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Heidi99
Posted September 24, 2011
Fans who loved the Rei Shimura series, will be happy to discover another book about the amateur sleuth who is always manages to find herself in trouble and danger. Rei Shimura is a spunky American-Japanese woman living in Tokyo.
Convenience Boy and other stories of Japan are three short stories that each gives a unique glimpse into the Japanese culture while Rei Shimura tries to solve a series of mysteries.
The first story, Convenience Boy is unusual in that it is from the point of view of the woman who hires Rei. The premise of the story is about a young woman who has been having an affair with an unseen lover who crawls in her bedroom at night. When her lover stops coming, she hires Rei to track him down. Rei is short work so takes on the job and cleverly solves the mystery with an ending that will surprise the reader. What I found especially interesting in the story is an insight into the sex life of young people in Japan.
Junior High Samurai deals with a much more serious issue of a junior high school boy being teased and the terrible consequences it can have. Rei is a teacher in this story. She sees bullying on the school ground and wants to intervene, but is told by other teachers to ignore it. When the boy being tormented and beaten disappears, Rei is filled with guilt and determined to find him before it is too late. Bullying is a problem in many schools around the world and I found it fascinating to get a glimpse into this problem in the framework of the Japanese culture.
The Deepest Blue is about Rei going to the island of Shikoku on a business trip where she finds some beautiful indigo fabric. When she tracks down the artist who is still making this cloth, she discovers a disturbing secret and murder.
These stories are a fun read for all who enjoy a good mystery and learning about the Japanese culture. Curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and escape into another world with Rei.
6780246
Posted September 3, 2011
The stories are a little different, but I enjoyed them. Several errors, though, but easy to read thru them. I wanted more, especially after the last one, my favorite of the three.
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Posted May 8, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
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Overview
A compilation of short stories previously published in paper form by Sujata Massey. In this collection, Rei Shimura solves 3 very different mysteries. The title story, "The Convenience Boy," tests Japanese romance in an unexpected way. "Junior High Samurai" sends Rei back to her teaching roots as she becomes entwined in a bullying incident. "The Deepest Blue" is a poignant exploration of the conflict between family love and ambition. This 50-page trilogy is a must for anyone wanting to read everything about Rei Shimura.