DNF at 35%.

I am baffled by this book, and I don't understand all the glowing reviews.

The plot holes are so big 6 can sink a semi truck in them. For example, why the heck do you put your Interpol profiler in an undercover position with the yakuza without consulting with him first? Also, if you are going to use him as an undercover agent, maybe go with a better legend than "HI, I'm Jimmy and I'm in real estate". Especially since he is checked into the hotel under his real name. I mean, he isn't making contact with a group of kindergarten bullies. These yakuza have proven that they are able and willing to kill.

Also, young and brash doesn't equal braindead. In what normal world a jakuza lieutenant would drag a stranger he just met and knows nothing about to the very location of his stash of weapons?

As a lover of the Japanese culture, I appreciated the tour of Tokyo and the descriptions of all the foods that I personally enjoyed when I was there. However, this blatant unprofessionalism displayed by everyone involved was so irritating, I simply wasn't enjoying this story anymore.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publishers and the authors for an advanced copy, and my apologies for the delay, life is so busy.

Temporarily with nothing keeping him in London, Sterling wants to go home. His superior in the FBI discourages his return to USA , insisting he is needed right where he is.

When a violent turf war between rival Yakuza clans causes the deaths of over 500, exposes a burgeoning black market gun trade in Tokyo, FBI profiler Sterling Gray must hunt a shadowy criminal mastermind.

After a brutal battle for supremacy between opposing Yakuza syndicates goes south, gun violence explodes in the Tokyo underground and quickly spreads throughout the city. Desperate to curb the influx of firearms, special agent Sterling Gray must work with Mariko Tamura of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to discover where the guns are coming from.

Special Agent Sterling Gray is adept at taking down international fugitives…but in the world of the Yakuza, being a foreigner paints a target on his back. Teaming up with TMPD investigator Mariko Tamura, the pair are tasked with profiling the invisible ringleader behind the complex arms trafficking network.

But as a clearer picture of their quarry begins to take shape, the details just don't seem to add up. The culprit is poised to slip through their fingers, and Gray can’t escape the feeling that he's missing something critical. If he wants to uncover the truth, he’ll have to seek help from the unlikeliest of allies—and put his mind and combat skills to the ultimate test.

Because in a city with enemies around every corner, any mistake can be fatal.

It must be mentioned that Special Agent Sterling love of Japanese food could very well be due to author Ty Hutchinson love of different cultures and food.

The Two authors work well on this thriller.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Green Samurai by Brian Shea and Ty Hutchinson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 368 / Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers

FBI profiler Sterling Gray is on assignment in Japan assisting Tokyo police officer Mariko Tamura on identifying an arms trafficker who’s supplying the Sumiyoshi Yakuza syndicate with weapons. Gray goes undercover as a harmless real estate broker who is quickly befriended by a cocky member of the Sumiyoshi, who inadvertently shows off his stash of illegal weapons to the exact person he shouldn’t.

The Green Samurai is a fast-paced entertaining thriller. I particularly enjoyed the Tokyo setting, learning about the inner workings of the Yakuza, and the scenes where they make and eat ramen.

This is also the fourth book in the Sterling Gray series, but I hadn’t read any of the previous books and was able to jump right in. But seeing how this whole series is free with #kindleunlimited, I will definitely check them out.

Thank you @severnriverpublishing and @netgalley for the advance copy of this book. I really enjoyed it.

This is the fourth book in the Sterling Gray FBI Profiler series and is set in Japan. Sterling is still on loan to Interpol and is beginning to wonder if he will ever get posted back to the USA when he gets a call from his supervisor telling him to get ready to go to Japan to assist the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department in stemming the flow of firearms into Japan.
A violent attack by one of the two rival Yakuza factions leaves many dead in it's wake and millions on edge. Sterling is brought in to help Mariko Tamura, the TMPD investigator and he soon finds out that he is the one in the corsshairs.
The more he investigates, the more things do not make sense and if you hesitate or a make a mistake, it could be your last one.

Thank you to the publisher, the authors and Net Galley for providing this advance copy of the book. This was my first foray into the Sterling Gray story, and I truly enjoyed this book. I would be curious to know how much research the authors did into Japanese and yakuza culture as I felt much of it was spot on. Sterling's intrepid work and the well paced action made this a truly enjoyable one sitting read and earns a 5-star from me. I look forward to delving deeper into Sterling Gray's other stories.

A pacy thriller pairing an FBI agent and a TMPD officer investigating a yakuza feud. The action is mainly in Tokyo but moves to unspecified locations near Kobe as well. The settings are well evoked and just enough explanation is given for those who've not been to Japan to follow what's happening.

Shea and Hutchinson avoid the usual cliché of a male-female detective pairing becoming romantic (although they do end up in several hotel rooms together) and they complement each other well, each being prepared to use unorthodox methods to achieve results. The book also has a lovely lack of swearing or grisly details - proof that neither are needed if the story is strong enough.

Highly recommended and I'll look forward to the next one in the series.