Yokai Blues – 2014 ABNA Entry

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) Entry - this eBook is a sample of the first 3,000-5,000 words; it is not the full book. The ABNA contest is operated on Amazon.com only. Visit this entry on Amazon.com to leave customer feedback. To vote for the Grand Prize winner starting July 8, visit www.amazon.com/ABNA. Yokai Relations, the border between the monsters of Japanese legend and the regular population, doesn’t pay as well as it used to. Nick McLeod clings to his job on the dense streets of Tokyo, satisfied as long as he covers his rent and whiskey each month. Nick lives on the line between functional and full-blown alcoholic and has managed to not fall over yet. Until Lin, the only fox to show him any tenderness, ends up dead. Her apparent murderer, a black cloaked monster shrouded in cigarette smoke, is dead set on throwing him over that edge. Together with his assistant Tom, a 7-foot tall, fashionista ogre, Nick fights to survive this threat before he’s crushed under the weight of his own personal demons.