Donohue, John 1956–

(John J. Donohue)

PERSONAL: Born 1956, in Brooklyn, NY; married; wife's name Kathleen; children: Erin, Owen. Education: State University of New York at Stony Brook, B.A., 1978, M.A., 1982, Ph.D., 1987. Hobbies and other interests: Martial arts; holds a black belt in karatedo and kendo; highland bagpipes.

ADDRESSES: Home—NY. Office—D'Youville College, 320 Porter Ave., Buffalo, NY 14201-9985. E-mail—donohuejj@yahoo.com.

CAREER: Author. University College, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, instructor in humanities and social sciences, 1987–93, coordinator of student affairs, 1988–90, director of academic affairs, 1990–91, assistant dean, 1991–92, associate dean, 1992–93; State University of New York College at Morrisville, instructor of anthropology, 1993–95, dean of School of Liberal Arts, 1993–95; Medaille College, Buffalo, NY, professor of social science, 1995–2002, academic dean, 1995–97, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean, 1997–2000, acting executive vice president, 2000–01, acting president, 2001–02; D'Youville College, Buffalo, NY, professor of social science, 2002–, vice president for academic affairs, 2002–. Journal of Asian Martial Arts, associate editor. Speaker and commentator on martial arts at international conventions, and on television and radio.

MEMBER: American Anthropological Association, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Society of Martial Arts, American Council on Martial Arts (board member).

AWARDS, HONORS: American Library Association List of Best First Mysteries listee, 2003, for Sensei.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

(Editor, as John J. Donohue; with Peter Katopes and Daniel Rosenberg) The Human Condition in the Modern Age, Kendall/Hunt Publishing (Dubuque, IA), 1991, 2nd edition, 1996.

(As John J. Donohue) The Forge of the Spirit: Structure, Motion, and Meaning in the Japanese Martial Tradition, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1991.

(As John J. Donohue) Warrior Dreams: The Martial Arts and the American Imagination, Bergin and Garvey (Westport, CT), 1994.

(As John J. Donohue) Herding the Ox: The Martial Arts as Moral Metaphor, Turtle Press (Hartford, CT), 1998.

Complete Kendo, illustrations by Kathleen Sweeney, Turtle Publishers (Boston, MA), 1999.

(Editor) The Overlook Martial Arts Reader, second edition, Overlook Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor of articles to martial arts journals.

NOVELS; "CONNOR BURKE" SERIES

Sensei, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Deshi, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: John Donohue is a professor and administrator at a college in Buffalo, New York, and the author of a well-received series of martial arts thrillers. Donohue, who has a black belt in karate, has also written several nonfiction works dealing with the spiritual and cultural aspects of martial arts. Such a background proved invaluable when beginning his series featuring Connor Burke, who, like Donohue, is a martial arts student and a college professor. In the debut title, Sensei, Burke is enlisted by his detective brother Mickey to aid in the search for a serial killer. In this case, the victims are martial arts practitioners all across the country. It seems that there is a ronin, or rogue samurai, with a grudge, and Mickey needs his brother's insider knowledge of martial arts to help crack the case. Connor seeks the aid of the teacher, or sensei, Yamashita, to track down the killer, and this unlikely duo of sleuths works through a forest of clues to find the perpetrator in this "impressive" debut, as a critic for Kirkus Reviews dubbed Sensei. The same reviewer praised the "strong story, good writing, [and] colorful setting." Similarly, a contributor for Publishers Weekly noted that Donohue "crisply and elegantly blends Japanese martial arts and urban New York in his assured debut." Booklist reviewer David Pitt also had praise for this first novel, finding the characters "fresh and interesting," and the story itself "entirely absorbing."

With Deshi Donohue extends his initial novel into a series featuring Burke. Here the martial arts expert is once again enlisted by brother Mickey to help solve a series of murders. The first of these involves a Japanese-American businessman and practitioner of calligraphy who seems to have left an inked clue to the identity of his killer, who executed the calligrapher with a shot through the temple. Connor, working with Yamashita, once again succeeds in finding his way through a thicket of clues, this time leading to the Chinese secret service and a controversial lama. A critic for Kirkus Reviews was less impressed with this sequel, finding it "a talky disappointment more interested in proselytizing than storytelling." In the same vein, Booklist reviewer Pitt found Deshi less successful than its predecessor: "[It] seems formulaic by comparison," Pitt wrote. However, a contributor for Publishers Weekly thought Donohue's blend of Eastern philosophy and Western police methods will "appeal to all kinds of readers, not just martial arts aficionados," and called Deshi "intriguing."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2003, David Pitt, review of Sensei, p. 1052; February 15, 2005, David Pitt, review of Deshi, p. 1063.

Chicago Sun-Times, February 6, 2005, David Pitt, "They Deserve Better than Obscurity," review of Deshi, p. 11.

Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2003, review of Sensei, p. 185; January 1, 2005, review of Deshi, p. 22.

Publishers Weekly, March 24, 2003, review of Sensei, p. 61; January 24, 2005, review of Deshi, p. 224.

ONLINE

D'Youville College Web site, http://depts.dyc.edu/ (June 30, 2005), "John Donohue."