H. A. Bryant is the creator of the internationally acclaimed suspense series starring Matt Kelly as the main character. His latest is titled The Unlikely Detective and Look Into My Eyes. It is available on Amazon & Apple Books just like his other novels.
 
Number 5 in the Matt Kelly series starts fast—with an explosion in a cafe that kills his wife and daughter—but Matt catches up with one of the supposed bombers and kills him, leading to another vintage Kelly climax. 

This novel, the most recent of the series, revolves around Matt Kelly, a dissatisfied PI and now a DSS Agent for the state department at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, a city he has gotten uneasy living in. Estranged from his wife, he lives in a small apartment where he receives a call from his wife. She wants to see him about investing in her latest dress shop. They agree to meet for lunch at an outdoor café near the embassy. While they are talking and eating, a young Asian couple sits at an adjoining table. After drinking half a glass of lemonade and whispering several times in the girl’s ear, the man abruptly leaves.

Matt’s professional antennae are aroused, and he suddenly urges his wife and daughter to get up and depart with him. They are confused, and while he rushes away from the patio, she pauses to gather her things and grab another appetizer. As Matt turns to call her to him, a bomb goes off, knocking him to the ground and killing his wife, daughter, and several others instantly. As the chaos develops around him, he sees the young man who was with the girl, chases him into an alley, and shoots him dead.

As a result, Matt is put on paid leave, and in his grief and confusion, he determines that he will find the perpetrator of the blast and bring him to justice as the murderer of his wife and daughter. The ensuing investigation has many twists and turns, leading him in many interesting and seemingly unconnected directions.  

The fourth installment is The Unlikely Detective and the Stolen Stamps Enigma, where Kelly is hesitant to get involved in the problems of an elderly stamp dealer, who has mysteriously had a client’s valuable stamp collection worth millions of yen replaced with a far less valuable one. However, the dealer is an old friend of Kelly’s acquaintance and occasional colleague, Miller, and in the end, Miller usually gets his way.
 
It doesn’t hurt that one of the stamp dealer’s assistants is a five-foot buxom doll called Masako and is nearly as fit as the legendarily flat-bellied Kelly.
 
As Miller cogitates over how a bank locked-room switch could have been engineered, Kelly noses around the client, a supposed financial investment advisor, who turns out to be a money launderer for the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza.

Series fans will immediately see that the investment advisor/yakuza does more than the laundry—the advisor’s clients indicate that Kelly has found his adversary. No one is quite what they seem this time around—Masako and the investment advisor/yakuza, especially—and it takes Kelly quite a while to put the pieces together.
 
Cut to a rented cabin cruiser, heading to Oshima Island, as Kelly lies in wait for a predawn visit from the investment advisor/yakuza on his way, just like in the classic movie “Cape Fear,” to settle scores once and for all.

The third installment, titled "The Unlikely Detective and the Dark Society" and available on Amazon and Apple Books, takes readers on a thrilling journey with Kelly. The story unfolds across various locations, from Joshidai Koji in Nagoya to Hakusanbora in Aichi Prefecture, ultimately leading to Tokyo. This narrative involves elements such as the yakuza, an accidental stabbing, a deliberate murder, and a political assassin.
 
An anonymous reviewer of Bryant’s debut novel praised the author for maintaining a high level of suspense throughout the story, culminating in an exciting climax.

In his thrilling second installment of the series, The Unlikely Detective and the Black Dragon Society, Kelly heads to Shinjuku for an interview with a British exotic dancer who has had something stolen from her. During his investigation, Kelly stumbles upon evidence revealing that the dancer and the wife of a prominent professor were both victims of a similar theft. However, the true mystery lies not in the “who” or “how” of the crime, but the “why.” As Kelly pursues leads, some prove helpful in unraveling the case while others lead to dead ends. Eventually, he uncovers the motive behind the thefts, and it becomes apparent that the answer isn’t to his liking. Amidst the intrigue, Kelly finds himself entangled in a conflict involving both familiar and new adversaries, with Asia and the world at stake. The question remains whether the criminals are linked to the local yakuza, acting as lone wolves, or something else entirely.

The series debut, The Unlikely Detective, introduces readers to Matt Kelly, a former U.S. Marine living in Shimbashi, Tokyo, after his discharge. He is now a student at Sophia University (known as Jōchi Daigaku in Japanese). Besides studying at the university, he also focuses on two other passions, kickboxing and women. However, his romantic interests often lead him into troublesome situations

During a night of bar-hopping in Tokyo’s Ginza District, Kelly encounters an American salesman in search of his girlfriend, Mariko. Deciding to assist, Kelly unexpectedly becomes an amateur private investigator. His quest for Mariko embroils him in various captivating and perilous scenarios, including counterfeiting, smuggling, North Korean spies, yakuza activities, and multiple murders. Along the way, he becomes intertwined with the women who frequent the hostess bars and strip clubs of Tokyo, immersing himself in the unique world of Japan’s nighttime entertainment industry known as Mizu-shōbai.
 
More than fifty years ago, Bryant established his initial connection with Japan. He arrived in Yokosuka in November 1967 as his starting point, engaging in a four and a half year role on two 7th Fleet Flagships stationed there. Upon concluding his naval tenure in August 1972, he became a student at Sophia University in September 1973. Over the subsequent six years, he dedicated himself to academic pursuits, ultimately achieving a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business and Economics in August 1979.

Afterward, he opted to advance his education at Aoyama Gakuin University, concentrating on obtaining a degree in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Throughout his tenure at both Sophia University and Aoyama Gakuin, he was privileged to secure a teaching and training position at a prominent cross-cultural communications company in Tokyo. In this role, the company offered a comprehensive range of English language services, encompassing instruction in international presentation and negotiation skills, as well as providing rewriting and translation services to diverse companies, educational institutions, and governmental organizations.
 
Bryant is currently located in the United States, but he still travels to Japan periodically.

Write him at: habryantbooks@gmail.com