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.
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 McLarinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
