Tarnished Phoenix

I actually picked this book up for the cover art. I had a friend looking to get a tattoo of a phoenix and I was keeping my eye out for images for him. This one caught my eye. But not being one to spend money on a book and not read it or at least try to read it, I gave it a go. This book is way outside my normal reading genres. First it is a spy novel, suspense thriller. Second it has a strong romantic element, yet with that being said, once into it I could not put it down. It is a fascinating story set in post WWII Japan under MacArthur's administration. It has great characters, a very complex plot and is extremely well written. It was both intriguing and heartwarming at the same time. There were numerous interesting plot twists and developments and the pace was excellent.