Summary
Descent from Heaven is a mystery set in the exotic underworld of Japan. American executive, Charles Dorian, is found in a hotel with the body of a young model, who was strangled with her own hair ribbon. Tokyo prosecutors appear to have an unbeatable case until Mick Sanchez arrives. He works for an international investigation agency hired by Dorian's company to protect its image. With the help of Yuri Taen, a female investigator with a Tokyo agency, Sanchez uncovers high-level vice that led to the woman's death and the sordid reason Dorian refuses to cooperate in his own defense. The story of corporate betrayal and abuse of official power integrates unusual cultural aspects, such as the collection of bones in a cremation rite. The title is an irony. Descent from heaven, in Japanese "amakudari," describes golden parachutes granted to top bureaucrats by industries they once regulated. In the novel, the descent is the hard fall of a corrupt official.
About the Author
Ian Cruz has lived in Japan for more than 15 years as a marine, communications specialist for McKinsey & Co. and editor for a financial news agency. He was a reporter for the San Antonio Express News, the editor of the Laredo News and an editor on the Corpus Christi Caller. He has a bachelor of journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA in International Trade from Texas A&M International.
