Barry Lancet Books In Order

Publication Order of Jim Brodie Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Anthologies

Barry Lancet is an American author who is best known for his work on the Jim Brodie Series.

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and had his education at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley.

From an early age, Barry was exposed to art. His grand father was a talented woodworker which he did on the side. His brother is an artist.

From a very young age, Barry always wanted to live overseas. Initially he planned on visiting London and the Paris just because of their high publishing activities in those two mentioned countries.

But one thing led to another and he met some of the Japanese folks who gave him a lot of encouragement to come and visit. So he decided to visit Europe and landed.

According to him, he said that his visit to Japan lingered in his mind after he returned to the states.

Five years later he returned to Japan, where he currently lives to this day. He speaks English and Japanese fluently.

His influences include the following: John le Carre, Robert B. Parker, Fyodor Dostovevsky, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas and Raymond Chandler.

Before Barry Lancet becoming a full time publisher, he worked as a book editor for publisher Kodansha International.

There he would spend countless hours working on Japanese manuscripts. Also he was involved in the editing, production and research.

After a while he found out that he no longer had the energy or time to read the dense literature and the fiction that he once enjoyed.

As a result he began to read and enjoy more commercial fiction works.

Part of his work as an editor involved the process of bringing Japanese culture into the awareness of people outside japan.

During his trips back to the states, after settling down in Japan, he noticed that people outside japan did not really know much about the culture of Japan. And that they were also curious.

It was as a result of this observation that he decided to write something that will capture people’s interest and explain what he thought was the appeal of Japan.

In his own words, “He wanted to do something that has not been done before and makes sure that the books stand on their own with their individual characters and stories”

These were the decisions that planted the seeds of his Jim Brodie ( a fictional antique dealer turned private eye) novels.

One very interesting thing about Barry Lancet’s novels is his ability to weave in Japanese culture seamlessly.

For example, he was once asked to read out a portion of his work where he inserted references to culture.

He replied by saying that this was particularly difficult to do. Unlike most authors who do what is called an “information dump” Lancet is known for being able to make references and weave in Japanese culture seamlessly without it being obvious.

Lancet attributed his time as a book editor as having a huge impact on the way he writes his novels.

This can be seen on the fact that he makes his protagonist, Jim Brodie, an antique dealer who knows a lot about Japanese culture and art.

Lancet’s writing method is something called a “pantsers”. This is a style of writing that involves writing “by the seat of their pants”

As for Lancet by the time he is ready to write, he usually has a theme, knows how the story is going to open and has an idea of some key turning points in the story.

As a staff working 60 to 70 hours every week, Lancet had to adjust his routine to ensure that he had time to work on his books.

One of the things he did was learn how to write standing while taking the train. He also gave up 3 out of 4 lunch meets to carve out a time to work on his writing.

It took him 7 years to write his first book Japantown. This is because he had to figure out his unique “voice’ and also come up with strong and compelling traits for his main character, Jim Brodie. Also he had to come up with a compelling storyline that will be very interesting and stand the test of time.

He did all this while holding down a very demanding job.

The second novel, Tokyo Kill, took about 10 months to completely finish. This was with no day job.

While the third novel took a little longer, about 12 months.

His genre includes Mystery, Thriller and Private Investigation.

Literary Works

Japantown (2013)

Japantown was Lancet’s first book and it was released in 2013.

It won the Barry Award for Best First Mystery Novel and was named a “Best of 2013” by Suspense Magazine.

Japantown is a book with the character Jim Brodie (antique dealer turned private eye) being the protagonist.

When a family is gunned down in San Francisco’s Japantown, Jim Brodie is called in by his friends at the Police Department to lend a hand.

Jim Brodie who has advised the police on murder cases previously, finds out this near perfect murders are nothing like he has ever seen before.

Japantown has been optioned by J.J Abrams Production Company in association with Warner Bros.

Tokyo Kill (2014)

This is the second book by Barry Lancet in the Jim Brodie Series.

When a veteran World War 2 soldier shows up at Brodie’s security outfit talking about his life being in danger, it all sounds like something a senile old man will cook up.

But as the plot thickens, Brodie and his crew find out that this involves Triads, Chinese Spies and killers who will stop at nothing to see that their mission is complete.

Pacific Burn (2016)

This is the third book in the Jim Brodie series.

After antique dealer and private eye, Jim Brodie helps in the San Francisco Japantown murders, he is recruited by the Mayor’s office to help in his Pacific Rim Friendship Program.

Jim recruits his friend and Japanese artist Ken Nobuki. But when an attack leaves his friend in a coma, Jim has to unravel the puzzle that befalls him.

One Response to “Barry Lancet”

1. Ralph Napletana: 2 years ago

   Jim Brodie books are great. Very real. Very human. How can one person get in so much trouble? Look forward to more . . .

   Reply