"The knockout first entry in Kageyama's detective series starring Kats Takemoto... Arresting plotting and suspense, Hunters Point becomes a vital vessel to illuminate the past and those who lived there. This stellar San Francisco noir novel boasts rich characterization and a vital connection to the past."
- Editor's Pick, Booklife by Publishers Weekly
"Well researched... immersive setting... striking cameos. A fun and captivating historical noir."
- Kirkus Reviews
"City politics rules in Peter Kageyama's debut mystery featuring a fully realized Japanese American detective, Kats Takemoto, during the height of the Cold War era. San Francisco, the center of the arts, naval history, and Asian American communities, is the perfect setting for P.I. Takemoto to encounter sharp turns and dangerous inclines in his investigations. A very intriguing beginning of a promising series."
-- Naomi Hirahara, author of the 2022 Mary Higgins Clark Award winner, Clark and Division, a Japantown Mystery
"To the long line of memorable private eyes who work the mean streets of fictional San Francisco, add a very cool newcomer: Kats Takemoto... Kageyama has done his San Francisco homework, and some of the city's legendary places and characters make wonderful cameo appearances here. You've got to love a novel in which Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady barrel out of a Beat poetry reading and kick some bad-guy a**, and the heroes use the off-menu delicacies of Chinatown to fight the forces of evil. Hunters Point is a fun, well-plotted page-turner that overs of San Francisco, and good detective yarns, will enjoy."
--Gary Kamiya, bestselling author, Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco and Spirits of San Francisco: Voyages Through the Unknown City
"In his debut novel, Peter Kagayama conjures up 1950s San Francisco and packs it with famous names from the era, including two beat icons who deliver an actual beating, but the magic of this compelling tale is his fictional creation, Kats Takemoto, a wily detective who combines a little ninja, a little Marlow, and even a little MacGyver. He's a character worthy of a dozen sequels."
-- Paul Wilborn, author of Florida Hustle
"Well-crafted, carefully researched, and written with insight and understanding of the lives of the people and the world they live in, this is a strong debut novel."
-- Judy Alter, award-winning author, Kelly O'Connell Mysteries
2022-11-17
In this novel, a private investigator stumbles on a large conspiracy when a real estate developer starts snatching up land in 1950s San Francisco.
In 1957, Katsuhiro “Kats” Takemoto is watching Alfred Hitchcock direct the film Vertigo. Kats was brought in to help James Stewart prepare for the role of a San Francisco private detective and then was retained by the studio (“Stewart needed security and a driver while he was in town and said he wanted Kats”). After the movie wraps, Kats goes back to his job as a private eye, taking the case of a man named Anton Vello, who is trying to save his family business from unscrupulous developers. The goal of the developers seems to be to buy land for a new baseball stadium for the Giants. But as Kats investigates, he quickly sees that something fishy is going on with the people who are trying to drive out Anton’s family and others in the mostly immigrant community. A secretary named Molly Hayes, who works for the developers, finds their actions morally dubious and agrees to help Kats. Kats is juggling a few other cases, and his path keeps crossing with Molly’s, leading them to grow closer. Also in the mix is Kats’ friend Shig Murao, who manages the City Lights bookstore. As Kats continues to investigate, it becomes clear that there’s a much bigger conspiracy at work, and the culprits aren’t above using violence to get their way. Kageyama’s novel offers a bracing look at postwar San Francisco. Kats is still dealing with the fallout of World War II, during which his family surrendered much of its property and he served in the Army. Many of the characters are first-generation Americans, and a recurring theme focuses on immigrant identities. The story, which blends historical fiction and noir, is well researched, with a lot of intriguing period details about San Francisco. Readers who adore immersive settings will find plenty to love here. There are also some striking cameos, from luminaries like Stewart and Allen Ginsberg to such lesser-known figures as blues singer Gladys Bentley.
A fun and captivating historical noir.
