Takehiro Hira

Set in Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village. Its English pilot, John Blackthorne, comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne's own enemies - the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants. Toranaga's and Blackthorne's fates become inextricably tied to their translator, Toda Mariko, a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.

The global environmental thriller is set in the present day, where anomalies and unnatural behavior in marine animals are causing upheaval all over the world. The Swarm follows a global group of scientists who come together to tackle one of the biggest challenges mankind has ever faced. They make the chilling discovery that deep at the bottom of the sea resides a collective intelligence which has suffered the ravages of civilization on its habitat - and decided to fight back.

A Tokyo detective travels to London to look for his long lost younger brother, now involved with the Yakuza (Japanese mob) and wanted for the murder of a Japanese businessman. With the help of a young Japanese-British hustler who helps the detective navigate London, the mystery continues to unravel. His family's honour, and the fragile peace between the warring gangs back in Tokyo, is at stake.