Rating: 
Summary: AGATHA AWARD WINNER IS FIRST RATE
Review: Sujata Massey's maiden effort (and 1998 winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel) is a fast paced look at morals and murder in modern-day Japan. Readers are immediately introduced to Rei Shimura, a Japanese-American woman teaching English in Tokyo. Facing the prospects of being "Christmas Cake" (you'll have to read the book to find out what this means) Rei figures a vacation is in order, and books herself a New Year's trip to Shiroyama, where she expects to prowl the antique shops and visit the ancient temple. Instead, she has the misfortune of stumbling upon the body of a fellow guest at her "minshuku," the family-run inn where she's staying. Rei soon discovers the peril of being involved in a murder investigation while also being "gaijin" (Japanese for foreigner - not a term of endearment in The Land of the Rising Sun).During the course of the investigation Rei begins a new love affair, is pursued by the ubiquitous Japanese media (who know a juicy story when they see one), and comes way too close to what's going on, for police and guilty parties alike. Ms. Massey ties all these elements together in a tidy, well-told tale that is an engaging "whodunit" as well as an enlightening introduction to a society that is still rather unforgiving of outsiders. I found the "love/hate" relationship Rei seems to have with herself as well as those around her to ring very true, and Ms. Massey's flair for no nonsense dialog fits right in with this aspect of the character. The author allows the obvious situations to remain understated, and the final unraveling of the mystery proceeds to an unexpected conclusion which readers will find has been hinted at all along. And don't expect to be swept along on a lyrical Japanese journey of discovery...that's not happening here. I appreciated the snippets of Japanese that are included as part of the narrative, including "jinglish," or Japanese English, which is not-so-slowly creeping into the la! nguage. Also interesting were the glimpses of the seedy side of life in Tokyo, both in the dubious drinking establishment Rei encounters during her inquiries into the murder, and her own neighborhood. Ms. Massey gives her readers an intelligent, lively heroine in Rei Shimura, and both author and character are delightful additions to the mystery genre. Finally - don't miss Rei Shimura's next adventure - "Zen Attitude" - just out!
Rating: 
Summary: Why did I waIt so long to read this book
Review: When I first discovered that there were lists of award winning mysteries on Amazon, this book had just won the Agatha for best first novel. Several years and many lists later, I finally got around to reading the book. I guess I'd expected something staid and hard to relate to. Was I ever wrong. This is a really fun and entertaining read. The strong part for me is Rei, our 27 year old half Japanese, half caucasian, slueth. She's witty and with it -- reminded me a little of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. Her romance with the Scot, Hugh, is plenty sexy and fun too. As for the foreigness of the atmosphere, Massey does a nice job of holding an American reader's hand while providing lots of information and sense of place. My only regret is that I read the other reviewers and most of the Japanese residents have many complaints about this aspect of the book -- it worked for me. Bottom line - a fun new sassy heroine in an interesting setting. I'm eager to read more in this series and only wish it was on tape so my husband could listen to it.
Rating:
Summary: Cool Mix of Hip, CyperPunk vs Traditinal
Review: It was interesting to see the cultural crash of Hip, CyberPunk, Slummy, Night-life Japan crashing into the Beautiful, Traditional, frigid, rejecting Japan. It also seemed that the seedy side of town was a lot nicer to her then the "upstanding" side of town. She hangs with the other rejected folks, the foreigners, gays, etc. They provide a family and support network that are fascinating to see. (It's this way here, if you don't fit in with the local environment's Barbie's and Ken's, then you drift to the rejected ones.) It was a little sad to see her pursuing acceptance in a country that would never accept her. Their hangup: she's a mixed race, poor, short-haired, old-maid foreigner. I've never been to Japan, but I've known (long-term) some (traditional) Japanese guys born here, that seem to reflect a lot of the attitudes that the Rei has experienced. Sorta extreme sexism, extremely spoiled, xenophobia, germ-aphobia, fat-aphobia, smell-aphobia, poor-aphobia... My sibling, hanging with foreign grad students would agree on 80% of the traditional guys. Anyway so she's being rejected strenously by Japanese mainstream, yet getting groped on trains and getting tricked by her salary-men students to get up on desks to pose for a birthday-party picture, then the guys jab the camera under her skirt taking snapshots. Everyday's a frat party for the salarymen, they are gods. Story line: she goes to the Japanese Alps for a vacation. She stays in a bed & breakfast and meets the other residents. One of the residents gets killed, her cretin husband is the suspect, as well as this HOT Scottish guy. Wierd things start to happen after the murder. Overall, a good read, it made me want to visit Japan, see (if any of it exists) the Hip, bohemian nightlife, antique dealers and see the Japanese Alps.
Although, riding on the trains one might want to wear a hefty bag tied at the ankles. It would be an excellent money-maker to create a sting-operation for the rampant frat-boy behavior, taped for Pay-per-View, would be hilarious. Ignore the reviewers that cry that this ain't the Japan they know, or this book ain't deep enough for them. It's expressing a certain style, pictures and atmosphere that the author wants to present. There's no way to present everybody's viewpoint of Japan. As usual, in a mystery, the mystery is just the contrivance for the real story. (Everybody's fried chicken is different.) The overall story is about the people, places, things, experiences, --a nice slideshow portraying a view, mood and experience the author wants to give.
If I gave a tour of my small hometown, it'd be as unlike anybody else's viewpoint, as apples to oranges. And then it'd all change, depending on my mood, the receiver's mood, and passing time.
Rating:
Summary: Gaijin? Then this is a must read.
Review: If you live in Japan, this book is a page turner from beginning to end. If you don't, well there still may be a good enough mystery to make you read this book in one marathon session as I had done. There is a definite attraction here for past, present or future "gaijin" readers. As a Tokyo resident, I found the setting of Tokyo to be a refreshing change to the usual English language mystery. Add to that a protagonist I can identify with as a fellow gaijin, and it was an instant success with me. I couldn't put it down, from the time I began reading it on the train back home until early in the morning when I finally finished reading. Unfortunately, I found the mystery part of the story a little lacking. Without the attraction of setting and character, I would probably not have been so enthusiastic to finish. The mystery was basically solved for me one third of the way through the book. Like any good detective Rei focuses on the little details, but unfortunately the author is a little too selective with what details she allows her characters to focus on. Aside from this, the writing is well done and descriptive, but there seems to be a little Japan bashing going on at times. So if you are, will be or have been a foreigner in Japan or have an interest in Japan, then I strongly suggest you get this book. If you are none of the above, it is still a good read and you will learn a thing or two about Japan to boot.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting page-turner takes an unusual look at Japan
Review: The Salaryman's Wife is an unusual book--a universal appeal murder mystery with a distinctly Asian American feel. Sujata Massey's hip, female, Asian American, 20-something protagonist spins the story from Japan's mountain ranges to the backstreets of Tokyo in a riveting, page-turning style that will make readers late for work.
First-time writer Massey's protagonist, Rei Shimura, grew up in the States and is ekeing out a meager existence as a salaryperson in a crappy neighborhood in Tokyo. Her accented Japanese gives her away as a foreigner, and her parents have reserved her a plane ticket back to the States, but she's determined to stick it out in Japan--even when she winds up in the middle of a murder mystery.
Massey weaves a clever plot, told in a witty style and graced with turns and twists. The characters are well-developed and artfully rendered, and the dialogue is authentic. And though the salaryman's wife gets top billing, the book's true star is Rei. She's the perfect accidental private-eye: a quick, tough, fast-talker. The reader is treated to an unusual look at Japan--as seen through the eyes of a no-nonsense Asian American female who drops references to Trainspotting, has her own theme song by the Lemonheads and collects antiques on the side. Kudos to Sujata Massey for a good book, and a main character worthy of an A. Magazine Cover.
A. Magazine Oct/Nov 1997
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding novel offers more depth than the typical mystery
Review: This strong first novel is narrated by Rei Shimura, a young half-Japanese woman teaching English in Tokyo, who becomes unwittingly involved in the investigation into someone's death. The whodunnit aspects of the tale are handled well, and the characterization is strong -- after all, it's hard to make the plot interesting if the reader doesn't care about the people to whom the plot happens. Rei Shimura, although initally a little prickly -- ultimately proves a very engaging guide to a side of modern Japan that most tourists or movie-goers will never see. Massey has spent quite a bit of time in Japan, and the book is filled with details of setting and culture that give it a different flavor than anything else i've ever read. The sense of place very strong. What really sets The Salaryman's Wife apart from most genre fiction is that it also works on a thematic level. Without giving too much away, i think it's safe to say that the conflicts in the novel stem primarily from the clashes of Eastern and Western culture. In one scene, Shimura asks a lover whether he thinks of her as American or Japanese. "Both" he replies, which ticks her off -- but he's more right than he knows. Rei Shimura is a combination of the two cultures, and represents, perhaps, a potential solution to the conflict. Fiercely independent, she refuses to bow as expected to the men who dominate the culture, instead acting in ways that, ultimately, force them to respect her. Yet at the same time, her knowledge of Japanese language and manners allows her to function much more effectively in the society than a gaijin. Shimura herself realizes this only gradually -- she does quite a bit of growing up in the course of events -- and this added depth gives the novel a resonance which makes it even more satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Accidental Detective
Review: Rei Shimura a Japanese-American, who grew up in the States, is teaching English in Tokyo and barely getting by. Her accented Japanese gives her away as a foreigner and she's living with an openly gay man. Her neighborhood is seedy, her clothes are shabby, her hair is too short for Japanese tastes and if that isn't enough, her parents have reserved her a ticket back to America, but she's determined to stick it out in Tokyo. During a New Years's Eve trip to a ski resort she stumbles upon the body of the beautiful wife on a high-powered businessman, who was also a guest at the family-run inn where she's staying. Rei can't help herself, she has to try and solve the murder, so she turns amateur detective, angering the police and exciting the press. She's a fast talker who is awfully suspicious, she even suspects, for a bit, the Scottish lawyer Hugh Glendenning who she has an affair with, but will she solve the crime before she becomes a victim herself? In my opinion Rei Shimura is a perfect accidental private-eye and this is a perfect five star mystery.
Rating:
Summary: A great look at life in Japan, but a mystery.....
Review: I bought this book because I have a family member who is living in Japan and married to a Japanese woman and I wanted to get a feel for what life there must be like for a foreigner. In this respect Ms. Massey paints a fantastic picture. I enjoyed the look at Japanese culture and interaction both with each other and with foreigners. However the mystery in this book was not really that hard to solve - I would have liked a little more trouble in that case. Perhaps my real problem though is a lack of good editing. While Ms. Massey's writing is excellent I found myself on more than one occassion tripping over a reference to something that had never occurred anywhere in the book. An example is that the main character, Rei, is surprised in the bath when a man walks in, not realizing it was for women only. Later on the man apologizes to her and references having learned she has been sexually assaulted and post traumatic stress disorder. My guess is this must have been a plot direction which Ms Massey later disgarded, but this particular reference didn't get deleted. It is a small error yes, but when you are caught up in a story such a reference can be jarring to the reader. I found myself going backwards to see if I'd missed something rather than going forwards.
Rating:
Summary: An auspicious debut for a gifted author!
Review: "The Salaryman's Wife" is a must for those who like their mystery with a dash of the exotic. Rei Shimura is a young Japanese-American woman living in Tokyo. Like many of us, she's underemployed: despite her master's in Asian art, she's working as an English teacher. Rei becomes involved in a murder while vacationing in the Japanese Alps. This is both an engrossing mystery and a fascinating glimpse into modern Japanese culture. Another reason to appreciate Ms. Massey: she's a fellow Johns Hopkins graduate and Baltimore resident!
Rating:
Summary: Zen Mystery
Review: This exquisitely told book has a calm and simple aura that belies its fast-paced story. The first in the Rei Shimura series, it is entirely original--something akin to a traditional Japanese tea ceremony with some good old American moxie thrown in. Rei Shimura is the cherished twentysomething daughter of mixed-heritage wealthy parents. Her father is Japanese, her mother is American, and Rei is an uneasy mixture of both. She has stubbornly chosen to make her own way in Tokyo as a teacher of English to Japanese businessmen in a corporation. Rei, however, is far from the corporate type. She lives by choice in a dicey neighborhood with an openly gay male companion, the delightful Richard. Her passion is antiques, but she can afford very few. Her clothes are shabby, but not chic. And her hair is unfashionably short, which causes quite a bit of comment, most of it negative, among conservative Japanese. When Rei takes a much-needed vacation to a ski resort, her warring sensibilities are even more heightened. She loves the ritual of the bath, she loves the zen-like meals and atmosphere of the hotel at which she is staying--but when the beautiful wife of a Japanese businessman is found mysteriously dead on the premises, Rei's impatient American nature leaps to the fore. Convinced it was murder, Rei feels compelled to solve it, at her own considerable risk and that of her unlikely "partner in crime," a Scottish lawyer named Hugh Glendenning. Even as she is increasingly attracted to the Scotsman, Rei wonders: Did he have something to do with the death of the woman? Was he her lover? Is he friend or is he foe--and what in the world can she do to squelch her growing desire for this highly unsuitable man? All the answers come in good time...to the great delight of this reader, who has already ordered the next in the series. Very highly recommended!
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