The Yakuza Path: Better Than Suicide

Nao has taken over as temporary head of the Matsukawa syndicate and is facing not only disrespect from within the gang but somebody is selling drugs within Kyoto and he is under pressure from the police to trace where they are coming from as they appear to be originating from the Matsukawa. The sequel to Blood Stained Tea is a highly enjoyable read..

This book was still pretty good but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one. I'm not sure if I was just in a different mood while reading this one or what but it seemed like Nao was way more whiny in this one and I found myself wanting to shake him more often than not. The mystery aspect of the plot could have been more compelling but I feel like it was inter-cut with too much internal monologue and that nothing really exciting happened until the very end. Also I would have liked Nao to get together with Aki, even if he was just going to be using him. And the whole thing with Kohta was kind of weird, I feel like that could have been left out entirely and it could have focused on Aki more and the plot wouldn't have been so convoluted. I don't know, I think what I liked most about the first one was the incredibly unhappy ending and everything ends pretty well here so I'm kind of like eh.

Great follow up to the first book. Looking forward to more from this author.

I am very careful when reading anything that has to do with Yakuza.
I am a great fan of Japanese customs and history. And of course, the underworld.
What happens very often is that authors often take Japanese names, places and settings and just "substitute" them in a "western" type of story.
I am very, very happy this is not the case here- it is very well researched and the author has done a great job portraying the hierarchy in the syndicates. It is strangely poetical, passionate and definitely recommended! .

I was so excited to read this one after the way the first one ended and I'm going to admit, I wasn't disappointed!

This time, Nao has to face something he never planned since he never thought he'd survived this far: he now has to face the weight of being the new godfather of the Matsukawa but also the ghosts of his loved ones.

The second volume is quite different from the first one, there's not really a romance since Nao refuses to let someone enter his life once again and is only about a deal between Nao and the Detective Yamada. Since the deal is only five days long, this one is more fast paced but we discover more of Nao's past but we also learn more about the Matsukawa family. New characters come in the way and they are all very complex. They all have their reasons to survive and I think it was really nice to learn more about everything!

The only thing that bothered me was that some skin colored is described with food.

Once again, I'm really excited to read the next one, even if it's only going to be a novella.