2004 was a strange year. At least in terms of awards, if nothing else. Clocks by Coldplay picked up Record of the Year at the Grammy’s, inexplicably beating Hey Ya! by OutKast. Across town, at the Oscars, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won Best Picture instead of Mystic River. (Peter Jackson…
When I moved to Los Angeles two and a half years ago, it was with the (possibly naive) intention of capturing the city’s dusky underbelly for my next novel. In Sins As Scarlet, I wanted my Japanese-American detective, Inspector Iwata, to drift through the unvarnished tranches of L.A.—the industrial, the suburban, the impoverished—neighborhood kingdoms so…
Sins as Scarlet by Nicolás Obregón brings Kosuke Iwata to Los Angeles where he now works as a private detective. Crime stories are often about metaphorical underworlds populated by hapless underdogs and vicious, powerful elites. Our tour guides on these stories are usually detectives whose quests for truth, justice, and/or vengeance force them to navigate…
Sins as Scarlet by Nicolas Obregon is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Blue Light Yokohama, where Inspector Iwata investigates a murder case in his new home of Los Angeles—take a visual tour with GIFnotes! After a brutal investigation ripped apart his life, Kosuke Iwata quit both his job as a detective with the Tokyo Police Department……
Blue Light Yokohama by Nicolás Obregón follows newly reinstated homicide detective Iwata as the violent murder of an entire family embroils him in a case that soon reveals itself to be only one crime in a string of ritualistic killings. Newly reinstated to the Homicide Division and transferred to a precinct in Tokyo, Inspector Iwata is facing superiors who…
Read Part 3 of Nicolás Obregón's 3-part series, “The Birth of Blue Light Yokohama,” and make sure to sign in and comment below for a chance to win a copy of his exciting debut! Part 1 | Part 2 Some six years ago, I boarded a flight from London Heathrow bound for Japan. As I…
Every Wednesday, we here at Criminal Element will put together a list of Staff Picks of the books that published the day before—sharing the ones that we are looking forward to reading the most! This week, Nicolás Obregón publishes his debut novel—a gripping tale of vicious murders in Tokyo—and Allison Brennan releases the 12th installment in her…
Blue Light Yokohama by Nicolás Obregón is a compelling, brilliantly moody, and layered novel that's sure to be one of the most talked about debuts in 2017 (available March 7, 2017). Slogans, symbols, and suicide. Are they connected? If so, how? “This is what Japan should be,” insists an insurance company slogan. “Creating Tomorrow Together,” boasts another.…
A brutal murder. A serial killer with no seeming motive. And a symbol that represents the darkness and evil that's to come. A perfect formula for a murder mystery, but also a perfect recipe for this week's Pick Your Poison—where we create a cocktail inspired by a recently published mystery, thriller, or crime novel—the…
Read Part 1 of this thrilling 3-part series first over at Thought Matters! The Miyazawa family’s house was a fair size, especially by Japanese standards. It stood in a municipal park in Setagaya, a largely residential ward clinging to the western limits of Tokyo. Soshigaya Park has quaint walking trails, sports pitches, a playground for…
