Once in a great while I'll stumble upon a debut novel that is so freaking brilliant I'll just want to scream. But I don't usually scream now. I'm finally reaching some new kind of maturity I suppose. So I scream quite quietly. Then I contact the author's publicist and beg for an interview. Fortunately I can often book interviews with debut novelists-I have had hundreds of interviews over the years with writers who had just put out their first books.
And this can be a cool thing to experience. Debut novelists are often delighted to have been noticed. From the standpoint of an interviewer I savor the freshness and excitement that these writers bring to the air waves. They haven't had time to become bored by doing publicity for their books. They usually haven't even come up with canned sound bites as responses to questions.
With all that being said "Blue Light Yokohama" is a stunning debut. And Nic gives a great interview. It's a crime novel, a mystery, a detective novel, but it is quite a bit more than that. This is a polished piece of literature that was a delight to read. The characters will stick with you long after you finish reading about them.
I'm not doing any spoilers. It is set in Japan. Listen to the interview. Read the book. Then do what I'm doing; be patient while we wait for the next one. This will be an amazing series. Remember this author's name.
The Book Nook on WYSO is made possible by five local library systems in southwest Ohio: the Greene County Public Library, Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, and Wright Memorial Public Library.
