Rating: 
Summary: Mystery keeps you guessing
Review: I enjoyed this book - it was very well written for a first novel and the mystery kept me guessing.Rei, the main character is earnest, tenacious, hot headed and a bit irritating but for the most part always interesting. The brief glimpses of the culture and locales in Japan didn't overwhelm the story but did add an exotic background for the book. I didn't find the relationship between Rei and Hugh very compelling or believable. It seemed more of a basic sexual attraction than something that will develop into a full fledged relationship. I guess time will tell on that aspect of the story. I've already purchased the next two books in the series and hope they are as well written and interesting as the first.
Rating: 
Summary: Zoinks, Scooby Doo had better stories than this
Review: I bought this on the basis of reviews here on Amazon, and all I can say is there must be alot of easily pleased people out there who want a weak mystery based in Japan with slight bits of sex to spice it up. While I had some doubts early on, I chalked them up to rookie mistakes...but by the end, it was fairly clear that is simply not a very good book at all. The character is spirited and willful, which I did find refreshing for a while but then she just became erratic and annoying. And some of the plot "twists" are just awful...'Alright Scooby, you dress as a maid and break into a sinister character's house to steal some evidence while I ring the front door and pretend to be Jehovah witness.' I was half expecting to see a line similar to "this plan is so crazy, it's gotta work" somewhere in the text. This is one of those books that becomes a series because the publisher thinks it has a good marketing angle vs. it actually being any good. Now if you don't have any real interest to know anything more than a comic book view of Japan (mobsters, crowded trains, numerous ways to say no without actually using the word "no", and hostess bars), then you'll probably enjoy this book. If you're looking for something a bit more realistic and that tells you something about Japan, then you should avoid this book.......
Rating: 
Summary: Strong, Delicate, Enticing Complexity
Review: You wouldn't think that a murder mystery would be the best introduction to another country, but Massey does for Japan what Hillerman does for the Native American Southwest: she provides a window into the magnetic and enticing complexity that is modern Japan. Rei Shimura, daughter of a Japanese father and a Causasian American mother, lover of antique kimonos and prints, is living hand-to-mouth in Tokyo, eking out a living teaching English to Japanese businessmen, trying to embrace a fascinating heritage which, at many levels, rejects her as a gaijin, a half-blood, a foreigner---it's a brilliant concept, one which guarantees that we, the readers, also outsiders, can be drawn into Rei's world. Rei gets the chance to take a brief winter vacation at a rural bathing spa, and meets a cast of characters which includes a sexy Scottish lawyer, a loud American touriste, and the well-off "salaryman" (upper management businessman) of the title, as well as his glamourous wife, who winds up shockingly dead in the snow on a bitterly cold night. We now begin to follow Rei on a wild ride that includes the baffling complexities of Japanese police procedure, the threat of the Tokyo mob, break-ins, spying, further murders and attempted murders, and the tickling intrigue of the provenance of a small antique wooden box, as Rei tries to unknot a long-hidden, truly-baffling tangle of deceit, inheritance, regrets, and revenge. Massey is terrific at depicting an intelligent modern women, in love with a vibrant modern country, a person who also has a deep romantic yearning for the Japan-that-was. She captures a Tokyo that is almost frighteningly fast-paced and expensive, and has created a heroine whom you'd love to have as a friend or a tour guide--or on your side when the going gets murky. Very well done, and I can't wait to read more Rei Shimura novels.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional
Review: The last thing that Rei Shimura want to do on her vacation is get mixed up in a murder, but that is exactly what happens to this 27-year-old Japanese-American expatriate. She has been teaching English to ungrateful businessmen in Toyko and badly needs a break so she travels to a Shiroyama to search for antique folk art and relax at a minshuku (a family-run inn). Instead she ends up investigating the murder another guest, the beautiful wife of a salaryman, with the help of the obnoxious but somehow still appealing Scotsman, Hugh Glendinning. When Hugh is arrested, she races to solve the murder before he is convicted. This was a wonderful look at the life of a Japanese-American living in Japan and her struggles to adapt in a world where she looks Japanese but is too American to truly fit in. The mystery is engaging and the novel has a modern edginess and quirky romance that is appealing. This author has moved to the top of my "must read" pile.
Rating:
Summary: Light and fluffy
Review: The Salaryman's Wife offered me six hours of pleasant diversion.
Reading it gave me at times the feeling of getting an updated version of "Black Rain" with a female generation-x-er playing the Michael Douglas part. While I agree with a previous reviewer that the characterization of the Japanese and their culture is often missing the target, that a mere change of (street)names would be sufficient for a direct transplantation of this story to New York city or any other metropolis, I did get my fun out of reading this piece of cotton candy mystery. The story runs fast and smoothly and I do think that Rei's character does develop throughout the story. Please don't be to critical when it comes to the Rei personality. The story leaves one perfectly in the dark as to what would attract her so much to the slums of Tokyo. Yet, for more critical souls there are always alternatives like Miyabe, Takagi and Libby.
Rating:
Summary: Really fascinating idea for a refreshing new series.
Review: THE SALARYMAN'S WIFE is the first entry in this new series featuring Rei Shimura as an American teaching English in Japan. In this one she's on vacation, giving us a neat glimpse at leisure life in Japan. Massey's easy style makes this a joy to read. The book offers a nice little list of characters at the front, in case we get mixed up before the end of this 424-page monster. (Yes, it's too long!) But I was only confused by two of the characters, and only briefly. So don't worry about the Asian names. The book has a bit of everything: violence, romance, a good basic whodunit, some comic and some seedy characters, and a really cool heroine. And it has some VERY sexy moments! I'd call it flirtatious and seductive. I really want to read the next one!! FYI, this book won the Agatha Award for 1997.
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Summary: A really good book!
Review: I read this book and went out and bought her next two books right away! I bought this one because I love Japan, but you don't need to love Japan to enjoy this book! I have written two romantic suspense novels set in Japan, so I thoroughly enjoyed hers. Do not hesitate to buy!
Deborah Kemp
Rating:
Summary: A thinking woman's mystery
Review: Massey serves up an intelligent mystery that zigs and zags, keeping the reader on her/his toes. Interwoven in the story is the experience of a Japanese/American heroine who faces the discomfort involved in not quite fitting into the Japanese culture in which the mystery is set. Thus the book serves up a cultural mystery which educated all the while that it is entertaining! The female protagonist is fun, brave, and vulnerable without ever veering into a stereotype. Massey keeps you up nights and sends you rushing to the bookstore where you are greatful that she has continued to publish mysteries with the same wonderful lead. Highly recommended!!1
Rating:
Summary: Until the End
Review: I am a great reader of mysteries, I feel they give me a chance to use my imagination to see the sights, smell the smells, and feel the emotions. I read this book because of a recommendation from Amazon.com, the summary was interesting, and right now I'm all about the Japanese culture and mysteries. Well I picked this book up, starting read the first few pages, and before I knew it the clerk in the store asked me to leave. Since I cannot read on a ongoing basis, I was longing, every time I had to put the book down, to get back to Tokoyo, Shiroyama, Rei, Hugh, and Mariko. I would wonder what they were going to do next or what was Rei going to get herself into. I couldn't guess who the killer was until the very end. It's such a fascinating tale, such humor and description. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. I recommend this book to anyone who loves descriptive language and places you've never been. You'll enjoy every page, promise!
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but Lacking
Review: I am an expat living in Tokyo, and I picked this book up with a natural interest. It is not very often that you have a good book based on the city written in the language that you understand. I am also a big fan of detective novels, and the fact it is a mystery was an added bonus. After I blazed through the book, I have mixed feelings about this book.
The mystery part of this book is rather average. It has some interesting twists but it is basically a by the numbers mystery book. Which in itself is OK, since we are reading a story, not a puzzle. A good mystery is good not because it is a complicated puzzle, but because it is a good story.
Most likely, you will either love or hate this book for its portrayal of Japan. If you have not been to Japan, you will probably like what you read. Ms. Massey does a fine job putting exotic touches to her story. But make no mistake. Rei Shimura's Japan -- an ultimately Ms. Massey's -- is a foreigner's Japan. It is the Japan viewed from an outsider's point of view, not from insider's, and it appears that some reviewers who lived in Japan either loved or hated Ms Massey's portrayal. I think it is natural, because Japan is a very complex and mysterious country for a foreigner to figure out. You ask 10 foreigners about their impressions of Japan, and you are likely to get 10 different answers. I don't have problem with Rei Shimura or her attitude towards Japan, because I know many people here who are just like her, and the book is faithful in that sense.
What I do have a problem, however, is the character development. I feel most of them are terribly underdeveloped, and I had a hard time caring for the characters. I just did not sense the feeling of despair, desperation or tension from any of the characters even when I am supposed to. There are some unlikely turns of events that felt unnatural, and so did the reactions of characters in many situations. The book does have a nice pace, moving places briskly, but I think Ms Massey ended up sacrificing some opportunities for us to understand more about the characters. To be fair, I must point out you may feel different. One of the reasons I couldn't get into the character is, ironically, because I know too much about the people in the book. Rei Shimura is not very different from people I meet regularly, and my imagination was not working exactly overdrive during the book. The same applies to the setting. If I haven't been to Japan, I may have felt differently.
Overall, I think it was an enjoyable read with some crispy dialogs. I will probably get another book to see if the series improves as it builds onto the characters. But at this point, I must say the book is ultimately unsatisfying. On a last note, if you are interested in a good mystery novel with a Japanese setting, I highly recommend "All She Was Worth" written by Miyuki Miyabe and perfectly translated by Alfred Birnbaum (as always.) The mystery and the quest to solve it is much better developed, and above all, it has an excellent tale to tell -- a haunting story that lingers with you afterwards.
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