Geisha Confidential

August Riordan #8

Someone is trying to murder Japanese bar hostess Coco Ono. Tokyo’s transphobic police won’t investigate, so she turns to American private eye August Riordan. Riordan is a complete fish out of water in Japan—doesn’t know the language, isn’t on speaking terms with sushi, hasn’t even traveled outside the US—but Coco has been told Riordan makes things happen.

And happen they do: from the minute Riordan’s size 12 Florsheims hit the ground in Tokyo, he is fending off attackers. Riordan and Coco are drawn into a conspiracy involving multiple yakuza clans, popular celebrities, and politicians at the very highest level of government. The bizarre crime they find at the center rattles the country’s power structure and jeopardizes both their lives.

A roiling chankonabe (sumo wrestler stew) of love hotels, cryptocurrency fraud, “soapland” brothels and the Japanese Adult Video industry, Geisha Confidential is an immersive exploration of a culture like no other and a must-read for fans of international crime fiction.

Check out the gallery of scene-setting chapter photographs included in the novel.

Reviews and Recognitions

Selected for Mystery Tribune’s list of the 24 Best Crime, Mystery and Thriller Books for March 2024.

“Masterful… A genius combination.”
—Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of Sleepless City

“Witty, razor-sharp.”
—John Billheimer, Edgar award-winning author of the Owen Allison and Lloyd Keaton series.

“Read this fast-paced story, and you’ll barely have time to feel the jet lag… Riordan is a well-developed, crusty character and Coco is a delight… [The author’s] descriptions convey an intimate knowledge of the city that makes this whole somewhat wild and wacky story quite believable.”
—Vicki Weisfeld, Crime Fiction Lover

“Often-funny and twist-suffused.”
—J. Kingston Pierce, The Rap Sheet

“This is a very well written PI story set in modern Tokyo. The plotting and story arc are precise, controlled, and well orchestrated, with a dash of horrifying, nail biting, crime subplot. It’s fast paced and action filled. This is a PI novel in the proud tradition of Chandler, Hammett, Runyon, and the rest, though none of their femmes (fatale or otherwise) were like Coco, depicted in this story.”
—Nonstop Reader

“Sly, wry humor … a fine entry in a unique series.”
—Mark Stevens, New York Journal of Books

“Super fun read. Great characters. It made me miss Japan…the photos really help set the scene and create a mood!”
—Mariko Merritt, Da Shop Bookstore Book Buyer, Honolulu, HI