Hoyt's military/political thrillers (Vivienne; Siege) and his mysteries featuring salty Seattle private detective John Denson (Fish Story; Bigfoot) have won him a loyal readership. But even his fans may have difficulty embracing (or even finishing) this dense and convoluted tale about Gen. Douglas MacArthur's role in a corruption scandal involving Emperor Hirohito of Japan, millions of dollars of looted gold hidden in the Philippines and the controversial execution for war crimes of Gen. Tomayuki Yamashita, the Tiger of Malaya, in 1947. It's General Yamashita's American granddaughter, Tomiko Kobayashi, a historian with a Ph.D. from Yale, who jump-starts the narrative while trying to clear her grandfather's name. When her sister sensibly asks her, "Besides us, who's to care?" Tomi replies, "Defenders and detractors of Douglas MacArthur. Anybody who professes to care about truth. History buffs. Lovers of mysteries and detection. All thoughtful people should care...." Perhaps. But more than 400 pages later, despite Hoyt's obvious insider expertise (he was a counterintelligence agent and lives in the Philippines, lovingly portrayed here), the staggeringly large cast of characters and the cloud of true believer's paranoia that hangs over the entire enterprise will likely have tried the patience of most readers. (Nov.)
