Hugh Ashton, author of At the Sharpe End, which recently hit #5 in the Amazon Japan bestseller thriller list, will be reading from the book and signing copies at the Kimono Wine Bar and Grill (http://www.kimonowinebar.com) on October 13, from 7:30 onward.

Admission is ¥3,000, which includes a personally signed copy of the book, a drink and some of Kimono's famous nibbles. The charge for... [read more]

Hugh Ashton, author of At the Sharpe End, which recently hit #5 in the Amazon Japan bestseller thriller list, will be reading from the book and signing copies at the Kimono Wine Bar and Grill (http://www.kimonowinebar.com) on October 13, from 7:30 onward.

Admission is ¥3,000, which includes a personally signed copy of the book, a drink and some of Kimono's famous nibbles. The charge for guests arriving with a copy of the book (signed or unsigned) is ¥1,500.

Here are a few comments from readers of the book:

"I ended up tearing through this book in 3 evenings - one of the best reads I've had in a long time. I hated to put it down and looked forward all day to getting back to it after finishing my work. Not to go all "fan-boy" here but in all honesty, this was a much better story than many in this genre I have read from major publishers - including some of the "best-sellers" - the past few years."

"The interests and challenges in this story make me feel like I've been living in it for four days. I love it."

"Out of the ten or so books I started in the last year it's one of the two books that kept me interested enough to finish. The main character, his girlfriend and two best friends are types that you run across everyday in expat Tokyo. The plot draws you in as soon as you start reading and as the book goes on the plot reveals aspects that you didn't expect."

"A worthy read for foreigners living in Japan who haven`t seen the other side of Japan. Just glimpsed through the initial chapters, can`t wait for the weekend to complete the book."

And here's part of the review from the Japan Times (Mark Schreiber) - the whole thing may be found at http://www.AtTheSharpeEnd.com :

"In "At the Sharpe End," Japan-based author Hugh Ashton appears to have drawn inspiration from the late director Alfred Hitchcock whose films, like "Rear Window" and "Strangers on a Train," often involved unwitting bystanders ensnared in frightening predicaments...
... a credible story set in Japan that doesn't attempt to rehash "You Only Live Twice." [Ashton] eschews the obligatory mixed bathing scene, violent altercations with sumo wrestlers and ninja armed with fugu poison. So don't expect gunshots in Ginza, swordplay in Shimbashi or mayhem in Meguro. Kenneth Sharpe's inadvertent adventure may not be quite as harrowing as a Hitchcock plot, but it provided a few chills to take the edge off this summer's oppressive heat."