John P. Marquand is the creator of the Mr. Moto detective series, many short stories and 18 other novels. Stopover: Tokyo is the sixth and last of the Moto mysteries, though Moto is a side player in the story.
Stopover is also known as Right You Are Mr. Moto in a US reprint, and was the loose basis for the film Stopover Tokyo starring Robert Wagner and Joan Collins in 1957. 'Loosely based' meaning Mr. Moto is entirely cut out of the story (!) and Robert meets a Welsh receptionist (Joan) at the Tokyo airport - while in the book, her character is an American spy travelling with him from the beginning. Among many other changes I am sure.
The novel was written in 1957. I found a nice clean hardcover with an intact dust jacket for $3.00. (Why do I always mention where I got it? Just to share in my happiness at such a find!)
Jack Rhyce is a young American intelligence agent sent to post-war Tokyo to foil a communist espionage and terrorist ring. He is partnered with Ruth Bogart, a spy posing as a bright young student and fiancé. Working under the cover of a goodwill organization, they travel from San Francisco to Japan - stopping first in Hawaii, then Wake Island in the night to refuel as it takes several legs and still 10 more hours to reach Tokyo. They have already been tracked by Mr. Moto's team, and he is waiting to meet them at the airport as a guide and chauffeur.
The story, while entertaining, never reached the tension I usually expect in spy novels. The majority is Jack and Ruth hanging out in the Imperial Hotel, talking about the spy life and whether either would like out. They move on to a remote mountain spa resort where they meet again a man who was on Wake Island - perhaps he is the notorious Big Ben, the inciter they are looking for who is working for the Russians.
Mr. Moto remains in the background, kept at a distance by Jack, who thinks he may be Sirkov, the Russian leader. Moto is also watching, thinking Jack is Big Ben. Once they realize they are on the same side, the action comes to a head and resolves in a surprising way.
Ruth's storyline reads like many of the time, such as Ian Fleming's Bond novels. Intelligent, beautiful, sad, brave, but ultimately a pawn in the men's game.
This is a novel of espionage and intelligence, so while there are tense situations, they are resolved with intelligence and not firepower. The results in the finale a matter of where the chips lay, nothing more.
There is no room for sentiment or relationship in the life of an intelligence officer.
I would have liked more Moto. Of course, I am a fan of the movies based on the character with the terrific Peter Lorre in his many disguises. They brisk along at just over an hour in length so the dialogue is snappy and the action rolls. The film Stopover Tokyo was also good, but a complete rewrite of the plot - why do they do this?.
The novels of John P. Marquand are more serious, yet entertaining.
Other Mr. Moto thrillers I have reviewed:
1957 / Hardcover / 313 pages
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