Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews
Page Three of SixThe Flower Master by Sujata Massey
HarperCollins, May 1999.Hardcover, 291 pages .
ISBN: 0060192283.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Japanese-American antiques dealer Rei Shimura
loves her adopted home of Tokyo, although she's
still getting used to many of the local customs -- which
seem odd to an American. Rei has enrolled in the
local ikebana school which teaches the ancient and
respected art of flower arranging. When a respected
but obnoxious teacher is found stabbed to death with a pair of ikebana
scissors that Rei and her aunt were going to present
to her as an apology for an argument in class,
Rei's Aunt Norie becomes the prime suspect.
Rei must find the real murderer while fending off the
attentions of one of the wealthiest young men in
Japan and heir to the famed Kayama school.
Rei Shimura makes her hardcover debut in this third entry in the series (See, The Salaryman's Wife and Zen Attitude). Sujata Massey is in fine form for this riveting story of love, greed and passion in the land of the cherry blossoms. Massey's grasp of local culture is thorough, and is only exceeded by her skill as a storyteller. Rei remains a compelling lead, who grows in each book. The day to day life of a young woman in Japan is fascinating, as is the mystery. Don't miss this one. Highly Recommended.
--Claire E. White
Gideon by Russell Andrews
Ballantine Books, June 1999.Paperback, 435 pages.
ISBN: 0345423461.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Carl Granville, known by friends as "Granny", is a struggling author. He has sent
a novel to Maggie Peterson, a high-powered New York literary agent,
expecting rejection, but is shocked when she approaches him
at a cocktail party and is not only friendly and engaging, but
offers him a book contract.
However, when he meets up with her later
he discovers that the subject of the contract is not his novel
at all.
Instead, she wants him to ghostwrite an entirely different novel,
under conditions of complete secrecy. The novel will be a
fictionalized account of the life of a character, named Gideon,
but will be based on events that
actually happened.
Granny can't afford to turn down a quarter of a
million dollars, so he agrees to the strange terms.
Granny soon finds that he is in way over his head
when a thug shows up
at his door with the photographs and
letters for him to use to write the novel.
He will only be shown the items
for the duration of the day, he cannot retain
the items, and the thug will stay and
watch him to make sure nothing happens
to the materials. Each day the thug brings
by new materials and takes what Granny
has written. Granny soon realizes that he is
writing some high-powered person's secret
murder confession, probably without their knowledge.
After his agent and a neighbor girl he had
a rendezvous with turn up dead, Granny is
blamed and soon the FBI, the police and
the powerful figure in the novel are
after him. Granny, with the help of
Amanda Mays, his ex-girlfriend and journalist,
are on the run to find out who Gideon really is and
gather evidence before they both wind
up dead or in jail.
Gideon was created by a pair of mystery/thriller novelists, Peter Gethers and David Handler, who are writing under the pseudonym of Russell Andrews. Peter Gethers is an editor, publisher and author of fiction and nonfiction books, including the bestselling nonfiction books, The Cat Who Went to Paris and A Cat Abroad. David Handler is a popular mystery author and has won an Edgar and an American Mystery Award for his series of eight novels featuring amateur sleuth Stewart Hoag. The two authors must work well together, because Gideon is pure delight, with fast pacing, interesting characters and a shocking conclusion. Highly Recommended.
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