The Kamo Horse - IJ Parker

This is a story from the October 2003 Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (don't worry, a EQMM story is coming soon) and it's a great one. There are at least a couple of great twists that caught me off guard (not in itself anything to be proud of since I can be caught off guard by a candy bar wrapper) and, most importantly, I found myself really connecting to Akitada as a person. This, for me, is the clincher in a story. If you make the characters attractive, I'll be happy to read as they do just about anything. If I don't care about the characters, then I really won't be interested even if they're trying to defuse a nuclear device. I like Akitada and will read more about him. Hey, isn't there a novel out? Check here.