Rei Shimura: Ikebana-mestari ja Tappava manga

Rei Shimura #3

by Sujata Massey, Titta Leppämäki (Translator)

Japanilais-amerikkalainen Rei Shimura törmää Tokion nopeatempoisessa elämässä yhä oudompiin tapauksiin. Ikebana-kurssin kunnianarvoisa opettaja murhataan, ja nuorten mangafanien innostus sarjakuvahahmoihin käy hengenvaaralliseksi, ja ikebana-kurssin opettaja murhataan. Reillä olisi vaikeuksia riittämiin omassa elämässään, mutta hän joutuu tahtomattaankin mukaan outojen rikosten pyörteisiin.
Palkittu Sujata Massey on luonut hengästyttävän ja omaperäisen maailman, jossa uusi Japani ja sen ikivanhat perinteet kulkevat käsi kädessä. Kirja sisältää yksissä kansissa kaksi Rei Shimura -dekkaria: Rei Shimura ja ikebana-mestari sekä Rei Shimura ja tappava manga.

Genres: Mystery, Japan, Fiction, Crime, Asia, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

753 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Sujata Massey is the author of historical and mystery fiction set in Asia. She is best known for the Perveen Mistry series published in the United States by Soho Press and in India by Penguin Random House India. In June, 2021, THE BOMBAY PRINCE, third book in the series, releases in the US/Canada and Australia/New Zealand; it will be published by Penguin India later the same month.

THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL, the first Perveen novel, was named a Best Mystery/Thriller of 2018 and also an Amazon Best Mystery/Thriller of 2018. Additionally, the book won the Bruce Alexander Best Historical Mystery Award, the Agatha Award for Best Historical Mystery and the Mary Higgins Clark Award, all in 2019.

The second Perveen novel, THE SATAPUR MOONSTONE, won the Bruce Alexander Best Historical Mystery Award in 2020.

Sujata's other works include THE SLEEPING DICTIONARY (2013) and eleven Rei Shimura mysteries published from 1997-2014. For more about Sujata's books and a full events schedule, subscribe to her newsletter, http://sujatamassey.com/newsletter

Sujata lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her family and two dogs. In addition to writing, she loves to travel, read, cook, garden and walk.

Reviews

[Tocotin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sort of like reading this series, even though the heroine is really annoying, with her condescending attitude towards Japanese and foreigners alike... actually, it's her unlikeable personality that makes these books fun to read. I just keep looking forward to her getting in trouble and I'm amply rewarded for the most part. She doesn't care for anyone (her uncle has a serious problem, and she just shrugs and doesn't even offer a word of sympathy) and judges everyone; yet she feels compelled to look for the killer of a person who has never done anything good to her OR anyone else. Neither her motivations nor the motivations of the killer are plausible. The romance is clumsy and unconvincing. Stereotypes abound. And yet... well, it's about Japan, so there is always some fun to be had, and a few interesting observations.

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read mystery novels not so much for the plot. In fact, I could not tell you the plot of many of my favorite mysteries. What I read for is the unique voice of the main character. I want to enter their world as they see it. Rei Shimura is one of those voices. Rei was born in America of a Japanese father and American mother. She is living in modern Japan but is not accepted as Japanese. This is my first Rei Shimura mystery and I found it a good read. I enjoyed learning about Japan. I have since purchased another novel by Massey.

Sujata Massey was born in Sussex, England to parents from India and Germany and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She attended John Hopkins University and worked as a reporter for the Baltimore Evening Sun. She moved to Japan, taught English and began writing her first novel.

[Kira Nerys]

My grandmother took ikebana classes for 20-odd years, up until undiagnosed Alzheimer's started getting in the way, essentially. No surprise, then, that she owned a signed copy of this book. It's one of those little curiosities--I had to read it, of course, I've never seen another book about ikebana. Centering on ikebana. Nor a book that teaches me my American pronunciation of this Japanese word is wrong.

In case anyone doesn't know, ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging. It's infinitely more complex than the Western "just bundle a variety of flowers together into an aesthetic grouping" system, although I imagine florists would disagree with how cheaply I've described the Western aesthetic. Ikebana comes with different schools of thought, design, and philosophy. Sometimes, it echoes nature. Sometimes, it transforms nature into something new. I've always seen it in a classroom setting, a group activity that mixes creativity, timing, luck, and a keen eye. There are published workbooks that each student purchases, full of diagrams, teaching you how to create each form. One long stem, curving downward, middle height; one short stem, straight out from the pot; a medium stem, pointing upward. There are symbols marking further information about each design, and the workbooks have to be progressed through in order (or close enough), with a teacher approving your mastery of each design before you move on.

I've attended enough ikebana classes to know that the class which opens this book is spot-on. The subtle competitiveness, the public critique, the personal vendettas between students--all that feels true. The generosity, too, the camaraderie and shared sense of creation and learning. I don't know how students find the courage to put their designs out there, week after week, as the teacher adjusts or changes some tiny thing about almost every arrangement. As a guest, ikebana classes are fascinating and beautiful: with a few advanced students about, it's easy to see why this temporary art has the reputation it does, and the artistry cheapens the appearance of any standard bouquet.

Halfway through the book, I realized it was mid-series, and I appreciated how easily The Flower Master stood on its own. The murder near the beginning of the book wasn't why I was reading, which was probably a good thing, considering that this book didn't have much of what comes to mind when I think "murder mystery". Of course, Rei isn't a detective; she was just nearby, a bystander who knows a police officer and can think of a few of her own questions. I really enjoyed her interactions with the entire cast of characters, but particularly her aunt, who was such a dramatic and loving figure.

The highlight of this book, to my senses, came from its descriptions of Tokyo. Japan is such an amazing, special, unique country; there's a reason anime and manga is so popular. Rei's descriptions of and experiences with Tokyo's architecture, aesthetic, and customs felt so authentic because the author drew on her own experiences of expat living in Japan. I'd be willing to bet the geography of the book is accurate, right down to the atmosphere of each neighborhood. Since I already have my own mental imagery of ikebana and Tokyo, I was able to imagine Rei's world in such a rich way. It's rare that I find the setting so engrossing, but I loved the experience.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this book was actually pretty good. Half-Japanese Rei Shimura frequently cracked me up with her total disregard for proper Japanese behavior and other odd antics. She even manages to solve a murder and find a cute Japanese man who most likely only exists in fiction but was yummy nonetheless. That being said, you might find it exciting to discover there are about 7 more books in the Rei Shimura series. Don't bother. At first, I thought the problems in the rest were authorial inexperience or flukes. Then I started rooting against Rei whilst still reading the books. Eventually, I pulled myself out of the vortex of bad characters, bad relationships, and bad editing. Read this one because it's fun and treat it as the solo shot it ought to be.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Rei Shimura, antiques dealer
SETTING: Tokyo
SERIES: #3
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Rei Shimura has a Japanese father and American mother and is now living in Tokyo and working as an antiques dealer. At the insistence of her Aunt Norie, she enrolls in a flower arranging class. When one of the head teachers is murdered, her aunt falls under suspicion. And then Rei is poisoned at an exhibition. I like the fact that Rei never does stupid amateur sleuth stuff. The book went quite well until the conclusion. The villain came out of left field. Despite that, the characterization, setting and overall plotting was well done.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What has happened to my amazing Japanese-American sleuth living in Tokoyo? Is it me, or is Rei just not the same without Hugh? IS she more whiney than usual?

Maybe it is that I have read three of this series back to back and I need a break from her? Could be.

THE FLOWER MASTER, which is the 3rd in the series just didn't seem to have the same feel. I thought Rei might be missing Hugh as she just seemed so whiney. Although I see a new romance on the horizon with that extra hot Japanese guy she has found. The great thing about this series is the education in Japanese culture, just so much fun.

"The Flower Master is a scintillating mystery as fresh, cutting-edge, and uniquely appealing as its in-over-her-head-but-hanging-on sleuth. "

4 stars

Happy Reading!

[Wayne Jordaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars for this one. Couple of annoying moments, or maybe out-of-character is a better description. Will read the net installment, titled The Floating Girl.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun series that improves with every installment.

[Lilith1323 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

[Alicia Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the lessons on Japanese culture, but the story, itself, was only ok. I finished it, so it deserves st least 3 stars. But it was not extraordinary by any means.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a harder one to "get into" because I don't find flower arranging to be very interesting, but the ideas around the wealth gap in Japan were certainly interesting enough to hold me.

[Anna-Maria Tuominen-Reini · Rating 4 out of 5]

En malta olla lukematta kaikkia sarjan kirjoja putkeen. Love them!

[catechism · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third installment of the series, and I seem to remember the other two being better-written. I read all the way through this one, pretty quickly, but I was slightly annoyed the whole time, and disappointed at the end. It was full of weird exposition and stilted dialogue, and it was full of plot points that were either meaningless or unresolved. The heroine is a Japanese-American antiques dealer living in Tokyo, and she spends the entire book trying to sell off a set of nine plates. There's a lot of exposition about why selling nine plates is impossible (the Japanese like round numbers, and won't buy an incomplete set), and then she finds a tenth to round out the set, and then... nothing! Like, really? You spent the whole book setting this up! As for the mystery itself, it was weird and twisty, and I didn't figure out who the murderer was ahead of time, but I think that's because it didn't make much sense. I'm still not sure if there was ever a motive provided. There was also an annoying fade-to-black during the climax. Swords and fire and betrayal! And then, three days later, everything is neatly wrapped up. Meh.

[Minni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dekkariksi aika kevyttä kesälukemista, plus ehkä hieman liikaa päälleliimattua tietoutta ikebanoista ja -astioista. Kiinnostavaa miljöö- ja elämäntapakuvausta kuitenkin, joten mahdollisesti luen kirjalijalta joskus toisenkin opuksen Japanin-nälkään.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am continuing my reading of the Rei Shuimura books, unfortunantly I am reading them totally out of order, so am often confused. Not easy to find these books, so I get what I can.

In the story Rei is back in Japan, (I have to find the book that tells me how she got back in, after being kicked out by the Government in another book). Hugh is still gone, but, this book does tell how she met her new boyfriend, who is about to become very important in her life.

As always her Japanese family are there to help, which is good, as in this book Rei is poisoned, and Aunty to the rescue. Who is trying to kill Rei, who is trying to kill Aunty? Who is stealing the pottery at the Flower school? Who is having an affair with headmaster. Who has bratty kids?

This book gives the reader a glimpse into Japans Cherry Blossom festivities. I was never in Japan at Cherry blossom time. Though my house is filled with different Japanese gifts from dignitaries, and Japanese friends, and I had a beautiful silk screen painting of a Cherry blossom, however, I had never actually seen a cherry tree in bloom. Having recently moved to a colder climate, I was thrilled to find I had Japanese Cherry Blossom trees. My friend Mitchiko visited when they were in bloom, and explained the difference of the trees to me, and some of the different Japanese festivales. Therefore, I found this book very interesting.

Rei has been enrolled into flower arranging classes, by Aunty. Everyone is very polite, except one women, who is an instructor at the school. She is rude to Aunty, Aunty, very un-Japanese like, responds back. Feeling bad about her behavior, Aunty buys mean teacher a gift of a very nice pair of scissors. Instructor has been murdered, and Aunties scissors are found in her neck, with Aunty crying over her! This is just the beginning.

Rei is off, getting involved in all kinds of different situations, that only Rei can do. It also explains about getting into a Kimono, in this book Rei manages to get in by herself in an hour. I was very impressed, (is there nothing this girl can not do) as my girlfriend Ackosan, (now passed) had a Japanese restaurant in the Pacific, and would wear different Kimono's. I use to love to see her in her outfits. She explained to me that it sometimes took over two hours with help to get in one, so she only wore them on special occasions. Once in, one could not go to the bathroom! She looked wonderful, but movement was not fast, so I could not see how Rei was running around in hers and going up ladders! Ackosan, also introduced me to the Japanese community in Guam, and how to play mahjong. I never did manage to learn the language though. So, I am always impressed when Rei's friends, who are not Japanese, not only manage to speak Japanese, they speak Spanish and English too!

Lot going on in this story, I enjoyed it. Another book came in yesterday. Maybe I will learn how Rei got back to Japan! I will continue to hunt out these books. I like them.

[Katheyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Flower Master” is the third installment in the “Rei Shimura” series, and has Rei mixed into the murder of one of her Ikebana teachers, even before her very first lesson ends. As Rei agreed to her aunt Nori wishes and enrolled into a beginners flower arrangement course at the renowned Kayama School of Ikebana in Tokyo, she was expected some Japanese flower art, foreigners superfluous fanning over the culture and some finger cuts, but surely not the main teacher stabbed with the arrangement shears, an attempt to poisoning by arsenic, her own aunt at the suspect top list and Takeo Kayama (the heir to the school) taking an special interest in her. Everybody know Ikebana is a beautiful, subtle and difficult art, but who could foresee it being so deadly.

Sujata Massey’s “Rei Shimura” is a mystery series featuring the eponymous character, an American Japanese woman in her late twenties (at the start of the series) who relocates to Tokyo to reembrace her Japanese roots and start an antiquities business. The books mix classical sleuth mystery, with Japanese cultural observation and biographical bits, into a nice, easy to read and fully enjoyable series. Some mysteries remind the classical clean mysteries of old, while other (especially on the later books) deal with very serious historical events, but in each case the stories remain easy-to-read mysteries with Japanese flavour. While an in-depth study into Japanese culture, should not be expected, the books offer a very credible insight into Japanese everyday life, from the point of view of American foreigner with the added bonus of having a real Japanese heritage, that allows her to blend in and navigate the country with credible ease. Every book in the series can be read as a stand-alone from the mystery point of view, as the arc-story only pertains to Rei Shimura chronological development.

Massey, a London born, who has herself a mixed Indian-German heritage and has expended (due to her own husband work) several year in Japan, excels by interweave her own biographical data with fictional bit into one of the most original and interesting series in the genre. Rei Shimura’s character development and her reflections on the country evolve organically with the experiences in the country. Sujata Massey succeeds in showing the changes in Rei’s personality and reflections to the environment. A must-read for all fans of female slaughtering and/or ‘light’ Japanese culture.

[Gateway_to_Wonderland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matkani Rei Shimuran kanssa jatkuu tässä sarjan kolmannessa osassa. Ja periaatteessa nämä voi lukea vapaassa järjestyksessä, mutta suosittelen kyllä aikajärjestystä, sillä tässäkin taustatarina jatkuu edellisestä kirjasta. Samalla henkilöt ja heidän näkemyksensä tulevat tutummiksi.

En tiedä mistä oikein lähtisin liikkeelle arvosteluni kanssa.... No lähdetään vaikka siitä, että pidän Rein hahmosta vaikka ajoittain hän on hieman rasittava. Tuo varmaan kuulosti oudolta, mutta niin se vain menee 😅 Muutaman kerran pyöräytin silmiäni Rein naiviudella ja toisaalta kuuliaisuudelle. Toisaalta pitää muistaa, että tässä pelataan japanilaisen etiketin mukaan ja siksi tietyt asiat tuntuu itsestä hieman oudoilta. Esim. olet saanut sairasvuoteelle kukkia, niin heti kun hieman palaat elävien kirjoihin pitää alkaa kirjoittamaan kiitoskortteja kukkienlähettäjille tai jos jonkun kanssa on ollut kinaa, on hankittava lahja tuolle riidan toiselle osapuolelle vaikka hän olisikin täysi tampio 😄 "Mutta maassa maan tavalla" kuten sanonnassa sanotaan😄

Ajoittain kirjassa tuntui varsinainen rikos olevan sivuseikka kun keskityttiin esittämään kultuurellisia asioita (sekä Rein sosiaalisenelämän kiemuroita). Ne oli mielenkiintoisia, sillä varsinkin Japani on aina ollut kiinnostava kohde, mutta ajoittain jäi miettimään, että onkos ketään selvittämässä sitä varsinaista rikosta?🤔

Kyllä se lopussa selviää ja ehkä verkkainen tyyli johtuu juuri siitä, että japanilaisessa kulttuurissa kirjailijan mukaan ketään ei saa mennä tenttaamaan rikoksesta, jottein vain loukkaa kyseltävää tai anna kyseliästä uteliaan tai syyttävän mielikuvaa. Haastavaa tasapainottelua siis 😬

[Sanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kiinnostavaa tässä oli kaikki ikebana-tietous, kukista kertominen ja niiden kuvailu sekä astioiden kuvailu (olen alkanut katselle kiinnostuneena olisiko paikallisille ikebanan aloittelija-kursseille tilaa...), mutta muuten tämäkin kirja oli vähän lössö. Mysteeri ei ollut kovinkaan kiinnostava, eikä myöskään ihmisten väliset parisuhteet joihin Rei sekaantui kerta toisensa jälkeen. Jälleen kerran hän puhui muista naisista jokseenkin vähättelevästi. Ymmärrän toki että on tarkoituskin nähdä Rei kapinallisena, erilaisena ja viehättävänä naisena joka rakastaa Japania ja haluaa sinne sulautua. Mutta vaatiiko se todella muiden naisten alas painamisen ja itsensä kaiken yläpuolelle nostamisen? Rei kuulostaa ihmiseltä, jonka kanssa ei jaksaisi kovinkaan kauaa olla ystävä. Ja toki hän on välillä myös todella tunkeileva.
Takeo kuulostaa TYLSÄLTÄ ja epämiellyttävältä ihmiseltä. Kirjassa hänet yritetään saada kuulostamaan mysteeriseltä, superseksikkäältä ja rennolta mutta oma mielikuva hänestä on kaikkea muuta. Toisaalta, he tuntuvat kyllä sopivan toisilleen kuin nyrkki silmään.
Tämän kirjan ehdottomasti ärsyttävin anti on koko turhanpäiväinen Pysäyttäkää bla bla -sekoilu, joka ei johda mihinkään eikä anna oikeastaan mitään juonen kannalta. Ja onko sitä nimeä todellakin pakko jauhaa ja hokea niin valtavasti? Koko liike kuulostaa lapsellisesta teinien uhoamiselta.
Kannattaahan tämä ainakin kerran lukea jos sarjasta tykkää.

[Olivermagnus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flower Master is the third book in a series set in Tokyo, featuring Japanese American Rei Shimura. Rei has moved to Japan to open an antique business and spend time with her aunt and uncle. When her aunt Nori enrolls her in a beginner flower arranging class readers are given the opportunity to explore the world of ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. Before long, Sakura Sato, one of the senior teachers at the Kayama School for Ikebana, is found murdered.

There are plenty of suspects, including Rei's aunt, who competed against Sato for awards. There are also suspects like Che Fujisawa, a Colombian-Japanese activist. Che and his group, Stop Killing Flowers, protest the sale of flowers imported from Colombia, which are grown with pesticides that harm and kill the mostly young Colombian women who cut the flowers. There also appear to be a struggle between the Master Teacher's two grown children over who will eventualy take over the Kayama school.

I enjoyed this book for the wonderful descriptions of Tokyo's architecture, aesthetic, and customs. The author drew on her own knowledge of the city to make the setting feel very authentic. I loved learning more about the art of Ikebana and the various schools of thought, design, and philosophy.

There was some strong character development and the addition of the Stop Killing Flowers storyline gave me knowledge of an issue I had never been aware of. I enjoyed seeing Rei interract with her very traditional relatives and learning more about Japanese culture. Ultimately, the mystery was pretty weak and the resolution was not particularly exciting.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Sujata Massey's work, and this was my favorite installment of the Rei Shimura series so far (I've read up to the Bride's Kimono). It was engaging, I found the information on flower arranging and its place in Japanese society interesting, and I was kept guessing up until the end about who the culprit was. The best part of this book by far, though, was Rei's strained yet ultimately loving relationship with her aunt, and her budding friendship with her Korean-Japanese classmate. I was disappointed that these two characters didn't show up again in the following books, but not surprised as Massey generally installs a new supporting cast for each book. I think this series is strongest, by far, when a book has a strong focus on Rei's relationships with other women, rather than her admittedly frustrating romantic relationships. This one still had some romance going on, but it wasn't Rei's primary relationship in the book.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun mystery that skirts the line between comfortable cozy mysteries and darker thrillers. I like the main character, Rei, who seems both intelligent and relatively normal with a healthy sense of skepticism and self-preservation to balance out the curiosity. She's very believable and a good character to follow. The book is part of a series, but works just fine as a standalone; any background information you need to understand it is worked in well. The mystery itself was good too, as I thought I'd nailed the perp, but second-guessed myself as the story unfolded. (Turns out I was right!) So this is for anyone who likes mysteries, antiques, or modern Japan.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A departure from the previous two Rae Shimura mysteries - this one is part Japanese language vocabulary primer, part travelogue of neighborhoods in and around Tokyo, and part cultural narrative centered around Japanese flower arrangement. There is a murder, but it is not the real focus of the book. The real focus seems to be on the people, mostly women, who are obsessed with flower arranging - the intimate, detailed, and customized process of putting together the flowers, vases, rocks, and other minutiae in orderly, standardized arrangements following centuries-old customs. It gets very boring at times. The murder and murderer are also orderly and standardized.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in Tokyo as an American so devour all sorts of interesting and entertaining reads about the city and the country. Very familiar settings around the Ueno area and great cross-cultural insights. Love sassy Rei, her friends and Yokohama family... I read the book in a few sittings. A tame, easy breezy whodunnit set at a flower arranging school with a diverse, colorful cast of expats and local characters that was super fun to read. Boyfriend woes too in the mix. Left me wanting more! I have consumed several more in the series!

[Katie Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Bombay Mysteries series by Sujata Massey so I was interested in the Rei series. After skipping #1 and starting with #2 because it was on sale for Kindle, I moved on to #3, which is where I think I will stop. Rei is fine, the mystery is OK, the finale was a little disappointing. I just don't find myself intrigued enough to continue the series. The other issue was with this particular Kindle edition was the horrible amount of typos. Was it even edited? Very distracting. Still will continue to follow the other works from the author!

[Richard Janzen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Went back to read one that I missed. This is a series that I enjoy...it combines some mystery, clash of cultures, insight into elements of Japanese culture (this one about flower arrangements) and some other Japanese cultural phenomena like ristora (restructuring causing unemployment), etc. I don't think this one was as well-written as many of the others in the series....if you didn't find it engaging, try a couple of others.

[Nitya Iyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I usually enjoy books with characters struggling with their cultural identity, I didn't really feel that sense of connection to Rei. Sometimes it almost felt like she was being defiant and refusing to fit in and then playing the victim for being left out.

However the murder mystery bit of the book was enjoyable enough, though a bit formulaic. Especially with the handsome but surly suspect and the bossy but ineffective meddling aunt.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, somewhere in the middle of the book I was so engrossed with the drama in the Shimura family and the Kayama family, the politics around flowers and pesticides, and the tension between Rei and her gay best friend Richard that I sort of forgot about who was killed and how, let alone why. When I found out, I didn't believe it and I didn't care.

Read these books for an all-too-human heroine in an interesting situation, not for a well-constructed whodunnit.

[Sarah Avis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating Tokyo

The author entranced me with the joys and pitfalls of living in a strange culture and communicating in a foreign language. As an American Japanese entrepreneur, the heroine dances between danger and making a living funding valuable Japanese antiques while living in one of the most expensive city in the world.

[Viva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rei Shimura deals with a murder at Ikebana (flower arrangement) school and meets Takeo for the first time. As with all my Rei Shimura reviews, I like reading about Rei, her private life and Japanese culture. The mystery part is always a bit meh to me. The background of this book is ikebana, which was somewhat interesting to me.

[Pam Neale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audible book and really enjoyed it. I'm a new fan of Sujata Massey and her plotting and character development in this third book I've read keeps me entertained. I also enjoy learning a bit about Japanese culture in the process. Knowing the author's US background with ties to London, Japan, Bombay, and Germany, I think her unique self story brings much to her books.