The Flower Master - Hardcover

Massey, Sujata

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060192283 ISBN 13: 9780060192280

Publisher: Harper, 1999

Synopsis

Family secrets come to haunt half-American, half-Japanese Rei Shimura, a Tokyo antiques dealer, when she attempts to reveal the murderer of her instructor in ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. By the author of Zen Attitude. Tour.

About this title

About the Author

Sujata Massey was born in England to parents from India and Germany. She studied writing at Johns Hopkins University and worked as a reporter for the Baltimore Evening Sun before moving to Japan, whre she taught English and began writing mystery fiction. The Rei Shimura series starts with The Salaryman's Wife, which won the Agatha Award for best first novel of 1997, and continues with Zen Attitude, and Edgar and Anthony nominee, and The Flower Master. At present Sujata Massey lives with her family in Baltimore and travels to Japan to research future Rei Shimura novels.

Reviews

Agatha-winner Massey's hardcover debut takes her antiques-buyer sleuth Rei Shimura to Tokyo's Kayama School of ikebana, where her aunt Norie hopes she'll learn the ancient art of flower arrangement. Rei is so untalented in ikebana that she earns a rare public reproof from her teacher, Sakura Soto, and an even rarer public defense from Norie. But she hardly has time to join Norie's plans to apologize by presenting Sakura-san with a pair of scissors before the scissors, 15 minutes after Norie brings them into the school, are found embedded in the teacher's neck. Gravely courteous Lt. Hata, of the Metropolitan Police, clearly thinks Norie is the prime suspect, but as he's murmuring noncommital pleasantries to her, Rei is already wondering about the alternatives. What about Natsumi Kayama, the spoiled heiress of the wealthy school, or her twin Takeo, who can't decide whether he wants to make romantic overtures to Rei or accuse her of stealing his family's ceramics? What about Mari Kumamori, the Korean student whose pottery Sakura-san had smashed? What about Che Fujisawa, the head of Stop Killing Flowers, who argued that Japan's demand for fresh flowers endangered thousands of Colombian workers who came into contact with dangerous pesticides? Massey not only fleshes out each of these subplots but weaves them together to illuminate conflicts of old and new in Japanese manners, morals, family, and love. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

YA-Enrolled in the Kayama School of Ikebana by her Aunt Norie, Rei Shimura, a Japanese-American antique dealer living in Japan, finds her instructor stabbed with the flower-arranging shears of her trade. Rei's natural inquisitiveness, accompanied by the worry that Norie may be the chief suspect, propels her to become active in the investigation. An arsenic-poisoning attempt, her growing infatuation with a wealthy young Japanese man, and her efforts to determine the true purpose of an anti-flower environmental-rights group lead Rei's determination to solve the crime, which has its origins well in the past and does involve her aunt. The writing is as serene and graceful as the flower arranging while the plot reflects the convolutions of Japanese manners and customs. The whodunit intrigue combined with the little tidbits of everyday Japanese life result in a rich, robust read.
Pam Spencer, Young Adult Literature Specialist, Virginia Beach, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A volatile yet harmonious mix of ancient Eastern traditions, modern American chutzpah and some inexplicable violence characterizes Massey's hardcover debut (after the mass market The Salaryman's Wife and Zen Attitude). Rei Shimura, 28 and a San Francisco transplant, is a Tokyo antiques buyer who is taking a flower-arranging course at a prestigious ikebana school run by the Kayama family. Of mixed American and Japanese parentage, Rei is constantly upbraided by her staid aunt Norie for her less-than-perfect conduct. But when an instructor at the school, Sakura, is killed, apparently with Norie's gardening shears, it takes Rei's Western impudence and grit and her entire store of charm to get to the bottom of the caseAwhich grows more complex as Rei finds out about Mr. Kayama's unsavory past and her aunt's surprising relationship with him. What's more, Mr. Kayama's son, the heir apparent to the school's directorship, is inexplicably linked to an extremist environmental group trying to shut down the school. The narrative is enhanced greatly by the richly detailed Tokyo setting, from ancient tea houses to arcane rituals involving the cherry blossom festival. With such a gratifying background and such an appealing sleuth, it scarcely matters that an overly melodramatic finale mars the novel's resolution. Agents, Ellen Geiger and Dave Barbor at Curtis Brown. (May) FYI: The Salaryman's Wife won the 1998 Agatha Award for Best First Novel.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Masseys hardcover debut, following the Salarymans Wife (an Agatha winner for Best First Novel) and Zen Attitude, brings back Rei Shimura, a Japanese American antiques dealer and accidental sleuth living in Tokyo. Persuaded by her Aunt Norie to attend the prestigious Kayama school to study the Japanese art of flower arranging (ikebana), Rei becomes enmeshed in tracing the murderer of one of the schools head teachers. She finds numerous red herrings and distractions, including threatening notes and an attempt on her life, an environmental group protesting against the schools use of imported flowers treated with pesticides, and the attractive, billionaire heir to the Kayama holdings, but the ending is sadly murky. Nevertheless, the mystery is enhanced by Masseys familiarity with the cultural milieu and the etiquette conundrums that confront modern Japanese. For discerning mystery fans.Francine Fialkoff, Library Journal
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Seeing Tokyo through the eyes of amateur sleuth Rei Shimura, a young Japanese American antiques dealer, proves to be a totally captivating experience. Shimura's Japanese side allows her inside the heart of daily life in Tokyo, while her American side gives her enough distance from the world around her to respond with an openness that American readers will appreciate. She shares her discomfort with the classes she is taking at the famous Kayama School, renowned for its teaching of ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. Her frustration increases when an unfriendly teacher is murdered and Rei's beloved Aunt Norie becomes a suspect; American-minded Rei is outraged at the cold shoulder given to Norie by the other women at the school. Although Massey points out Rei's troubles with fitting into Japanese culture, she also makes it clear that Rei loves Japan and her heritage. A unique plot, an exceptional protagonist, and some subtle cultural lessons are as beautifully arranged as a vase of cherry blossoms. Jenny McLarin

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Flower Master
by Sujata Massey

Chapter One

Nobody runs in Japan. A nation of naturally fast walkers has no reason to pick up its pace--except for emergencies like a closing train door. During four years in Tokyo, I've found the only runners besides myself to be senior citizens chasing a better cholesterol count or teenagers trying to make the high-school team.

I was jogging at a pathetically slow pace, the better to weave between office workers without toppling them. The city is crowded, and there are unwritten rules about knocking people down. At the Roppongi Crossing intersection, I had to wait two minutes for the light to change so that I could cross over and go three blocks farther to the Kayama Kaikan, the landmark building that was headquarters for one of Japan's leading schools of flower arranging.

Being late was my fault. I had lingered over my morning coffee, watered all my plants, and found a half dozen other reasons to dither so that, in the end, I had to jog from the train station to the school. As my aunt Norie frequently points out, my job as a freelance antiques buyer gives me control over my time. Not making it to the Kaikan on time was my own passive-aggressive response to her demands.

Being half Japanese and half American, I sometimes struggle to fit in with my father's Yokohama relatives. I can understand most of the jokes in movies, drink tea correctly, and even prepare my own pickled daikon radishes. Still, I was clueless about ikebana, the uniquely Japanese art of flower arrangement. The last time I overstuffed an urn with plum branches, my aunt stared at it without speaking. Shortly after that, she informed me that I was enrolled as a part-time student at the Kayama School.

I'd only been to the Kayama Kaikan twice, but that was enough for me to learn that in ikebana, less is more, and I'd rather spend less time arranging flowers in an overheated classroom and more time outdoors. That Tuesday morning in late March was bright, with temperatures in the sixties--almost time for the blooming of sakura, the cherry trees that are Japan's premier symbol. A weatherman on the morning news forecast that Tokyo's cherry trees would be in flower within five days, remaining at peak condition for no more than two weeks. Viewers were encouraged to plan their cherry blossom viewing parties accordingly.

"But watch closely, because clouds over the moon may mean storms over blossoms!" the reporter added with a corny smile. He was making a double entendre--referring to the likelihood of rain as well as offering up an old proverb that meant misfortune is lurking even at times of great happiness.

Prediction is a risky game. During the time that I've lived in Japan, I've marveled at the number of people who insist that the future is determined by patterns held in the past. I'm not good at predicting things; that sunny spring morning, I had no idea what I was running toward. The next fortnight's cherry blossoms would bring a storm of death and revelation that none of us--my clever aunt, the proverb-quoting newsman, and especially not I--would have expected.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060192283
• ISBN 13: 9780060192280
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304