greed and of ritual revenge whose origins lie in the bitter memories of the Holocaust and whose
emotional undertones reflect harsh political and social truths. Masao as observer and actor in the
drama – here as well as in all the books in the series – promises an unusual look at the luxury and
corruption of life in L.A.
The Case of the Russian Diplomat
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1978
editions
translations
from the dust jacket of the 1978 Holt, Rinehart, Winston first edition
Masao Masuto has a rose garden and practices Zen Buddhism. He is
also the only Nisei detective in the Beverly Hills Police Department, a
man who uses karate, not guns, and who brings to his job both a wry,
reflective humor and an almost intuitive skill for the riddle of a crime.
Here, in the second of a series featuring this complex man, Masao finds
himself risking his job – and the life of his child Ana – on the strength of
his
guesses.
In the predawn hours an unidentified man is found in the lavish pool of
the Beverly Glen Hotel – not a mark on the body. A few hours later a
guest is murdered. By the time an officious F.B.I. agent has been
dispatched from Washington to "handle" the case, Masuto is following his
own leads into a world of espionage and terrorism.
As with The Case of the One-Penny Orange, the intriguing start to the
Masao Masuto series, Cunningham shows us the cost of political hatreds
while also offering, with humor and engaging style, a drama of monied
L.A. and its seamier underpinnings – a tense and provocative mystery.
The Case of the Poisoned Eclairs
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979
To the memory of Louis Untermeyer
editions
translations
from the dust jacket of the 1979 Holt, Rinehart and Winston first edition
Since they're all "dieting," the women in Laura Crombie's bridge group
refuse the pastry that was delivered anonymously to her house. But Ana
Fortez, Laura's maid, loves sweets, and she take the éclairs home. By
dawn she is dead of botulism. And by the end of the day two more bodies
are found – the boy who delivered the pastry and an ex-con chemist.
Masao Masuto, the brilliant, enigmatic Nisei detective on the Beverly
Hills police force, is put on the case. He is a man who likes quiet
pleasures, like tending his rose garden, and he brings to his job the skills
of karate, the concentration of Zen Buddhism. Here he finds himself on
the line from the beginning, as he tries to discover who the intended
victim is, who the killer -- before another murder occurs. The four women
he puts under guard are all divorcées, are in no mood to stay cooped up,
despite their fear, and the men he questions are arrogant or noncommittal.
No one is helping, yet Masao knows that the killer is a man obsessed with
a secret that threatens him and that he's in a hurry to kill – no matter that
others die in his pathological pursuit.
The Case of the Poisoned Eclairs is a tough, tense mystery, yet laced
with Masao's ironic wit; it is also a hard look at some of the uglier costs
of wealth in marriage and divorce.
The Case of the Sliding Pool
Delacorte Press, 1981
For Dolly, Maxie, and George,
my Three disciples at
Laurel Way
editions
translations
from the dust jacket of the 1981 Delacorte Press first edition
In his most baffling case yet, Masao Masuto, Beverly Hills's
American-born Japanese detective, unearths a thirty-year-old murder, and
in doing so, arouses a killer who will stop at nothing to put the case back
to rest.
Its supports weakened by days of rain, a swimming pool collapses
down a Beverly Hills canyon, exposing a neatly scooped-out cavity in the
pool's foundation. In it the horrified owners find a thirty-year-old skeleton
of a man.
Always sensitive to undesirable publicity, Captain Wainwright of the
Beverly Hills police would be happy to drop the case after a perfunctory
investigation. But Masuto, intrigued by the coroner's report, cannot let the
matter rest. What could have been the motive for such a crime? Who
could have had the expertise, and the physical strength, to kill a victim,
strip him naked, and coolly bury him on a construction site?
For Masuto the first challenge is clear: ...identify the dead man. From
there he can begin to piece together the killer's identity... assuming the
man has survived the thirty years since his crime.
As Masuto begins his investigation, he finds himself locked in a
deadly game of wits with a brilliant murderer -- who is still very much
alive. The stakes rise as the killer strikes again, then once more, until
Masuto devises a desperate plan to draw the killer into the open. But a
shocking reversal lies waiting to serve Masuto up -- alone and unarmed --
to the ruthless murderer he has so diligently pursued.
The Case of the Kidnapped Angel
Delacorte Press, 1982
For Paul D. Reynolds
[Paul R. Reynolds, Fast's literary agent]
editions
translations
from the dust jacket of the 1982 Delacorte Press first edition
In his most puzzling mystery since The Case of the Sliding Pool,
Detective Masao Masuto becomes entangled in the seamy underside of
life in glittering Beverly Hills.
When Angel Barton, Hollywood sex goddess, is kidnapped from her
Malibu beach house, Detective Masao Masuto is sent to investigate. But
Mike Barton, Angel's equally famous actor husband, is adamant that the
million-dollar ransom be paid -- without police interference. A few hours
after Barton sets off to rendezvous with the kidnappers, Angel Barton
returns home unharmed. Her husband is not so lucky: Mike Baron is
found slumped behind the wheel of his Mercedes, a bullet in his head, the
ransom money gone.
As Masuto begins to seek out the reasons for Barton's death, he finds
himself immersed in a complex world of secret passions and bewildering
illusions. More victims will die before Masuto gathers the suspects
together in a desperate gamble to expose the vicious killer behind the
smiling faces of Mike Barton's closest friends.
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