This book is a fantastic financial thriller. I love how the author mixed suspense, the currency markets and current events. The author found the proper balance to describe technical details without being boring. The characters are well developed and I found myself liking a villain or two as much as the good guys. The good guys are flawed and hypocrites. They end up becoming exactly like the insider traders and cheats the author demonizes in the book. It just made them seem more human and not above making mistakes. The characters are colorful and relatable. Hugh Ashton did a wonderful job bringing the Japanese culture to life. This was a fast read that kept my interest until the end. A great read!

This book has an exciting plot, sympathetic characters (even some of those who turn out to be villains), and lots of insight into Japanese contemporary culture, at both the high and the low ends. It vividly recreates the cross-cultural, international atmosphere of life in one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities, which can also feel amazingly like a small town at times. "At the Sharpe End" is a great read, and a must for anyone who has lived in, or been intrigued by, Tokyo and its role in international high finance and high tech.

Hugh Ashton takes the reader through a ever-twisting, unpredictable tale of "who's the bad guy" set in Japan. The explanations of a foreigner's life in Japan are realistic and are not bogged down by excessive explanations. Yet those explanations are enough to make the story comprehensible to the reader with very little or no knowledge about life in Japan. A totally enjoyable good read.

A worthy read for foreigners living in Japan who haven`t seen the other side of Japan. Just glimpsed through the initial chapters, can`t wait for the weekend to complete the book. Kudos to Hugh for a great effort.

Other people have already outlined some of the story, so suffice to say that Ashton's _At the Sharpe End_ is a good read with lots of twists and turns -- lots of action in an engaging story line. And I appreciate that the glimpses of life in Tokyo come from a long-term resident and not a stereotype-milker. Looking forward to his other work.