Azabu Getaway follows a detective in Japan who investigates a murder and kidnapping. This case takes the detective into a dark world of greed, and he must find the girls before more violence occurs. What was the inspiration for the mystery in your story?

I was reading all these articles about how wealthy businesses and individuals were moving their money overseas to avoid taxes, and it really irritated me. Most people stumble around, complain, and pay their taxes, but some feel the need to avoid paying any tax at all. They really got away with it, so it all seemed so simple and so unfair. I wanted to look at how that system affects ordinary people, and what it means. I don’t believe in any economic trickle-down theories, but I’m sure that greed trickles down. I also wanted to look at how non-Japanese live in Tokyo, and how they integrate into life or fail to. That’s a topic close to home for me. So, all of that mixed together into this mystery about marriage and crime.

With five books (so far) for Detective Hiroshi, he has faced a number of unique and creative adversaries. Where do you get your inspiration for the villains in your novels?

I’d like to say the inspiration is outside of me, but I think all of us have some degree of villainy lurking inside of us. One of the problems of the media is they don’t go into the motivations of criminals, so that’s why novels are so important, to give us a more rounded and complex view of why crime happens. I don’t think it’s about taking a crime and putting that into a character. It goes both ways. Usually, I start by wondering what kind of person would do these terrible things and then think about why. In that sense, Detective Hiroshi is not fighting crime but fighting individuals. The adversaries are very good at what they do, even though they do horrible things. So, I imagine how that kind of person would think or act, and then I ratchet it up a level or two.

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

I often rewrite while I’m commuting. I try to find a not-too-scrunched space on the train or at least with enough room to move my right hand, which isn’t easy on Tokyo trains. And then I pull out a pen and work over a few printed pages. Fairly old school, but the paper printout seems to give space to the words and makes them special. Writing on the train helps me see the flow of words differently. I have to finish the chapter before the last stop. When I get home, or to my office, I type the changes in and print them out for the next commute. It seems to help me focus.

Will you be continuing the Detective Hiroshi series, or do you have any new series planned? 

I have several more in the series outlined, so I’ll finish those. There is a new detective, Ishii, and Hiroshi will have some changes in his home life. I do have another new series planned, one written in the first person, and also set in Tokyo, but it’s still in the planning stages. I’ll probably work on two historical standalone mysteries I’ve been researching before I start that new series, though. I’ll squeeze in another collection of non-fiction essays about Tokyo life, too. Lots more to write!

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