The Typhoon Lover (The Rei Shimura Series, 8)

I loved it! Sujata Massey is my new favorite author! I read this book from cover to cover in one afternoon. There is a possible murder-suicide, a love story, scandals, and intrigue. It reads like a spy story. I skipped over the sex scenes; they were really unnecessary and didn't add to the story. My dad read this book, and decided that it is written for the younger generation. I think that explains the one and only rotten review for this book.

Rei Shimura, banned from Japan after breaking and entering a few books ago, gets offered a reprieve. She'll get her visa back if she agrees to help a government agency (the CIA? we're never sure) find a vase that's been associated with her former lover, Takeo, now a wealthy director of a famous flower-arranging school. We also get to spend time with Rei, a most enjoyable heroine. In fact a subplot of the book relates to Rei's up-and-down relationship with Hugh, her Scottish boyfriend and sometime fiancé. The opening scene actually telegraphs warnings about differences in values and Rei's readiness for more adventure. As other reviews have noted, the whole plot hinges on an questionable assumption. Would a staid government agency recruit an impetuous, untrained amateur? Not likely, but I believe government agencies have recruited "sources" who deliver information to get criminal charges dropped or reduced. Rei had a powerful reason to cooperate, although she lost a lot and almost lost everything. Unlike many writers of mystery series, Massey has resisted the temptation to create stand-alone volumes or start a new series. Instead, we get to know Rei better and we watch her grow in logical but sometimes surprising ways. Few other series characters are developed in such psychological depth; perhaps the closest is Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon. I wasn't at all surprised at her reaction to being back in Japan: it's very common among those who feel exiled. And Massey knows how to pace, create atmosphere and maintain suspense. I never was tempted to skip her descriptions of setting, much less peek ahead to the ending. Just one quibble. I realize "big" publishers no longer have minions to perform copy-editing chores, so in a few places we had grammatical and other bloopers. On page 39, for instance, a paragraph begins, "I scrambled into my Asics" and ends, "I gave up on finding shoes and went out in my slippers, throwing a raincoat over my pajamas." Which was it? And was she really wearing pajamas to sleep with Hugh? That's a clue if I ever saw one. But I'll take the quibbles along with the good stuff. Great book!

Japanese-American amateur sleuth Rei Shimura finds herself in the midst of more than one tempest when she is asked to investigate the theft of an ancient ibex ewer. Rei, an antiques dealer, is contacted by a U.S. government agent and asked to help with this very sensitive inquiry. Rei is uniquely qualified for this task because her Japanese ex-lover is one of the prime suspects in the theft. The problem is that she is a persona non grata in Japan because of a previous transgression in that country. Through the powers of diplomacy, her visa is restored. She accepts the opportunity to return to her ancestral home with some misgivings, but the opportunities are too good to pass up. Once in Japan, she re-unites with family and friends while working on her assigned task, only to find that things are never quite as you remember them. As the investigation intensifies, so does the weather. Rei fights bad guys, a typhoon and her conscience while searching for the stolen ibex. Set in Washington D. C. and Japan, this novel manages to blend and contrast the flavors of both cultures very nicely. As Rei travels through both locales, she explores her feelings about her Asian-American lineage as she doesn't quite wholly fit into either place. While I was reading this book, the remnants of hurricane Cindy were lashing against my window, adding a bit of atmospheric realism to the typhoon scenes in the book. I am also a native Washingtonian and enjoyed a virtual stroll through the downtown streets with Rei. This was one of the most entertaining books that I have read in a while. I completely relaxed while reading it and soaked up the gentle atmosphere. Sujata Massey has a created a complex, enduring character in Rei Shimura. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Is it possible to enjoy a mystery novel immensely and yet be sadly disappointed at the series-heroine's antics? This was the conundrum I came face to face with while reading Sujata Massey's latest Rei Shimura mystery novel, "The Typhoon Lover," and discovered, rather to my surprise, that the answer was a resounding "yes." When US intelligence suspect that Takeo Kayama, head of the Kayama School of Ikebana and Rei Shimura's former lover, may have bought an antique Mesopotamian ewer that was stolen during the latest gulf war, they decide to recruit Rei in order to discover how Takeo had acquired the piece. As a friend and former lover, the feeling is that Rei should be able to get the information without setting off too many alarm bells. And while Rei is not at all sure if she's cut out for this kind of cloak and dagger stuff, or even if she could persuade Takeo in take her into his confidence (much less talk to her since they did have a rather messy breakup), the lure of being able to return to Japan (Rei was deported from Japan in "Samurai's Daughter), proves too much for her. And in no time at all, Rei finds herself back in her beloved Japan, and trying to reconnect with a newly engaged Takeo, who would much rather keep Rei at arm's length. And while Rei was prepared for the fact that it would take a lot of hard work in order to reestablish their friendship, what she was not prepared for, she discovers to her horror, was the resurgence of some of her old feelings for Takeo, or how her flashly blundering about would lead to tragedy... There were many things I liked about "The Typhoon Lover" -- like the fact that it took place mostly in Japan, and that it was a very well written, suspenseful, absorbing and totally riveting novel. However certain things did niggle at me: for example, I really had to suspend my disbelief in order to buy the notion that the US secret service's best bet to figuring out if Takeo was involved in buying stolen antiques was to bring Rei into the investigation. Surely must have been a better plan out there somewhere? I like the character, Rei Shimura, but her method of operation has always been to stumble about, rather flashily, until she arrives at the truth. Subtlety and discretion have never really been her strong points. And this was the woman that US intelligence thought perfect for this particular job? I also found that I was not really enjoying this new direction that the author was taking Rei in -- esp in regards to her relationship with Hugh (her on-and-off again boyfriend), after having gone through so much with Hugh, I was disappointed that Rei felt stifled by her relationship with him, and how she handled things here. But in spite of my growing frustration with Rei, I found that I simply had to read on in order to discover what would happen next. And this, in my opinion, was the real testament to Sujata Massey's brilliant writing skills -- that she had me absolutely riveted in spite of myself. Also brilliantl

The Japanese Desk of the State Department official Michael Hendricks hires Japanese-American antiques dealer Rei Shimura to find and authenticate a Mesopotamian age pitcher that vanished from Baghdad's National Museum. The Feds believe that Japanese collector Takeo Kayama possesses the valuable vessel and is running an international antiques smuggling ring. Once she hears his name, Rei realizes why they want her skills to investigate as Takeo is her former boyfriend. Rei travels to Japan, but starts her inquiries with her Aunt Norie, a teacher at Takeo's flower arranging school. She learns that Takeo is getting married soon to Erni, which shakes her a bit as she just turned dirty thirty and wonders what she could have done different though the government tossed her out of the country. When a typhoon hits Japan, Rei uses it as a cover to investigate Takeo's summerhouse though she also finds time to sleep with her former lover even as the case takes a bizarre spin towards Erni. The investigation takes a back seat to the intriguing comparisons between the older traditional and younger colorful Japanese generations. For instance readers will enjoy westernized Rei with her conventional Aunt. The inquiry is deftly handled albeit secondary to the deep look into customs, but the apparent spin into Rei Shimura, CIA agent seems odd at least for now. Fans of this great mystery series will anxiously wait the next installment to see if the renegade antiques dealer actually makes the switch to I Spy. Harriet Klausner