Rating: 
Summary: A PLEASER
Review: This is my first outing w/Ms. Massey, and I agree it is a fascinating look at Japanese customs. The outsider status of an American-Japanes person is deftly handled. I particularly liked the problems Rei had with reading Japanese. It is perfectly understandable that a girl educated in the US would not be adept with Japanese symbols, if you think about it. I just never did. This affects Rei's everyday life, and Ms. Massey never lets us forget it. Not only did Rei have to solve the crime, she had to run around and get someone to read the newspaper to her. When she went out to dinner, she couldn't read the menu. This gave the story an added bit of realism.The mystery was not as well done. It was diffused by the romance, the family, the shop-till-you-drop (dare I say airhead?) personality of Rei. She put forth some offbeat potential villains, but didn't put in the effort to make this a rousing whodunit. By the time Rei solves the mystery, I didn't much care, and I don't think she did either.
Rating: 
Summary: Who knew flower arranging could be so exciting?
Review: This is the continuing story of Rei Shimura, a Japanese/American antiques dealer who immigrated to Japan to work and who struggles daily with the written language, as well as the intricacies of Japanese etiquette. Her aunt, Norie, determined to help, thinks that learning Ikebana (flower arranging) at the famous Kayama Ikebana School, will be just the thing to help her niece become more Japanese. All seems to go as well as it can for Rei, (despite her lack of talent), until one of the teachers at the school is found dead, the murder weapon belonging to her aunt. The inevitable scandals (one of which lets just say, involves a Canadian, kinky underwear and a closet) is revealed in the wake of Rei's detecting, which places her on the killer's hit list. Continually struggling against time and the ever-present language/culture barrier, inadvertently becoming a target herself in order to clear her aunt's name, Rei is determined to discover once and for all, who the murderer is. Sujata Massey, who ironically is not Japanese, helps us to understand a society steeped in custom, ceremony (and for most of us - mystery), through the eyes of her heroin Rei Shimura. I must say, that I'm not usually a fan of murder/mystery stories where the hero or heroin solves murders as a sort of hobby. Saying that, this story is not like 'Murder She Wrote', but its main characters are fleshed out and interesting. I particularly enjoyed the budding romance between Rei and one of the suspects, and how she battled her own fears about getting 'involved' again, while putting herself in real danger by doing so. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and it was a refreshing to read a book that dealt with themes like murder, relationships and so forth, without succumbing to profanity and pornography. (Not that I mind sex in a story, when it helps the tale along, but not at the expense of it). Sujata Massey has proven herself an expert, not just in her ability to explain the complexities of Japanese life, but also as a writer of murder/mysteries. She has a clear and punchy style which makes this story easy to follow, thoroughly enjoyable and definitely worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: iN THE GRAND TRADITION
Review: This is the second Rei Shimura story I have read; "Zen Attitude" was the introduction to this very fine series. But the "Flower Master" is even better as our author's craft is honed with experience. In a flower-arranging class to please her Auntie, Rei is soon in a lot more than petals! An unpleasant teacher is found dead and there are suspects aplenty, twists, and surprises. But it is the characters, drawn deftly and shrewdly that make this one superior to the earlier work; the son of the owner, splendidly indulged, is a good example. He is difficult to like (one supports Rei's feeling on this one) and yet...And that sister!
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