Kindle
$9.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Paperback
$17.89
$17.89 with 6 percent savings
List Price: $18.95

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 16. Order within 8 hrs 4 mins
In Stock
$$17.89 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$17.89
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Peter Kageyama
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Midnight Climax (A Kats Takemoto Novel) Paperback – January 23, 2024

by Peter Kageyama (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$17.89","priceAmount":17.89,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"17","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"89","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ud8LmT7KNK1Z3EHljc3mfDY6kbQil%2FRjxMqOCwWCTax4DjpaFW0XJ1fVuNDaMokC60hFQNhumaftCf5MyV%2F10DI8L97kyiQJSbMZ8lDBoHgr8tknHg6pVsB0njeiz%2FRbHjZ6OpXL4i3V5thmIw9iWw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Kats Takemoto, the nisei private detective from Hunters Point, returns to investigate the murder of a young Chinese girl, killed in a covert CIA brothel in the heart of San Francisco. Her family, members of a Tong, a powerful Chinatown gang, demand vengeance that threatens to start an all-out war in Chinatown unless Kats can discover the truth behind the slaying. Along the way he will discover a personal connection to the suspected killer, a fellow veteran who was tortured and experimented on, turning him into a lethal weapon and a ticking bomb. Kats and his friends race to find this soldier before the government and the rival Tong gangs spiral into more bloodshed.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 2
    A Kats Takemoto Novel
  2. Print length
    372 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    January 23, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.93 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1940300819
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1940300818
  8. See all details
Next page
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Frequently bought together

Midnight Climax (A Kats Takemoto Novel)
$17.89
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Hunters Point: A Novel of San Francisco (A Kats Takemoto Novel)
$15.54
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Kageyama is a third-generation Japanese American - sansei. He is a former Senior Fellow with the Alliance for Innovation and the author of four nonfiction books on cities and urban development. He was a finalist for the 2023 Roy Peter Clark Literary Award. Peter lives in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Petersburg Press (January 23, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 372 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1940300819
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1940300818
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.93 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Peter Kageyama

Peter Kageyama

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Peter Kageyama is an urbanist and bestselling author of four nonfiction books on cities and placemaking. His first book, For the Love of Cities, was recognized as a Top 10 Book in Urban Planning and Development. He speaks all over the world about better placemaking that emphasizes small, inexpensive, and fun approaches to city building. He was a Senior Advisor to the Alliance for Innovation, a national network of city leaders, and is a special advisor to America in Bloom.

In 2023, St. Petersburg Press published his first novel, Hunters Point. The work of historic fiction draws upon the wartime experiences of his father and his Japanese family. The sequel, Midnight Climax, was published in early 2024.

In his spare time Peter is an avid board gamer, comic book geek and classic rock nerd. He lives in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife, award winning architect Lisa Wannemacher and their dog Dobby.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
19 global ratings
Another fantastic story!
5 Stars
Another fantastic story!
This book, like the first in the series, had me hooked from the first chapter. The way the author inserts actual pieces of history into such an exciting story shows amazing talent. I truly enjoy learning about San Francisco and the various cultures during that time. I was happy to read that he plans to continue the series and I look forward to reading the next installment!
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Avonna
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Exciting Addition to the Series!
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
MIDNIGHT CLIMAX (A Kats Takemoto Novel Book #2) by Peter Kageyama is a thrilling immersive historical suspense/mystery trip back to 1959 San Francisco. This is the second book featuring the nisei P.I. Kats Takemoto and it can be read as a standalone novel, but the first book in the series was so great that I feel you should read them both.

A young Chinese girl is killed in a brothel and her family members in one of the Chinese Tongs in Chinatown want revenge. The head of this group is friend of Kats from college and hires him to find the man responsible. As Kats begins to ask questions, he discovers the brothel was a cover for a CIA drug testing operation and the accused man is a veteran asset the government wants back.

Kats and his friends race to find the accused veteran before a government black ops group can find him and Chinatown explodes into a war between rival Tongs.

I could not stop turning the pages in this exciting historical suspense/mystery. Mr. Kageyama’s writing pulls you back in time effortlessly and you feel like you are in the middle of the action. The CIA operation plotline is based on a true story and since I love history, I can point out the sad fact that it is far from the only time the military and/or CIA experimented on the unsuspecting. I love Kats and, in this book, we learn even more about his personal history while in WWII. The empathy between Kats and the veteran they are trying to find and save is palpable. I also enjoyed reconnecting with Molly and Shig. This story has so many interesting little side tidbits also, with historical San Francisco’s intolerance for gays and drag, having to find a payphone or landline to communicate, the literary bans and the city’s avant-garde beatniks.

I highly recommend this exciting, action-packed P.I. historical suspense/mystery addition to the series and I am anxiously waiting for more cases with Kats.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mutant
5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical fiction!
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2024
Verified Purchase
Kats, Molly and Shig return in a real page turner follow up to the first. A great book written around actual covert CIA and military programs that involved experimentation on humans in the late 50 early 60’s. If you haven’t read the fantastic first book “Hunters Point” you may want to so you will better understand the background of the characters and why they are a team. Mr. Kageyama is a fantastic new author and you will enjoy his series that is going to involve more adventures. The narration of the audio book edition was fantastic as well.
Helpful
 Report
LittleSurferGirl
5.0 out of 5 stars Another fantastic story!
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book, like the first in the series, had me hooked from the first chapter. The way the author inserts actual pieces of history into such an exciting story shows amazing talent. I truly enjoy learning about San Francisco and the various cultures during that time. I was happy to read that he plans to continue the series and I look forward to reading the next installment!
Customer image
LittleSurferGirl
5.0 out of 5 stars Another fantastic story!
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2024
This book, like the first in the series, had me hooked from the first chapter. The way the author inserts actual pieces of history into such an exciting story shows amazing talent. I truly enjoy learning about San Francisco and the various cultures during that time. I was happy to read that he plans to continue the series and I look forward to reading the next installment!
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
Helpful
 Report
corrie kamiya
5.0 out of 5 stars Midnight Climax
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2024
Verified Purchase
The book jumps right in and keeps you engaged to the end. I loved the historical references to San Francisco, the war, the Kageyama family and the culture of the times.
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very character driven 1950s SanFran novel.
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2024
Verified Purchase
I will begin with - this is a fantastic book. It combines historical events with a fantastic storyline, all immersed in the Chinese and Japanese cultures of 1950's San Francisco.
The main character, a Japanese-American US war veteran, stumbles upon a CIA drug dosing program conducted on unsuspecting US citizens. In San Fransisco, the actual historical operation code name was Midnight Climax.
I highly recommend this book, not only for the riveting, tense, and page turning action, but also for the characters that I became attached to and invested in.
Mr. Kageyama is a new author that is now on my 'must read' list.
Helpful
 Report
Christina Marie Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling CIA operation turned manhunt!
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2024
I normally don't read a great deal of CIA/government cover-up style thrillers. I have enjoyed books like The Hunt for Red October or The Andromeda Strain, so I can lean towards a thriller with government undertones. When I was offered an ARC to review (for a fair and honest review), what initially drew me to this book was the interesting mix of the San Francisco setting, murderer manhunt, detective thriller genre and covert CIA operation. It sounded like a lot to do all in one book, but I was super intrigued!

Kats Takemoto, a Japanese-American private detective, finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery that quickly unfolds into government cover-ups and gang warfare. Lin Tai Lo, the second-in-command of a Tong gang and Kats' college friend, asks Kats is help solve the murder of his cousin, a young woman working as a prostitute. The Tong are out for blood and vengeance and they need Kats to help them find the murderer. Kats finds a connection between the girl's murder and a super secret CIA operation. With the US government testing various chemical concoctions on people to find a super-soldier serum, things will get mighty tricky for Kats and his crew as they work to keep peace in the powder-keg of 1959 San Francisco.

I love a well-developed character, even in a thriller. I don't care who is chasing whom and why unless I care about the person. I really came to know and care about these characters. Kats is an intriguing person. His personal history is deep and there's a world of hurt in there from his time in WWII in the 442nd. War is unkind and leaves our soldiers with so much hurt that many can't come back from it. Hearing about Kats' background gives a reader a stronger understanding of who he is and who he wants to be. Molly and Shig, Kats' girlfriend and best friend respectively, are also great additions. They help to highlight Kats and society in San Francisco in the late 50s/early 60s. This fun trio works well together, supporting and relying on each other. The host of other characters illustrate a great deal of other aspects of society and history: Tong gangs and gang violence in Chinatown, CIA operations on our own soil, SFPD and laws, etc. Kageyama builds real, layered characters while weaving history into his thrilling plot points. Without these characters, the story would do very little for a reader. With them, Kageyama creates a thriller with a message and a heart - not an easy task.

I was really impressed with the level of research Kageyama must have done for this novel. He has to weave so many different story ideas together while also providing necessary historical information. All of that could come off super boring or have sections of data dumps, but not so with Midnight Climax. There's a lot going on but it's all done as a part of the action or as a part of the characterization. Initially, I thought it was going to be a murder mystery - and it is for Kats - but Kageyama's style of narration allows the reader to know all the information up front. Writing with an omniscient point of view can be tricky - it takes a lot of the surprise away for the reader. However, Kageyama's novel doesn't suffer because he uses it. In fact, it tends to heighten the suspenseful and thrilling action. His action scenes are also well-developed and I could see every part of the fight scenes like it was a movie. Every detail was described so I could feel what was going on, but the pacing never slowed to a halt.

Midnight Climax is a perfectly paced detective thriller with history and heart.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report