The Pearl Diver

July 19, 2004
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. Agent, Kim Witherspoon. (Aug. 1)

FYI:
Massey has won Agatha and Macavity awards.

August 1, 2004
Having returned from Tokyo, Japanese American sleuth Rei Shimura (The Samurai's Daughter) now lives in Washington, DC, where she's opening an antiques business. For her first substantial job, she provides pieces for a new Japanese restaurant. Despite the great d cor, things go wrong at the opening: her cousin is abducted, and adverse news coverage puts a serious crimp in business. Police soon find the cousin, but then the restaurant hostess asks Rei's help in finding her Japanese mother, who disappeared years ago under suspicious circumstances. Not surprisingly, the two "disappearances" eventually connect. Genteel prose, a forthright but tactful protagonist, and a riveting story line commend this to most collections. An Agatha and a Macavity award winner, Massey lives in Baltimore.

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