Yay A Book Arrived From England! A Reading Update And The Spy Novel

I did my weekly trip out to get some groceries and bread and also decided to fill up the car; first time since the beginning of April I think. It was the first time in over ten years that we've paid less than a $1.00 per liter. I paid $.979 per liter today. It definitely felt a bit strange. 

I was interested to note at the Cob's bakery stand that they had put up stanchions in front of the counter. Previously they had relied on a taped red line about a foot from the counter. But there were so many people who just ignored it and still leaned on the counter or put their hand bags on the counter. I was glad for myself and the people who work there to see this. Why can't people just exercise a bit of common sense? Oh well.

It's a beautiful sunny fresh day today. I should have done a bit more yard work but maybe tomorrow. I plan to go for my weekly walk tomorrow morning, weather permitting.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the books I'd ordered from the UK arrived yesterday. It was tentatively scheduled to arrive early March but this Covid-19 virus has affected so many things. I'll update that book and also provide my review of the book I finished this morning and also the synopsis of the book I will start next. Then I'll finish with my ongoing look at the Spy / Thriller genre.

New Books

1. The Murder of Miranda by Margaret Millar (1979).

"Where is Miranda Shaw? She had just been widowed and her lawyer needs her signature for probate, but her mansion is empty and two addled teenagers, Cordelia and Juliet, are wearing her jewellery. Has she eloped? With Grady, the lifeguard at her club, who is also missing? Is she dodging her lawyer? Or has she been murdered ... ?"

Just Finished

1. A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell (Inspector Wexford #2 / 1967).








"A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell is the second book in her Inspector Wexford mystery series. I enjoyed the story but I have to say that the Inspector plays a relatively peripheral role in the story.

Clergyman Henry Archery is coming to town to re-investigate Wexford's first ever murder case. Archery's son, Charles, is engaged to be married to one Tessa Kershaw, nee Painter. Tessa's father was found guilty, after Wexford's investigation, of the murder of Mrs Primero, who he worked for. Painter was executed for this murder. Archery hopes to investigate and discover evidence that Painter didn't do the murder but that someone else did. He has this feeling that if Painter was guilty, then maybe his daughter might not be such an acceptable candidate for marriage. (Probably much more nuanced than I've described)

Thus begins Archery's investigation. He will interview the family of Mrs. Primero, Tessa's mother and other witnesses to the crime. At the same time he will find himself head-over-heels attracted to a woman he meets at his hotel one evening. Archery's son will eventually arrive to help in the investigation and will be somewhat of a bull in a china shop.

Wexford hovers on the periphery. He is convinced his earlier investigation is sound. He is like a large bear prowling around and trying to do his day-to-day business with his right hand man, Inspector Burden.
It's a meandering sort of story. I guess in some ways it could be called a cozy mystery because there isn't any grim acts of violence, except for the original murder. But it's also more than that. The personalities involved, from Archery to every other character introduced. Well-written and with a fascinating build-up to the satisfying conclusion. I look forward to reading the next story (3.5 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Daughter of Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer (Fu Manchu #4 / 1931)

"Here is another astonishing adventure of Sir Denis Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard--in which he matches wits with the she-devil daughter of his old antagonist, the infamous Dr. Fu Manchu. Now the signal has gone out from the Tomb of the Black Ape, and chiefs of the murderous cults of the East will meet at a hidden oasis to carry out the evil scheme of Fah Lo Suee. And Smith will discover an incredible himself - Fu Manchu himself"




The Spy / Thriller Novel - Japanese Super Secret Agent Mr. Moto

John Phillips Marquand

1. John P. Marquand / Mr. Moto. American writer John P. Marquand was born in Wilmington Delaware in 1893 and died in Newburyport Massachusetts in 1960. While he wrote a number of crime novels and other fiction, winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Late George Apley, he is best known for his Mr. Moto spy series, featuring the intrepid Japanese spy. He wrote six books in this series and I've read them all.

a. No Hero (1935), AKA Mr. Moto Takes a Hand (1940), AKA Your Turn, Mr. Moto (1963).










"This is the second Mr. Moto spy novel I've read and I enjoyed it very much. John Marquand wrote the series in the late '30s, pre-WWII. This story once again features the enigmatic, pragmatic Mr. Moto, a  Japanese spy trying to find a document that will help the Japanese navy gain an advantage over the US and Russian navies in the Pacific. 

Also along for the ride is a drunken, US ex-aviator (the center of the story) and a beautiful Russian spy. Casey, down on his luck and out of money in Japan, is attracted to an offer by Mr. Moto, to fly a Japanese aircraft to the US. On a ship to Shanghai, he is caught up in intrigue, there is a dead Chinese courier, and he finds himself at risk from Moto and his men and, in Shanghai, by the Chinese Mafia. 

Mr. Moto works for the Japanese, but for what part of the Japanese structure is unclear. He is more than willing to kill (or have killed) to achieve his aims, but also, pragmatic enough not to hold grudges. I enjoyed the story, it was well-paced and interesting enough to catch my attention and to hold it until the very end. A different sort of spy story, worth trying. (3 stars)"

b. Thank You, Mr. Moto (1936).

"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." (3 stars)

c. Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937).









"I've enjoyed the Mr. Moto spy series by John P. Marquand very much. There are 6 books in the series, although some have been published under more than one title. Think Fast, Mr. Moto is the 3rd book in the series and was originally published in 1937. Young Wilson Hitchings has recently moved to Shanghai to learn the running and management of Hitchings Bank, from his uncle. While there his Uncle Will sends him on a mission to Hawaii. It seems that the daughter of the black sheep of the family is running a casino in Hawaii using the Hitchings' Brothers name and Will wants Wilson to buy her out.

Before he departs, Wilson briefly meets the enigmatic Japanese spy, Mr. Moto, who is trying to discover more about Chinese dealings in Manchuko, the new state in northern China and if Hitchings Brothers are involved in financing Chinese rebels there.

This will all come to a head in Hawaii. Something is a bit off with the casino in Hawaii. Things don't seem quite legal. Eva Hitchings hates Hitchings Brothers as they treated her father quite poorly. She doesn't trust Wilson. He's not sure if he should trust her. Should they trust Mr. Moto? An attempt is made to assassinate the Japanese spy. Does he trust them?

It's an all around fast-paced story and very entertaining. Mr. Moto is a great character, smart and interesting. The series is worth trying. I have one left to read and it's on my book shelf. (3.5 stars)"

d. Mr. Moto Is So Sorry (1938).


"This is the third Mr. Moto book I've read and I've enjoyed them all. Mr. Moto is spy for the Japanese but often finds himself in conflict with more conservative elements of the Japanese military. He also manipulates those main characters on whom the story is based. In this he works with Calvin Gates to ensure a cigarette case is delivered to Mongolia. What is the clue for the case? Time will tell. Also along for the ride are an American woman, an artist and an Australian soldier of fortune. Entertaining and mysterious. (3 stars)"

e. Last Laugh, Mr. Moto (1943).

"Last Laugh, Mr. Moto is the fifth book in John P. Marquand's Mr. Moto spy / war series that I've enjoyed. This adventure finds Mr. Moto, some other spies and American, Bob Bolles in the Caribbean, searching for a US fighter with new technology on it. Bob, an ex-US Navy officer who had quit the Navy after being passed over for promotion, sails the Caribbean with Tom, a faithful hand, always out of money and sort of shiftless.

Bob has spent time in Jamaica and is asked to leave by the Jamaican police. He is hired by Mr. and Mrs. Kingman to sail them to the Winderly Isles, specifically Mercator, purportedly to just get away from things. Accompanying them is their assistant, Oscar, another suspicious character. Mr. Moto plays a minor role at this point, managing a clothing shop in Kingston.

Bob gets more suspicious when his old Navy boss asks him to help them search for the missing aircraft, but due to his anger at the promotion board, he refuses. The adventure moves along nicely with suspicions growing about the Kingman's and their motives.

Very much of the story is left unstated and for you to figure out. Mr. Moto makes another more important appearance as the tension builds. He is a very pragmatic spy, at one moment working with Kingman, then not. Who are the Kingmans? Who is Mrs. Kingman? What are they looking for from the plane? Can Bob interfere? Will Mr. Moto succeed in his mission? All excellent questions and they are played out nicely as the story progresses? An entertaining read as always and a good adventure. (3.5 stars)"

f. Stopover: Tokyo (1957), AKA The Last of Mr. Moto (1963), AKA Right You Are, Mr. Moto (1977).










"Stopover: Tokyo is the 6th and final book in John P. Marquand's Mr. Moto spy series. I have enjoyed all of the previous books, some more than others of course. This might have been my least favorite of the bunch. Basically because it seemed to take so long to actually get going. It was still an interesting story, maybe a bit more thoughtful than the others.

The story focuses on 2 American spies, Jack Rhyce and Ruth Bogart, heading to Japan to help an agent in Tokyo discover a Russian agent working there with the assistance of possible American traitors. Jack's boss has information that the Russians might attempt an assassination in Tokyo to make the Americans look bad. There search is to find Big Ben, the link to the Russian agent.

On their journey the two meet a Japanese student who gives them the card for Mr. Moto. They also meet an American in Wake who they suspect might be Big Ben. A lot of time is the development of their relationship, whether they will quit the Agency when this operation is finished.

Things begin to move quicker when they arrive in Tokyo. They are met by Mr. Moto, who they think might be a spy. They take a trip to the mountains to meet their contact, Bob Gibson and things begin to move even quicker. The last half of the book has more action; with the two beginning to work with Mr. Moto. I definitely found the 2nd half of the story much more interesting.

I'm glad that I read this series. It's interesting to see the spy world and to see both sides of the picture. This story is set just after WWII when Japan is an ally of the US. The spy work was also interesting enough and the descriptions of Japanese culture just after the war was well described. All in all it was a satisfying story and I'm glad that I explored Marquand's Moto books. (3.5 stars)"

There you go. I hope you're enjoying this look at the Spy novel.