- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (July 14 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060597909
- ISBN-13: 978-0060597900
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 13.5 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #503,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Kidnapping, death and intrigue are all on the menu for Rei Shimura in Massey's winning seventh mystery (after 2003's The Samurai's Daughter) to feature the half-Japanese, half-American antique dealer and sometime sleuth. After moving in with her fiancé, lawyer Hugh Glendinning, in Washington, D.C., Rei takes on the decoration of a trendy new Asian restaurant, Bento. Barred from reentering Japan, where her business was originally based, she hopes to plan her upcoming wedding and find a market for the art objects she's stored locally. All hell breaks loose when Rei's cousin Kendall Johnson disappears during the opening dinner at Bento, leaving Rei with Kendall's twin toddlers. Then Bento's hostess approaches Rei for help in locating her Japanese-born mother, a war bride who went missing from her Virginia home more than 30 years earlier. Finally, sweet Aunt Norie arrives from Japan to help with the wedding preparations and ever-dependable Hugh makes himself scarce for propriety's sake. Crosscultural misunderstandings and prejudices, plus behind-the-scenes machinations, add spice to an already volatile mix. Adept at crafting dead-on dialogue and juggling serious issues with humor, Massey has produced another triumph. FYI: Massey has won Agatha and Macavity awards.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
No longer allowed to live in Japan because of a previous misadventure, Rei Shimura is residing in Washington, D.C., with her Scottish fiance, Hugh Glendinning. Followers of Rei's adventures will not be surprised that an engagement ring doesn't necessarily lead to smooth sailing for the volatile couple. As she tries to adjust to life with Hugh, Rei is introduced to Bento, a new Japanese restaurant, by her yuppie American cousin Kendall. When Bento's eccentric owner Marshall hires Rei to decorate the restaurant, she welcomes the chance to jump-start her Japanese antique dealership in D.C. Impeding her work are Marshall's incessant demands and a new friendship with a prickly hostess named Andrea. When Kendall is abducted outside of Bento, Rei attempts to find out who took her and why--and then becomes a victim herself. Foodies will love the inside look into the restaurant scene, and Massey fans will delight in the chance to gain more insight into their heroine, Rei. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Une perle rare!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Pearl Diver (Hardcover)
While some people may be disappointed the novel is not set in Japan, "The pearl diver " is nevertheless very entertaining. Having recently read Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen confidential", I found the characters and setting of the most recent novel of Massey very realistic. The world of Washington DC with its restaurants where the politicos mingle, the Mall, the transportation system, the different neighborhoods, the people, all this is for me as foreign as Japan. Rei Shimura, our tireless heroine, is mixed in a story where people disappear and reappear but the reader doesn't have a clue who are the real bad guys. The many subplots are unpredictable which sustained my curiosity. The relationship between Rei and Hugh, her fiancee, has its ups and downs like real people and I truly love the way Massey has the couple interact. A well-written mystery drawing our attention to the history of the Japanese war brides in America with a serene ending.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews) 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Search for a Missing Pearl,
By J. Vilches - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Pearl Diver (Hardcover)
Rei Shimura is living in Washington DC with her fiancé Hugh after being forced to leave Tokyo. She feels a little lost and aimless in her new home and isn't excited about planning her wedding, so she's delighted when the opportunity to decorate a new Japanese restaurant drops into her lap. Rei jumps into her work with both feet and things are going well until her cousin Kendall is abducted from the opening dinner. Was it politics, a restaurant rivalry, or something even more sinister?While the police are investigating the kidnapping, the restaurant's snooty hostess asks Rei to investigate the decades-old disappearance of her Japanese war-bride mother. Andrea reached out to her because they are both half-Japanese, and Rei feels obligated to help. Just as they launch their plan to get more information from Andrea's father, Rei's Aunt Norie shows up from Japan to plan her wedding. Norie soon gets pulled into the missing-mother mystery. When Rei's investigations into the past turn dangerous in the present, it threatens to ruin her relationship with Hugh. This is Massey's seventh Rei Shimura book, and although most of the others have taken place in Japan, Rei is no stranger to America. This can easily be read stand-alone, but it might be helpful to start earlier in the series to get a better feel for the relationship between Rei and Hugh. Massey is very good at drawing tension from the conflict between Japanese traditionalism and American individualism and independence. On the one hand, Rei obviously finds it hard to say no to people and is horrified that Norie might find out about her living arrangements with Hugh. But at the same time she is reluctant to take on the role of a wife and wants to be in full control of her own destiny. Rei's turmoil about her future unfolds against the hectic whirlwind of restaurant crises and her investigations for Andrea. In a couple of places there was so much happening at once, it almost felt like I needed to catch my breath while reading. Rei, Hugh and Norie are likeable and interesting characters, and Andrea became more sympathetic as events unfolded. However, I didn't like that most of the other characters with significant roles ranged from slightly unpleasant to over-the-top obnoxious. Still, it was an absorbing story, and I like Massey's insight into culture clash. 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Totally phony,
By Surabhi - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Pearl Diver (Hardcover)
The impression I get was that this book was written for effect. It is as if Massey wants to prove that she is a hard-core Washingtonite (if I may use that word). Throwing in the political angle was superflous as well - Senator Snowden - give me a break.There is no real story here - the plot about the pearl diver is just added in to connect the ramblings about the restaurant and Washington political scene. On the whole this was not a satisfying read at all. And finally why the negative review of Rei's work at the restarant? What did that achieve? 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Out of Japan,
By Wendy Kaplan - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Pearl Diver (Hardcover)
Those of us who have read the wonderful Rei Shimura series from its inception have followed with great interest her adventures in Japan. Half Japanese, half American, Rei fits completely into neither culture, which is the main reason for her enormous charm. But in the last book or two, she is in the United States, and I hope this isn't forever.Mindful of spoilers, I won't tell those who have not read the entire series the story of Rei's departure from Japan. It is mentioned in this book, but only in passing. Rei now lives in Washington, DC, with her hunky fiance, Scottish lawyer Hugh Glendenning. At the beginning of this book, they are planning their wedding, and as always, Rei is reluctant to commit (a trait that becomes annoying for the very first time, at least to me, in this installment). A struggling antiques dealer, Rei is thrilled when she gets a commission to decorate an up-and-coming Japanese restaurant newly purchased by a trendy DC restauranteur. But as she becomes involved with the kitchen help, the nasty but interesting hostess Andrea, and a cast of other characters, Rei once again switches from onlooker to sleuth. Somebody kidnaps her wealthy cousin on the eve of the restaurant's gala opening, and the plot thickens from there. Rei's delicious Aunt Norrie is in this book, fresh from Japan, and a welcome reminder of Rei's background--like a delicate spice in a Japanese soup. And Rei is her own difficult self, with the old push-pull of her traditional ways and her ultra modern self. But some of the piquancy of the earlier novels has been lost in the all-American venue, and I miss it. I would never miss one of Sujata Massey's novels, and I eagerly look forward to the next one, but like other reviewers, I hope that she allows Rei and Hugh to go back to Japan--at least for the next few books! |
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