Joseph Kanon

Most avid readers have some go-to authors, authors whose books are dependably good, books they know they can safely buy even before they read a review. Joseph Kanon is one of my go–to authors. So I bought a hardcover copy of his book SHANGHAI, knowing that I wouldn't be wasting my money.

This book begins in Germany just before World War II. But it doesn't stay there for long. Daniel, a Jewish man, and Leigh and her mother, also Jewish, board a luxury liner headed for Shanghai, China, as do many other Jewish people lucky enough to be escaping Germany.

Of course, Daniel and Leigh form a relationship while they are on the ship. During that time, they also meet Yamada, a Japanese man who is a military policeman in the Kempeitai, the Japanese Nazis. Their stories continue after they arrive in Shanghai.

Daniel's uncle, Nathan, lives in Shanghai, and it is with Nathan that Daniel begins his new life. Nathan owns night clubs there and does business with many shady characters. This book has plenty of their violence going on, but Daniel still becomes enmeshed in the business.

Eventually, Daniel is surprised to see Leigh enter one of the clubs on the arm of Yamada. And there begins another line of this story, a complicated one. Daniel is determined to save Leigh from a life she has apparently chosen. Leigh was hard for me to understand right up to the book's ending. I never did figure her out.

Kanon's SHANGHAI is a good book, but I wouldn't say it is one of his best. The storyline isn't as suspenseful or thrilling as his other books. But SHANGHAI still has lots of great dialog, which no one writes like Kanon.… (more)

Los Alamos, publishing exec Joseph Kanon’s first novel, is an espionage-murder mystery set in April 1945. A German refugee working in the security office of the Manhattan Project is found dead in an Albuquerque park. Michael Connolly, a civilian intelligence officer, is dispatched from Washington to investigate the case. General Groves wants to know whether the death has anything to do with his project. Along the way, Connolly falls for the wife of one of the scientists. The novel has convincing local and historical details, tense action, and steamy romance. Kanon has had success in his second career as an author. He has published ten espionage thrillers, including The Good German (2001), which has been made into a recent film starring George Clooney. Kanon’s novel is engaging, but I prefer Robert L. Sawyer’s The Oppenheimer Alternative for alternate history, and I like the recent Oppenheimer movie for historical detail.… (more)