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John P. Marquand

John P. Marquand’s classic espionage series features Imperial Japan’s most skillful spy and the cloak-and-dagger intrigue of Asia between the world wars.

 In Your Turn, Mr. Moto, the abrupt cancellation of a transpacific flight strands World War I flying ace Casey Lee in Tokyo, leaving him with little choice but to accept a lucrative job offer from Japanese secret agent Mr. Moto. The mission begins on a steamship bound for Shanghai, where Casey’s fellow passengers include Mr. Moto and Sonya, a beautiful exile from White Russia. When a Chinese man turns up dead in Casey’s stateroom, the trio is caught up in a dangerous game of subterfuge, the outcome of which might just determine the fate of their nations.
 
 Set in 1930s Peking, Thank You, Mr. Moto, follows Tom Nelson, a jaded American expatriate, as he tries to help a gorgeous art dealer clear her name and find the real killer of a British ex-army officer trafficking stolen goods. The search leads Tom and Eleanor Joyce straight into the clutches of General Wu Lo Feng, a notorious warlord from the North who has surreptitiously entered the city. Tom and Eleanor’s only hope for survival is Mr. Moto, but can they trust the enigmatic spymaster—or are they pawns in a secret plot with stakes as monumental as they are sinister?
 
 In Think Fast, Mr. Moto, a Honolulu gambling establishment has become a key strand in a web of political and financial intrigue stretching all the way to the Far East. Sent to convince his cousin, Eva, to close the casino, Wilson Hitchings uncovers the plot and realizes just how much danger his family is in. He and Eva have no choice but to trust Japanese secret agent Mr. Moto, who claims to be in Hawaii on a similar mission. With a cast of shady international characters tracking their every move, this unlikely trio could be facing odds far too long to beat.
 
 First serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, the popular and acclaimed Mr. Moto Novels, which were the inspiration for eight films starring Peter Lorre, provide some of the most compelling and realistic depictions of spycraft in early twentieth-century fiction.

Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller

The Mr. Moto Novels

The Mr. Moto Novels Volume One: Your Turn, Mr. Moto; Thank You, Mr. Moto; and Think Fast, Mr. Moto

The thrilling 1st installment in Pulitzer Prize–winning author John P. Marquand’s classic espionage series featuring Imperial Japan’s most skillful spy

Capitalizing on his heroic career as a World War I flying ace, Casey Lee agrees to pilot a plane across the Pacific as a publicity stunt for an American tobacco company. But his future as a goodwill ambassador between East and West takes a nosedive when the flight is abruptly canceled. Stranded in Tokyo, his bank account rapidly dwindling, Casey is approached by Mr. Moto, a secret agent with a job to offer. The work entails a matter of grave international importance—and it pays well.

Casey accepts the proposition and boards a steamship bound for Shanghai, where his mission will begin. His fellow passengers include Mr. Moto and Sonya, a beautiful exile from White Russia with her own private agenda. When a Chinese man turns up dead in Casey’s stateroom, the trio is caught up in a dangerous game of intrigue and deceit, the outcome of which might just determine the fate of their nations.

First serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, John P. Marquand’s popular and acclaimed Mr. Moto Novels were the inspiration for 8 films starring Peter Lorre.

Your Turn, Mr. Moto

Stolen art, murder, and international intrigue—the 2nd installment in John P. Marquand’s popular espionage series is an evocative portrait of 1930s Peking

 Tom Nelson, a jaded American expatriate, stumbles into a deadly conspiracy as tensions between Japan and China threaten to escalate into all-out war. When a British ex–army major trafficking in stolen goods is murdered, the beautiful American art dealer Eleanor Joyce is implicated in the crime. The search for the real killer leads Tom and Eleanor straight into the clutches of General Wu Lo Feng, a notorious warlord from the North who has surreptitiously entered Peking as part of a secret plan with global implications.
 
 Feng will stop at nothing to silence the American pair. Their only hope for survival is Mr. Moto, a secret agent of Imperial Japan who is onto the general’s scheme. But can Tom and Eleanor trust the enigmatic spymaster, or are they fated to be pawns in a plot whose stakes are as monumental as they are sinister?
 
 First serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, John P. Marquand’s popular and acclaimed Mr. Moto Novels were the inspiration for 8 films starring Peter Lorre.

Thank You, Mr. Moto

From Shanghai to Honolulu to Manchuria, the 3rd chapter in the adventures of Imperial Japan’s top secret agent is an international thrill ride

Wilson Hitchings is ready to assume his rightful place at Hitchings Brothers, one of the oldest mercantile banks in China. His first task takes him to Hawaii, where he must persuade his cousin Eva to close Hitchings Plantation, a gambling establishment started by her father, the black sheep of the family. The senior members of the bank believe that the casino is tarnishing the venerable Hitchings name. Little do they know how right they are.

Unbeknownst to Eva, her father’s establishment has become a key strand in a web of political and financial intrigue stretching all the way to the Far East. When Wilson uncovers the plot and realizes just how much danger he and Eva are in, he has no choice but to trust Mr. Moto, a Japanese spymaster who claims to be in Honolulu on a similar mission. But with a remorseless killer and a cast of shady international characters tracking their every move, this unlikely trio might be facing odds far too long to beat.

First serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, John P. Marquand’s popular and acclaimed Mr. Moto Novels were the inspiration for 8 films starring Peter Lorre.

Think Fast, Mr. Moto

The 4th entry in Pulitzer Prize–winning author John P. Marquand’s popular series of espionage adventures features an Australian mercenary, a Mongolian prince, and a Japanese spymaster

Eager to escape his complicated past, Calvin Gates boards a train bound for Inner Mongolia, where he plans to join an archaeological dig. Also en route to the Gilbreth Expedition is Sylvia Dillaway, a beautiful young artist with a fierce independent streak. The two Americans become unwitting players in a high-stakes game of international intrigue when Sylvia’s Australian guide gives her a silver inlaid cigarette case containing a coded message. With the clouds of war looming, various factions of the Japanese, Russian, and Chinese governments will stop at nothing to get their hands on the case—including murder.

Calvin and Sylvia’s only hope for survival is a fellow passenger, the charming and mysterious Mr. Moto. He is Imperial Japan’s top secret agent, and his mission is to ensure the safe delivery of the cigarette case to its rightful destination. To do so, he must protect the innocent Americans, but on a speeding train headed deep into dangerous territory, even his considerable skills might not be enough to save the day.

First serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, John P. Marquand’s popular and acclaimed Mr. Moto Novels were the inspiration for 8 films starring Peter Lorre.

Mr. Moto Is So Sorry

Japanese spymaster Mr. Moto travels to the Caribbean in search of a weapon with the power to determine the course of World War II

November 1940: In Kingston Harbor, ex–navy pilot Bob Bolles lounges aboard his cutter. After months spent drifting from port to port, his only ironclad rule is no alcohol before noon. But when an American businessman named Malcolm Kingman, his gorgeous socialite wife, and their Swedish butler charter the Thistlewood for a trip to the remote Mercator Island, Bob’s carefree life takes a dangerous and dramatic turn.

By the time he places the Kingmans’ strange accents and realizes what they hope to recover from the deserted island, it’s too late. He is caught in the middle of an international espionage plot with grave implications for the wars raging across Europe and Asia. To keep a powerful military secret from falling into the wrong hands, Bob must dig deep within himself to locate hidden reserves of courage. Easier said than done, as is outwitting Mr. Moto, a top secret agent of Imperial Japan who has been tracking the Thistlewood across the Caribbean Sea.

First serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, John P. Marquand’s popular and acclaimed Mr. Moto Novels were the inspiration for 8 films starring Peter Lorre.

Last Laugh, Mr. Moto

In the final installment of John P. Marquand’s classic espionage series, Mr. Moto returns—15 years after his previous adventure 

After serving his country as a paratrooper in World War II, Jack Rhyce takes on an even more dangerous mission when he becomes a secret agent in the early years of the Cold War. Now he and fellow spy Ruth Bogart have been dispatched to Tokyo to foil an assassination attempt on a leading liberal politician. Murder is only the first part of this nefarious Communist plot; the ultimate objective is to stir up anti-American sentiment in a country that has formed close bonds with its former adversary in the West.

Undercover as do-gooders employed by the Asia Friendship League, Jack and Ruth are met at the airport by Mr. Moto, a would-be tour guide who offers to make their stay more hospitable. The American spies immediately suspect that there is more to Mr. Moto than meets the eye. But whose side is he on? To stop the cunning mastermind behind the sinister scheme, Jack and Ruth will have to learn the secrets of post-war Japan as quickly as possible. The mysterious Mr. Moto might just be their greatest ally, or their worst enemy.

First serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, John P. Marquand’s popular and acclaimed Mr. Moto Novels were the inspiration for 8 films starring Peter Lorre.