The Pearl Diver

As a long-time fan of Rei Shimura, I welcomed the appearance of the Pearl Diver -- and I wasn't disappointed. Over the years, Massey has honed her craft and developed her heroine. As a result, Pearl Diver is a page turner with depth. As other reviewers have noted, Rae eagerly accepts a commission to design a new Japanese fusion restaurant in DC. She misses Japan and she really needs to work, so despite a contract (written with the help of her Scottish lawyer fiance, Hugh) she rushes into the job without qualifying her client carefully. Things start to go wrong when Rae's upscale cousin Kendall gets kidnapped right outside the restaurant -- hardly a way to attract customers. Then Andrea, the restaurant's chilly hostess, asks Rae to help find her long-missing Japanese mother. Meanwhile, on the home front, Hugh invites Rae's Aunt Norie to come for a visit. "She can't find out we're living together," says a horrified Rae, so the engaged couple play a ludicrous hide-and-seek game. As a writer, Massey has set herself a real challenge: to make the heroine realistic, which means she has flaws, but at the same time keep heroine so likeable that we care what happens to her. To serious fans, Rae's like an old friend we've known so long, we don't care. Over the series, Rae goes back and forth between being a strong, self-sufficient woman, and a girl who just can't say no. In Bride's Kimono, she allowed a flight attendant to move her seat, thereby endangering her mission and ultimately herself. Here she gets sucked in to the mystery of a rather unlikeable coworker, risking her relationship with Hugh and ultimately her life and more. Frankly, I think Hugh is far more patient and understanding than most real life fiances. He's right to challenge her choice of solving a mystery that's really none of her business, rather than spending more time with him. And if Rae really wants to be independent, she needs to build her business aggressively, not waste time haring after missing persons and soothing a client she should have turned down in the first place. But that's my business consultant persona coming through! There's one intimate scene in the book (to put it delicately) where Hugh does show frustration in a way that's a little disturbing and out of character. I'm hardly an expert, but I'd encourage Rae to dig a little deeper into Hugh's past before she ties the knot, so to speak. I loved Rae's disapproval of the modern Washington dress code. It seems like "dressing up" has gone the way of the dinosaur, and some of us couldn't be happier! And I do have one rather strong quibble about this book. Rae's Aunt Norie is presented as old. She takes naps. She's too old-fashioned to accept Rae's living arrangements. In one scene, Rae regrets exposing these "older" people to danger. But we learn Aunt Norie is in her early fifties! That's young enough to run all over Washington without naps. In summary, Sujata Massey remains at the to

Rei and Hugh are finally engaged, and Rei should be frantically preparing for her upcoming wedding. Except that a strange kind of malaise seems to have infected her: she's beginning to dislike living in Washington D.C. and she's really missing living in Japan. So that when (through her well connected cousin, Kendall) Rei is presented with the opportunity of decorating a new and trendy Japanese restaurant, Bento, Rei fairly leaps at the chance to earn some money. Plus she may actually latch onto a new market for her antique goods! Working at Bento, Rei becomes acquainted with the restaurant's prickly hostess, Andrea -- a seemingly cold and standoffish individual, and not someone that Rei would want as a friend. So that when Andrea asks Rei to help her discover what happened to her mother, Rei is floored. But Andrea's story of how her Japanese mother, Sadako, broke with tradition in order to marry Andrea's father (an African American soldier) in the midst of the Vietnam war, of Sadako's subsequent disappearance almost 30 years ago, and her father's reluctance to divulge anything to Andrea that could help her understand Sadako's disappearance, moves and intrigues Rei; and she soon finds herself totally absorbed with Andrea's problem to the extent that she's even involved her wise and beloved visiting Aunt Norie in her investigation. The more Rei uncovers about Sadako and her early difficulties in trying to adapt to her life in America and as a new wife, the more Rei begins to question her the wisdom of getting married so soon. Defnitely, her love for Hugh is true and all consuming (as is his love for her) but is it enough? Can Rei give up her independence and become the perfect wife? And can she make do with life in America when she still wistfully yearns to return to Japan? Like the previous reviewers, I'm a fan of Sujata Massey's Rei Shimura mystery novels. What I liked about them, other than that they're well written, totally absorbing and wholly addicting, is the manner in which the authour also makes the dilemmas that a young, not so well off, modern and independent woman would feel and go through as she tries to adjust to the many vagaries that life throws at her, an integral part of the series. The mystery of what happened to Andrea's mother (Is she alive or dead? Why did she disappear and is there some dark reason for her disappearance?) doesn't really get introduced until we're about 4 or 5 chapters into "The Pearl Diver;" however, because we are treated to an update on what's going on with Rei and Hugh, and a good and succinct description of the what's going on at the restaurant and the characters involved, the reader's interest is quickly snagged and engaged from the very first page. The mystery subplot dealing with the missing Sadako was a very intriguing and interesting one, and I rather wished that "The Pearl Diver" had dwelt solely on that mystery subplot instead of sharing it with the mysterious kidnapping subplot involving Rei's

I am a big fan of this series. Although I miss the descriptions of Tokyo (Rei is living in DC with hunky Hugh), this is a terrific addition to Rei's adventures. The description of Rei's Aunt Norie and her visit is comical and priceless. Rei is getting more mature and her evolving relationship with Hugh is bittersweet and not to be missed!

I've read all of Sujata Massey's books, starting with THE SALARYMAN'S WIFE. One of the real treats of this series is that unlike a lot of other mysteries with continuing characters, we've really gotten to see protagonist Rei Shimura grow and change. She started out as a callow young twentysomething; now she's nearing 30, engaged, and thinking of starting a family. This, combined with her involuntary exile from her beloved Japan, has really matured her. But an older, more grounded Rei doesn't make this book any less fun -- THE PEARL DIVER offers up a dishy look at the trendy restaurant scene, and will appeal to foodies as well as mystery fans. Rei's relationship with Hugh continues to be passionate yet stormy; and longtime fans will cheer the reappearance of Rei's beloved Aunt Norie. This book stands on its own, but will be particularly treasured by fans who have followed Rei's adventures throughout this engaging series.

The Pearl Diver is a fast-paced, engrossing story. It captured my interest from the start and I could not put the book down until the end. I enjoyed the story and followed with interest Rei's "misadventures" in searching for her kidnapped cousin and locating a long- missing mother for a friend, while resolving problems with her own love life. Women today would relate well to Rei's character, as she juggles her work schedule with her family and tries to create a family life for herself and heI fiance. This mystery is well-written and exciting, and was the first book I have read by this author; and I plan to read her other books.