Tetsuo Otani Books in Order
Tetsuo Otani contains 13 books, published between 1979 and 1992. The first book is The Wages of Zen (1979) and the newest is The Body Wore Brocade (1992). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 13
- Published
- 1979–1992
- Pages on record
- 925 in 5 of 13 books
Tetsuo Otani is a 13-book series published from 1979 to 1992. Subject headings name Superintendent Tetsuo Otani as a fictitious character and list police, Japan and police procedurals. The Wages of Zen (1979) opens the series and The Body Wore Brocade (1992) is the last title. A Sort of Samurai (1981), Death of a Daimyo (1984) and Kimono for a Corpse (1987) are among the others. The series is catalogued as likely complete.
How many Tetsuo Otani books are there?
Tetsuo Otani has 13 books, released between 1979 and 1992.
Tetsuo Otani Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 13 Tetsuo Otani books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The Wages of Zen1979 · confirmed 1/41979–1/4
- 2The Chrysanthemum Chain1980 · confirmed 1/41980–1/4
- 3A Sort of Samurai1981 · confirmed 1/41981–1/4
- 4The Ninth Netsuke1982 · confirmed 1/41982–1/4
- 5Sayonara, Sweet Amaryllis1983 · confirmed 1/41983–1/4
- 6Death of a Daimyo1984 · 163 pages · confirmed 1/419841631/4
- 7The Death Ceremony1985 · confirmed 1/41985–1/4
- 8Go Gently, Gaijin1986 · 179 pages · confirmed 1/419861791/4
- 9Kimono for a Corpse1987 · 196 pages · confirmed 1/419871961/4
- 10The Reluctant Ronin1988 · 226 pages · confirmed 1/419882261/4
- 11A Haiku for Hanae1989 · 161 pages · confirmed 1/419891611/4
- 12The Bogus Buddha1990 · confirmed 1/41990–1/4
- 13The Body Wore Brocade1992 · confirmed 1/41992–1/4
Do you have to read Tetsuo Otani books in order?
You should read the Tetsuo Otani books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Tetsuo Otani book also stands alone.
Where to start with Tetsuo Otani
Start with The Wages of Zen (1979), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Tetsuo Otani book?
The Body Wore Brocade (1992) is the newest Tetsuo Otani book released so far.
Is there a new Tetsuo Otani book coming?
No next Tetsuo Otani book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Tetsuo Otani at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Tetsuo Otani title on record dates from 1992, 34 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Tetsuo Otani books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 925 pages across the 5 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 179 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Tetsuo Otani books, 10 of 13, were published in the 1980s.
- Attribution
- Of the 13 titles, 10 are credited to James Melville. 3 titles carry no credit.
What the Tetsuo Otani books are about
6 of the 13 Tetsuo Otani books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: supt. otani, tetsuo (fictitious character) is tagged on 5 of 6. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Supt. Otani, Tetsuo (Fictitious character) 5 of 6 books
- Police 4 of 6 books
- Japan 2 of 6 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 2 of 6 books
Characters in the Tetsuo Otani books
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Otani books in order 13 books