Geisha Confidential — Mark Coggins

Someone is trying to murder Japanese bar hostess Coco Ono. Tokyo's transphobic police won't investigate, so she turns to American private eye August Riordan. Riordan is a complete fish out of water in Japan—doesn't know the language, isn't on speaking terms with sushi, hasn't even traveled outside the US—but Coco has been told Riordan makes things happen.And happen they do: from the minute Riordan's size 12 Florsheims hit the ground in Tokyo, he is fending off attackers. Riordan and Coco are drawn into a conspiracy involving multiple yakuza clans, popular celebrities, and politicians at the very highest level of government. The bizarre crime they find at the center rattles the country's power structure and jeopardizes both their lives.A roiling chankonabe (sumo wrestler stew) of love hotels, cryptocurrency fraud, soapland brothels and the Japanese Adult Video industry, Geisha Confidential is an immersive exploration of a culture like no other and a must-read for fans of international crime fiction.