Showing Remote Control by Kotaro Isaka

Masaharu Aoyagi is a driver for a delivery company in the city of Sendai in northern Japan. Two years ago he had achieved brief notoriety for rescuing a local starlet from a robbery attempt while making a delivery to her apartment. Now he is back in the spotlight - this time as the main suspect in the assassination of a newly elected, young, and charismatic prime minister who had returned to Sendai for a victory parade in his hometown. Told in six parts from several perspectives, "Remote Control" follows Aoyagi on a forty-eight-hour chase through streets, buildings, and sewers as he-by various ingenious means, and with a little help from his friends-eludes not only the authorities but also security pods set up throughout the city to monitor telephone, cell phone, and e-mail transmissions, and keep a continual photo record of street traffic. Very quickly it becomes clear that Aoyagi has been framed by a shadowy organisation, and the whole scenario plays out like the JFK assassination, with Aoyagi in Oswald's shoes, trying to discover who has set him up and why-before it is too late. The action culminates in the centre of City Park, as Aoyagi plans to surrender to the authorities with the media watching to avoid the conspirators from having him killed before he can prove his innocence. With nostalgic references to the Beatles and allusions to the JFK assassination, and with its likeable characters and unforgettable dialogue, this award-winning bestseller is sure to strike a chord with entertainment-fiction readers everywhere.