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The
Library Journal said of Scene of the Crime: A Writer's Guide to Crime Scene Investigation, “Anyone
who is trying to write a mystery will find these to be useful books, and readers of mysteries will find them equally interesting.
Wilson, who is both a medical doctor and a writer, describes various causes of death, detailing both the appearance of the
body and the official response to unexpected deaths. Scattered throughout the text are examples from literary works illuminating
the use of medical and forensic details to strengthen the writing. Chapters deal with subjects such as time of death, autopsies,
determination of murder vs. suicide, and various causes of death. Apt use is made of statistics regarding the frequency of
varying causes of death. A glossary and bibliography round out the work. Wingate spent more than six years as a criminal investigator.
In this book, she gives detailed descriptions of the crime scene search, methods of firearms investigation, fingerprint identification,
identification of human remains, autopsies, and crime labs. The information is peppered with descriptions of cases on which
Wingate has worked as a criminal investigator. The information is well presented, and the writing style is personal and energetic.
Many books on criminal investigation are available, notably Colin Wilson's Written in Blood (Warner, 1991) and B.A. Fisher's
Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation (Elsevier, 1986. 4th ed.). Nevertheless, owing to the moderate price and clear presentation
of these books, both are recommended for public libraries and for academic libraries where creative writing programs are supported.”
According
to the book description of The Buzzards Must Also Be Fed, “Thirty years after he is framed
by his boss, Chief Dal Shipp, for the murder of his wife and daughter, former police sergeant Steve Hansen is hell-bent on
revenge, and Mark Shigata agrees to help him clear his name.”
The
Library Journal said of The Eye of Anna, “Wingate's second book advances greatly on her first;
indeed, the needless confusion here arises only from reference to events in Death by Deception (LJ 11/1/88). Japanese-American
police chief Mark Shigata, the protagonist who debuted in the earlier book, defends the beleaguered town of Bayport, Texas,
where capricious hurricane Anna and a crazy serial killer strike together. Exciting, tension-filled moments spill forth with
wind-driven rain as police race against time and weather to stop the maniac. Though the conclusion is foregone, it is excused
by the clever, suspense-producing situation.”
Publisher’s
Weekly said of Death by Deception, “Racial hatreds, corruption and prostitution form the background
for this promising debut involving Japanese-American FBI agent Mark Shigata, whose 12-year-old stepdaughter Gail disappears
after reporting a murder. Under suspension from the bureau because he is suspected of killing a woman whose body was found
behind his garage, Shigata is aided in his hunt for Gail by local cop Al Quinn, who has himself lost his half-Vietnamese son
to a hit-and-run driver. Together they find the body of Shigata's estranged wife, Gail's mother. Meanwhile Melissa, a battered
wife, is on the run from her husband, Sam, head of a local white supremacist group, both of whom appear to have nebulous ties
to Mark and his family. The relationships among the women and a ghost from the agent's past eventually provide the answers.
Wingate limns a sensitive portrait of a man who lost his cultural identity during childhood because his father was deeply
ashamed of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Shigata is nursed to the beginning of psychological health by Quinn, with
his Vietnamese family and his wide tolerance for human diversity and frailty. Readers bothered by Wingate's use of wild coincidence
may reflect that events can happen thus in real life.”
Kirkus
Reviews said of Yakuza, Go Home!, “Mark Shigata, the ethical, emotional, ex-FBI police chief
of tiny Bayport, Texas, once again faces a hated foe--crime czar Buddy Yamagata. Mark's hitherto unmet cousin Rocky Omori
is married to Yamagata's daughter Phyllis, and father to their four-year-old son Daniel. Because of Rocky's disobedience,
the entire family is on Yamagata's hit list. Rocky, in desperation, has settled on Shigata and his wife, Lissa, as guardians
for Daniel, if he escapes, putting them in danger, too. The Omoris are brutally murdered--but Daniel, well-hidden by Shigata
despite flash floods in the area and the torching of his own house, is saved. For the moment. Now is the time for Shigata,
using ammunition in the form of a safe-deposit key left by Rocky, to call in IOUs from the FBI, confront his own fears, and
beard the enemy. He's helped, as always, by stalwart deputies Quinn and Hansen (Exception to Murder, etc.) and, this time,
by Russian expatriate Max Kerensky. A fast-moving series of tense cat-and-mouse games laced with the legends of Japanese crime--and
ending in sheer but not unexpected melodrama. Despite its clumsy title: a solid police procedural much enhanced by its exotic
characters.”
Kirkus
Reviews said of Exception to Murder, “Ex-FBI man Mark Shigata, now police chief in Bayport,
Texas, and his deputies Al Quinn and Steve Hansen (The Eye of Anna, 1990, etc.) find themselves beleaguered by the murders--a
day apart--of Councilwoman Margaret Raskin and Ralph Miner, a local eccentric. The grisly remains are discovered in animal
preserves inside Ark Park--the multimillion-dollar theme-park inspiration of oily TV evangelist Clifford Hobby. The only thing
shared by the victims was their nosiness; the only real clue is some ivory jewelry found in Ruskin's handbag. Shigata is making
little progress until his deputies disappear in the park one night--and he mounts a chase- and-rescue operation that uncovers
a well-hidden secret and tests the mettle of Quinn's and Hansen's young sons. Pedestrian in the plotting but redeemed by Wingate's
unpretentious style, warmly appealing central characters, and a zingy finish. Easygoing entertainment.”
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