DRAGON DANCE **UNCORRECTED PROOF COPY** by Tasker, Peter - 2003

NY: Kodansha International, 2003. 1st edition, A fine copy of the uncorrected proof in wraps. This is Tasker's 4th novel set in Tokyo. "this new thriller from Tasker... does boast a winning premise. Backed by a powerful Chinese general and capitalizing on Japan's economic malaise and discontent, terrorist Reiko Matsubara plots a political revolution that will make Japan a nuclear power and undermine the country's cozy relationship with the U.S. The plan is to carefully orchestrate the political career of a popular entertainer, a sort of Japanese Ronald Reagan, until he becomes a figurehead prime minister controlled by Matsubara's sinister terrorist group. Martine Meyer, an American reporter for a U.S. newspaper, is a longtime resident of Japan who has influential contacts at every level of Japanese society. When she begins investigating the entertainer, Tsuyoshi Nozawa, and the peculiar people who surround him, a mysterious source feeds her information by e-mail, giving her a warning of tragedies to come: a black American soldier is framed for the murder of a Japanese child; a U.S. military plane crashes in a heavily populated area; there are poisonings at a popular food outlet. The scads of subplots include Meyer's love affair with a Japanese microbrewery owner and the story of a young Japanese woman married to a wealthy Caucasian businessman... overall Tasker delivers a readable thriller with plenty of local color and a sharp sense of the cultural mood of early 21st-century Japan." PW. First Edition. Trade Paperback. Fine. Book.