The Kizuna Coast: A Rei Shimura Mystery

"The earthquake and tsunami that devastated Honshu, Japan, in 2011 kick-starts Agatha-winner Massey's moving 11th Rei Shimura mysteryxa0. . . xa0Rei, a Japanese-American antiques dealer, and her new husband, Michael Hendricks, a former spy now working for a think tank on Pacific Rim issues, are playing mahjongg at home in Hawaii when they hear the devastating news. Rei ascertains that her family escaped serious harm, but it takes a bit longer to discover the fate of her mentor in the antiquing business, Yasushi Ishida. . . "---PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY "The Kizuna Coast deftly interweaves fiction to history. And, by using the first-person narrative, we enjoy a special, newscaster style reportage of Tohoku even Hemingway would applaud . . . the story is fascinating." --TSUSHIN NEWS"Read this one, and if you like Rei as much as I do, go back and read the other ten books."---Sharon Wildwind, STORY CIRCLE BOOK REVIEWS.xa0"There is an authentic feel to the narrative...It is always a delight to discover an author and enjoy your first read so much."--MYSTERIES IN PARADISE. xa0 xa0"Reading The Kizuna Coast is like being reunited with old friends. Rei's character hasn't changed, although she has gotten a bit more mature at times, but her doggedness and compassion remain the same."---IT'S EITHER SADNESS OR EUPHORIA xa0"Rei has always been one of my favorite characters in the mystery world, especially among those who take me to exotic places, and I have missed her...Her quirkiness and humor are infectious, and I'm thrilled to have her back in my life."--Lelia Taylor, BURIED UNDER BOOKS The Kizuna Coast is Sujata Massey's most moving novel in the Rei Shimura series so far. Her and her sleuth's love for Japan and its people are evident in this tale...while Rei follows clues to locate her antiques mentor and later investigate a murder, readers get an authentic look at what it was like for survivors and rescue workers days after the devastating disaster. Bravo to Massey's clear-eyed recounting of a recovery that is still ongoing."--Naomi Hirahara, Edgar-winning author of Snakeskin Shamisen and Grave on Grand Avenue I wrote The Kizuna Coast , the eleventh Rei Shimura mystery, with a number of questions in mind. What was the situation really like on Japan's Tohoku coast after the 2011 tsunami? Cameras could catch images of the massive wave and crushed buildings but not tell every human story. I was so concerned that I wrote a fictional accounting about a village with characteristics of several of the hardest-hit real places.xa0Here's the set-up: It's March 2011, and the news of the tsunami has spread worldwide. My protagonist Rei Shimura rushes into this devastated area looking for one elderly person but quickly finds herself involved in searching for others. As hard as the work is, she feels duty-bound to continue. When a body is found under suspicious circumstances, a new question arises for her: why is this one death worth investigating among thousands? The police are overstretched and unable to help. Will knowing the truth bring closure...or put Rei's own life in jeopardy?xa0Readers have asked about the significance of the book title. "Kizuna" became a popular word in Japanese right after the disaster. it means "bonds of loving kindness," and was used to describe selfless behavior of people helping each other survive the tragedy. I think it fits this book very well. From the Inside Flap After a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in 2011, Rei Shimura's beloved mentor, Yasushi Ishida, sends an SOS. Rei immediately takes off from her historic cottage in Hawaii to find him. But the search is complicated by the disappearance of Ishida-san's apprentice Mayumi, a troubled 19-year-old from a famous lacquer dynasty. As Rei wades through wreckage, and her husband Michael heads to Fukushima to battle a spiraling nuclear disaster, the couple's caught in a massive wave of danger they never anticipated. "A gifted storyteller who delivers strong characters, a tight plot, and an inside view of Japan and its culture."---USA TODAY"Rei is one of the most complex female protagonists around. She is Japanese, but she is also an American living in Japan, and this dichotomy gives her observations on Japanese culture a fascinating double edge."--BOOKLIST Sujata Massey was born in England to parents from India and Germany. She grew up mostly in St. Paul, Minnesota. She holds a bachelor's degree in Writing Seminars from the Johns Hopkins University. Her first job was as a features reporter for the Evening Sun newspaper in Baltimore. Sujata spent two years in Hayama, Japan, where she worked as an English teacher, studied Japanese, and began writing fiction. Currently, she lives with her family in an 1897 Victorian in Baltimore, Maryland.xa0Rei Shimura mystery novels have won the Agatha and Anthony mystery awards and been a finalist for the Edgar, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark prizes. Sujata is an active member of Sisters in Crime and the Mystery Writers of America.The Rei Shimura books in order, from earliest to most current, are:THE SALARYMAN'S WIFEZEN ATTITUDETHE FLOWER MASTERTHE FLOATING GIRLTHE BRIDE'S KIMONOTHE SAMURAI'S DAUGHTERTHE PEARL DIVERTHE TYPHOON LOVERGIRL IN A BOXSHIMURA TROUBLETHE KIZUNA COASTMore information about can be found at the Sujata Massey website (sujatamassey dot com), where it's also possible to sign up for her free newsletter, ASIAFILE. Read more