Rising Sun by Michael Crichton

Summary:
On the forty-fifth floor of the Nakamoto Tower in downtown LA- the new American headquarters of an immense Japanese conglomerate - a grand opening celebration is in full swing.
On the forty-sixth floor, in an empty conference room, the dead body of a beautiful woman is found.
The investigation begins... and immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue... a no-holds-barred conflict in which control of a vital American technology is the fiercely coveted prize - and the Japanese saying "business is war" takes on a terrifying reality.
Fast. Furious. Riveting. Rising Sun delivers the unique Crichton mix - breathtaking suspense and cutting-edge technology - at its most explosive.
Review:
So this is a little different for Crichton. He usually writes thrillers that discuss some scientific concept, whereas this is more of a business/economic thriller that discusses Japanese/American economic relations and how the US is letting Japan walk all over them. This, of course, was before Japan got hit with a earthquake/tsunami combo deal and Fukushima started leaking radiation in the biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. I swear, if this book was written today (instead of 20 years ago) it would be about the Chinese instead, and the plot would look very different. Unfortunately Crichton died in 2008 so we'll never know what that would look like. Oh, and for those of you who don't know, Crichton was the guy who wrote Jurassic Park (it was book before it was a movie). Anyways, onto the book itself.
One thing Rising Sun did not do was fall into the trap of having whole (and very dry/boring) chapters that serve no purpose but to lecture you about the subject matter being discussed in the book (as happened in State of Fear  and  The Andromeda Strain). You do still feel like you're being lectured occasionally, it's just more spread out (in Crichton's best novels, you don't feel like you're being lectured at all).  Now I don't know if the information Crichton gives here is accurate or racist, but to me it didn't seem very racist (as some people claim it is). One thing it does do though is stereotype Japanese people and you have to realize that not all Japanese are like that.
As for pacing, it's a little slower than I would have liked for the most part, but the idea of a Japanese corporation being able to watch your every move and pull strings to either slow you down or ruin you in the public eye is more than creepy enough to keep you reading. I kept asking myself "Was that a coincidence, or were they responsible?". Like I said, it was creepy. As the book nears it's climax though, the intensity gets ratcheted up exponentially and gives it a suspenseful and entertaining finish, salvaging it from a lower rating.
Now for sex. There are no true sex scenes, but the woman in question was a mistress of sorts and was killed while having sadomasochistic sex and it was caught on security camera so ya... The thing is though, it serves to advance the plot. The little bit of sexual content that does not serve to advance the plot is played for comic relief (not double entendres and innuendo, but in terms of events), for example, two naked women try to keep two cops from arresting someone by physically assaulting them.
As for language, there are plenty of f-words, but they don't break the flow of the novel like they did in BZRK. There is one character though (who turns out to be the police officer in charge of the investigation) who has a complete potty mouth and who you want to wring the neck of by the halfway point of the book.
All in all, a decent Crichton thriller, but not his best. Recommended for anyone who likes murder mysteries, economics, and/or video editing technology (Crichton couldn't resist the urge to insert some science in there - science and Michael Crichton are just more than a little inseparable).
4/5 stars