ishii, and the grizzled ex-sumo detective Sakaguchi at his side, Hiroshi finds that scammers don't only work at the bottom of the heap.

The old Tokyo of Shitamachi-the one with shopkeepers, alleyways, customs, and public baths-is disappearing. Urban renewal would beautify Tokyo, but at what cost? What begins as low-level fraud twists into something far darker: a city-wide grift on Tokyo's most expensive currency-real estate.

As the case unravels, Hiroshi realizes the low-level criminals aren't the only ones cashing in on Japan's aging society. Every lead takes him deeper into the narrow backstreets and fading lives of Shitamachi, and into the corporate boardrooms and government offices where the powerful work to clear the old to make way for the new.

Shitamachi Scam is Tokyo noir at its most human-a slow burn through the city's forgotten alleys, where modern crime runs on smooth talk, and justice doesn't always arrive in time.

In Tokyo, respect for the elderly is fading. Along with their savings. Along with their lives.

Winner Mystery Independent Press Award (2023)

Best of 2024 Mystery/Thriller Booklife Prize (2024)

First place Category Chanticleer CLUE (2024)

Finalist Best Thrillers.com (2024)

Finalist SPR Book Awards (2023)

Finalist Chanticleer International Book Awards (2024)

Silver Award Reader Views Reviewers Choice Awards

Gold Award Literary Titan (2023)

"Pronko's knowledge of Japanese life is simply extraordinary-with painstaking care, he limns its shadowy contours and ambiguities. An absorbing drama conveyed with incisive intelligence."-Kirkus Reviews

Shitamachi Scam is the sixth book in the Tokyo-based Detective Hiroshi series by award-winning author Michael Pronko.

Review Quotes

"Pronko's knowledge of Japanese life is simply extraordinary-with painstaking care, he limns its shadowy contours and ambiguities. An absorbing drama conveyed with incisive intelligence."-Kirkus Reviews

"Pronko succeeds in delivering yet another dimension of the megacity that is Tokyo. He uses shitamachi for great atmospheric effect, gradually building a sense of darkness and claustrophobia while erecting a landscape primed for white-knuckled physicality."-BestThrillers

"The pacing of this story is pitch-perfect, and the conflicts are well-conceived and executed. It's a simple story told in intricate layers. But even in the gritty storytelling, you get a sense of positivity."-Reader Views Five Stars

"Pronko's sixth novel in the Detective Hiroshi series showcases his ability to weave a gripping crime story with his deep knowledge and appreciation of Japanese culture and society."-Blue Ink Review Starred Review