Nick John is an English writer of noir crime fiction. He is best known for the Tokyo Noir trilogy, which begins with Neon Identity (2024). His work focuses on crime, cities, and social breakdown.
Nick John completed an MA in the sociology of crime and deviance. His academic work shaped the themes of his later fiction. Most of his working life was spent in London. He lived and worked in Tokyo from late 1989 until the end of 1992. He later said, “If I had never lived in Tokyo, I couldn’t have written the first trilogy.”
After leaving England in 2011, he lived in southern Portugal. He later moved to Thailand. He now lives in a small village in the far north of the country. He lives there with his Thai-Chinese wife. When not writing or editing, he rides a motorcycle. He reads crime fiction and exercises often.
John began writing fiction in the late 1990s. An early trilogy was requested by Sceptre in London. It was later rejected. After early retirement, he returned to writing. While living in Portugal, he read Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino. He said this novel gave him the idea for Neon Identity.
The story of Neon Identity (2024) takes place in Tokyo in 1990. It follows Pete Bond, a disgraced London detective. Bond works as an English teacher in Tokyo. He becomes involved with Suzi Sloane, a London woman working in hostess bars. The novel explores crime, desire, and power in Kabukicho and Roppongi. John aimed to recreate early 1990s Tokyo with realism.
Sin Garden (2026) is the second book in the trilogy. Pete Bond is hired to find a missing woman in Tokyo. The case leads him into hostess clubs and underground films. Suzi Sloane plays a key role in the investigation. The novel deepens the moral tension of the series.
The third Tokyo Noir novel, Sunrise Boulevard, completes the trilogy. Next Chapter publishes all three books.
Nick John has said realism is central to all his novels. James Ellroy and George Pelecanos influence his work. He continues to work on later trilogies set in London, Spain, Portugal, and Thailand.
Photo credit: writeanygenre.wordpress.com
Nick John completed an MA in the sociology of crime and deviance. His academic work shaped the themes of his later fiction. Most of his working life was spent in London. He lived and worked in Tokyo from late 1989 until the end of 1992. He later said, “If I had never lived in Tokyo, I couldn’t have written the first trilogy.”
After leaving England in 2011, he lived in southern Portugal. He later moved to Thailand. He now lives in a small village in the far north of the country. He lives there with his Thai-Chinese wife. When not writing or editing, he rides a motorcycle. He reads crime fiction and exercises often.
John began writing fiction in the late 1990s. An early trilogy was requested by Sceptre in London. It was later rejected. After early retirement, he returned to writing. While living in Portugal, he read Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino. He said this novel gave him the idea for Neon Identity.
The story of Neon Identity (2024) takes place in Tokyo in 1990. It follows Pete Bond, a disgraced London detective. Bond works as an English teacher in Tokyo. He becomes involved with Suzi Sloane, a London woman working in hostess bars. The novel explores crime, desire, and power in Kabukicho and Roppongi. John aimed to recreate early 1990s Tokyo with realism.
Sin Garden (2026) is the second book in the trilogy. Pete Bond is hired to find a missing woman in Tokyo. The case leads him into hostess clubs and underground films. Suzi Sloane plays a key role in the investigation. The novel deepens the moral tension of the series.
The third Tokyo Noir novel, Sunrise Boulevard, completes the trilogy. Next Chapter publishes all three books.
Nick John has said realism is central to all his novels. James Ellroy and George Pelecanos influence his work. He continues to work on later trilogies set in London, Spain, Portugal, and Thailand.
Photo credit: writeanygenre.wordpress.com
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