Milton K. Ozaki (June 14, 1913 – November 7, 1989) was a

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asia ...

writer.

Life

Ozaki was born in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

to a Japanese father (Jingaro Ozaki, who later changed his name to Frank) and an American mother, Augusta Rathbun. He lost a leg as a young child. In addition to his work as a writer and journalist, he operated a beauty parlor (the Monsieur Meltoine beauty salon, in the Gold Coast section of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

). Ozaki and his wife Dolores B. Ozaki lived at 6314 Fifth Avenue in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

. In the 1970s, he operated phony mail-order colleges, including the Colorado State Christian College and Hamilton State University, and he was also involved in a company marketing a device fraudulently claimed to increase gas mileage. He died in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

.Milton K. Ozaki
. ''Chicago Tribune'', November 15, 1989.

Writing

Ozaki was the author of approximately two dozen popular mid-20th century detective novels under both his given name and the pseudonym Robert O. Saber, and was one of the first American mystery writers of Japanese descent. His novels are set in the fictional, mid-sized southeastern-Wisconsin city of Stillwell, Wisconsin, which is actually a barely disguised Kenosha.

Novels

*''The Cuckoo Clock'' (1946) - Also published under the title "Too Many Women" (1947) *''A Fiend in Need'' (1947) *''The Ram of Aries'' (1947) *''The Black Dark Murders'' (1949) - Also published under the title "Out Of The Dark" (1954) *''The Affair of the Frigid Blonde'' (1950) - Also published under the title "The Deadly Blonde" (1953) *''The Deadly Lover'' (1951) *''The Scented Flesh'' (1951) *''The Dummy Murder Case'' (1951) *''The Dove'' (1951) - Also published under the title "Chicago Woman" (1953) *''No Way Out'' (1952) - Also published under the title "Borrowed Time" (1955) *''Murder Doll'' (1952) *''The Deadly Pickup'' (1953) *''Murder Honeymoon'' (1953) *''City of Sin'' (1952) *''Dressed to Kill'' (1954) *''Too Young to Die'' (1954) *''Shake Hands With The Devil'' (1954) *''Maid For Murder'' (1955) *''A Dame Called Murder'' (1955) *''Marked For Murder'' (1955) *''Model for Murder'' (1955) *''Sucker Bait'' (1955) *''Never Say Die'' (1956) *''A Time For Murder'' (1956) *''Case of the Deadly Kiss'' (1957) *''The Case of the Cop's Wife'' (1958) *''Wake Up and Scream'' (1959) *''Inquest'' (1960) *''Too Cute To Kill'' (Publish date unknown)

Games

Milton K. Ozaki also designed a dice game, Murder Dice, which was similar to Yahtzee and was based on the events in a murder trial.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozaki, Milton K. 1913 births 1989 deaths Writers from Racine, Wisconsin People from Kenosha, Wisconsin American mystery writers American writers of Japanese descent American novelists of Asian descent 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Wisconsin