The Ninja Apprentice: Hand of the Yakuza

BOOK 3 IN THE BESTSELLING SERIES "THE NINJA APPRENTICE" IS HERE!

It's been several years since Jimmy Matsuda discovered he was the last member of a mighty warrior family. Destined to become to heir to the Matsuda-ryu Ninja clan, Jimmy's ascension has been anything but easy. In order to restore his family's honor, Jimmy must retrieve nine sacred relics that were stolen by the evil Kotogawa samurai hundreds of years before.

In the mountains of Nepal, Jimmy found the first relic.

And after a harrowing journey to London to acquire the second artifact, Jimmy returns home to the US to continue his training aided by his new friend Sebastian.

But on a routine field training exercise in Boston, Jimmy is forced to acknowledge that the evil Kotogawa has managed to find him once again. When word comes that the third relic has been found, it seems a good time to leave town.

Touching down in Hong Kong, Vanessa’s past catches up with her when she is immediately identified by Chinese Intelligence. Amid the narrow streets of the bustling city, the trio take refuge within the walls of the Blue Lotus triad as they plan an incursion into a rival triad believed to be in possession of the relic.

But what seems like a standard infiltration soon goes awry when Vanessa is kidnapped and flown into mainland China, leaving Jimmy and Sebastian stranded. When an unlikely ally comes to their rescue, the daring duo still have to figure out where Vanessa is, and most importantly - how they’re going to rescue her.

Because not only are the Chinese spies on their tail, so too is a new assassin dispatched by Kotogawa to kill them all.

In this thrilling follow-up to the bestselling Tsuba of Kotogawa (written by an author who holds a 5th degree black belt in authentic Togakure-ryu Ninjutsu), Jimmy finds himself continuing his ninjutsu training under the watchful eyes of both the ghost of his ancestor Goro, and British intelligence operative and aunt, Vanessa. Packed with lessons on surveillance, invisibility, and infiltration, Jimmy has to digest all of it (and you can learn them too!) even as the forces of evil mount attack after attack upon him.

About the Author: Jon F. Merz is the author of over 30 novels (including the bestselling Lawson Vampire supernatural espionage series) ranging from urban fantasy to espionage and sword & sorcery fantasy. Prior to becoming a full-time writer Jon served in the United States Air Force, protected a variety of Fortune 500 executives, and taught defensive tactics to government agencies like the State Department, Bureau of Prisons, and others. He is an active CrossFitter, a 5^th degree black belt in Togakure-ryu Ninjutsu, enjoys doing GORUCK challenges, and in 2014 started modeling and acting, most recently starring as Alfred P. Sloan in THE CARS THAT MADE AMERICA on the History Channel. He lives each and every day by the motto, "Who Dares Lives."


Genre: Children's Fiction