Masuto Investigates by Howard Fast

Masuto Investigates
Howard Fast
1967, 1977, 2000, ibooks, New York
0743400224
387p.

This book contains two stories featuring Masao Masuto - a Japanese-American Beverly Hills cop. In the first, a film producer is murdered, followed by an actor; investigations lead to an incident - a gang rape - which occured years before. The second story is of a stamp-dealer who is murdered with no apparent motive.

The character of Masao Masuto is annoying, though after reading two stories in succession, you kind of get used to him. He never says what he is thinking, which I guess is good for the plot progression, but highly unrealistic.

I found the second story to be far and above better than the first - perhaps that's because it was written ten years later and is a little more modern, although both stories are a bit dated.

Despite characters you want to throttle, unlikely plot progression and dated police procdures, these stories kept me reading as I wanted to know the ending!

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