But for Aoki it wasn't as easy as simply forgetting about an investigation that he had put so much time and effort into. And to be so close to the end, with the prize to be the conviction of a truly corrupt man! No, he could pretend to let it go, but it would fester for days affecting his work and home life until he could stand it no more. The resulting explosion of emotion has dramatic ramifications on Aoki and his family, but the upshot sees him suspended from duty and eventually sent north by his superior to Hokkaido to a remote guesthouse for a "vacation".

He quickly realises that he is sharing the guesthouse with a couple of men who figured prominently in one of the first cases he worked on, a sordid murder, love triangle of the highest profile. Could this possibly be a coincidence? In fact, Aoki can barely move for people harbouring deep dark secrets and somehow they all seem to have a connection back to the Fatman. Or has Aoki simply let his obsession take over his mind?

When a vicious snowstorm hits, the guesthouse is completely isolated from the rest of the world. The phone lines are down, the power fails and the roads are completely impassable. And then the murders begin.

Rendezvous At Kamakura Inn is a completely absorbing thriller that combines the sticky elements of a corrupt government with the threat of the yakuza, capable of all sorts of obscene violence and wraps them all up in a sealed box such as the isolated guesthouse. Browne allows the tension to build gradually while establishing the roles and relationships between each of the characters trapped by the snow. Their backgrounds are intriguing, enigmatic and somehow intricately interwoven allowing for any number of possible scenarios to be played out, ensuring that the identity of the killer remains up in the air right until the crucial moment.

The tension relies heavily on emotional drama, with Aoki going through psychological hell, being made to pay to some extent, for his dedication to his job and his virtual neglect of his family. The fuse is lit early on with plenty of motivation for Aoki to bring down the Fatman, in fact, he literally burns with the desire to get to him. We're made to take a stake in the outcome of the story and in Aoki's welfare thanks to the depth of emotion that is revealed to us along the way.

While I found the tension was well maintained, if there was an area in which I thought let the story down quite a bit it was in the passivity of Aoki when challenged. For so much of the book we are enlightened by his suspicions, insightful detective work right the way from Tokyo to Hokkaido, but far too often he refuses to follow up on his thoughts. The climactic showdowns that seemed to be set up continuously fizzled out providing me with endless sources of frustration.

This is a slow-to-build story with a lot of groundwork provided in Tokyo that must be followed closely. Once the scene moves to Hokkaido, the pressure begins to build until we are cast on a frantic fight for survival with occasionally gruesome scenes only ratcheting up the tension.

Marshall Browne's talent for vivid description is at show here as he presents the customs and traditions of Japan with little fuss and great attention to detail. With a complex and engaging protagonist, this is the kind of mystery that I love to get right into, happy to ride out the surprises that lurk towards the end.