Tokyo Black

Thomas Caine Thriller Series, Book 1

By: Andrew Warren

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Thomas Caine lives in the shadows. Betrayed and left for dead, he has put his past as a CIA assassin behind him. Now he lives off the grid, and hides from his dark past in the seedy underworld of Pattaya, Thailand.

But when local gangsters set him up for a crime he didn't commit, he finds himself back in the clutches of the CIA. His old masters make him an offer he can't refuse: rot in a hellish Thai prison, or accept a dangerous mission in Tokyo, Japan.

As he hunts the neon-lit city for a CIA asset's missing daughter, he quickly learns there is more to this assignment than meets the eye. Yakuza thugs, Japan's Security Bureau, and even rogue CIA operatives all stand between him and his objective.

And looming in the shadows is Tokyo Black, a right-wing terrorist cult whose members demonstrate their loyalty by burning their yakuza tattoos from their skin. Can Thomas Caine defeat this fanatical enemy, before they ignite an international conflict that kills thousands?

©2016 Andrew Warren (P)2017 Tantor

Action

Wonderful writing. Description of places ,surrounding .people a d action is the best I have read in quite a while!

Varying volume

The volume had to continually adjusted through out the book. It made the story difficult to enjoy

Good story But…..

The narrator….atrocious . Soft then loud ….he wears me out just listening to! Please listen to your narrator before you publish

Action packed, a bit confusing, but another winner

Caine is brought back from the dead because the CIA needs the best. He is rescued from the hell-hole Thai prison by his former CIA girl friend.

Caine leaves Thailand in search of a missing Japanese girl wanted by her pervert father and travels to Japan where he mixes with a lot of very violent people. These are former Yakuza who have purified themselves (and burned off their tattoos) and taken on a new goal, that of purging Japan of its weakness, and leading their country into a new golden age. Their reasoning and plans are a bit vague, but they are ruthless and bloody, and want to start a war with China. Cain has to outmaneuver the Japanese police, the Yakuza, the CIA, and the new purified guys.

There is a good deal of Tokyo flavor in the story, allowing you to feel you are there. I just don't think any Japanese girl has coffee-colored thighs, even with a lot of cream.

There are more revelations about Caine's past and the people he once knew, both as friends and as enemies. There is more betrayal, but Cain is up to it all. Will Caine be able to deliver justice (or is it vengeance) to the man who betrayed him? Can he find the girl? Why is she important? How can Caine stop the international war about to happen? With nick-of-time action, this is a fine addition to the saga.

Get ready to wear out the Volume knob

Story was good, the unattenuated volume of the narrator was torturous. The producer of the book really missed the mark.

Book could use a better narrator...

Would you consider the audio edition of Tokyo Black to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the printed version but I think I will.

Did Jonathan Davis do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

No I don't think he did. I thought he was a little monotone. I found myself drifting and having to rewind more than once and it was not because of the story.

Any additional comments?

The story itself is an excellent espionage thriller and I have been looking forward to this being released on Audible but I sure wish someone had stuck with the original narrator. There is plenty of action and a shocking ending. I know there is another book in this series and I am hoping it will make it to Audible with a different narrator.
I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND the printed version.
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Thank You.

skip this one.

first the person reading the book really does a poor job. his voice fluctuations is such that you're always turning the volume up and down and it's annoying as heck. I would have quit listening to the book just for that alone.
Next the Author doesn't know anything about clothes quarters combat, nor does he know anything about weapons. A Glock 19 is an semi-automatic pistol not an automatic pistol. There is a huge difference and the fact that the Author didn't even do basic research tells me he is incompetent. I'm not going to waste my time on this book.
Finally, the hero's spycraft borders on buffoonish incompetence.

Narrator talks too loud and too fast during

action scenes. I spent most of my time toggling the volume up and down to keep him from yelling in my ear. Then I'd have to adjust volume again when he spoke so low I couldn't hear at all. Very distracting. Too bad, too, because otherwise, his narration was good.

Enjoyable story…narrator shouts when excited is only complaint…

Enjoyed the book my only complaint was the narrator literally yelling whenever reading exciting scenes, I can’t imagine how bad this would have been if listening in headphones. The story was good enough that I was able to tolerate the yelling, he’s a good narrator otherwise,

Narrator needs to modulate volume better

story was good
narrative volume ranged from a whisper to yelling, hard to hear most