Reviews

• 素人探偵レイ・シムラのデビュー作

  筆者のスジャータ・マッシー女史は、現在は米国在住だが、日本での英語教師の経験がある。レイ・シムラ・シリーズの第１作となる本書は、東京そして架空の歴史ある城下町、城山を舞台にして描かれている。筆者は本書でアガサ賞を受賞し、輝かしいデビューを飾った。ヒロインのレイ・シムラは、日本人の父とアメリカ人の母を持ち、ＳＦ出身の２７歳。日本で英語教師をしているが、アジア史の修士号を持つ彼女は骨董品のコレクターでもある。年末年始の休暇にひとりで訪れた城山で、スコットランド人のハンサムな弁護士と出会うが、二人は思いがけぬ事件に巻き込まれ、殺人の疑いまでかけられてしまう。命の危険まで冒し、一躍マスコミの話題の人物となりながら、彼女がとうとう見つけた真犯人とは...最後まで息をつかせぬ展開に、思わず時の経つのを忘れ、読みふけってしまった。邦訳も講談社文庫から出ているが（「雪殺人事件」）、ジャーナリストでもあった筆者だけあって、原書の英語は大変シンプルで読みやすく、美しいので、まずは是非原書でも読むことをお勧めする。

• ディーテールは面白いが

  日系アメリカ人が主人公、舞台が日本、Agatha Awardをとった作品、と聞き読んでみた。 読み切るのに苦労した。 物語の盛り上がりに決定的に欠けるのである。ある温泉町で人が殺され、主人公である日系の女性が様々な事件を経て、真犯人の正体が分かる、というプロット。プロットとしてはありふれている。そうであるなら、読者としてはどきどき感を期待するのだが、作者の筆力がそのレベルに達していないのだ。 一番困ることは、登場人物が魅力的に描かれていないことだ。 日本文化を説明しているディーテールは確かに面白い。コンビニのおでんの描写、やウィンダムという車名に関する会話、などは他本ではあまり見ない。本文のリズムも作者独特のものがある。しかし、その表現上のきめ細かさとは別に、どうしても読んでしまうほどの面白いプロットを構想してほしかった。残念ながら、このレベルの推理小説は珍しくないと言えよう。

• Excellent !!

  Rei Shimura steals the show from a twisted plot!

• Terrific book

  I enjoyed this story very much. The characters seemed realistic and interesting. I loved the Japan setting. I lived in Okinawa for 2 years so I knew some of the local words that were thrown in. The mystery was hard to figure out and even after I thought I had picked the murderer a few twists and turns had me second guessing. Rei was a good determined detective. I liked that she could empathize with Japanese as well as gaijin. There were several typos in the kindle version. I would recommend this if you are a murder mystery fan and are interested in Japan.

• A book of suspense, humor and sex

  I am a Sujata Massey fan. My first read were the series that is placed in India of the 1920s. This is the first book of the Rei Shimura series and it plays in Japan, written by the author in the 1990s. I really love it. The characters are well chosen, there is a lot of humor, sex and suspense. In addition you learn a lot about Japanese mentality and customs. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one go.

• An exciting romp down memory lane for fellow Gen-X-Pats...

  This is a great read with all the things I love in a mystery: it puts you into another world, takes you on an exciting mental roller coaster and keeps you guessing until the end. It is narrated an eminently likable and believable character in the person of the glamorous yet down-to-earth Japanese-American Rei Shimura. Sujata Massey writes masterfully and keeps the tension going right until the end. What separates this book, for me, from a lot of other wonderful mysteries, is the fact that it is set in 1990s Japan. I landed for the first time in Japan in 1996 and have been a "backpacking teacher" ever since. Most Gen X-Pats like me, who fled indifferent economies for the excitement of Asia in their 20s, will enjoy being taken on a ride through memory lane. Most of my 1990s Asian experiences were in South Korea, but this book is still SO MUCH fun to read. Remember drinking hot coffee out of a can on a cold morning? Remember when you got your first beeper? Remember heart-breakingly kind locals taking you to a temple for a beautiful meal? Does anyone female remember realizing that the only shoes that would fit you were men's trainers? Remember when the whole world DIDN'T speak English and DIDN'T sit hunched over a digital device all day? Rei Shimura is obviously going to enter the digital world as she moves through an 11 book series, but for any Gen-X-Pats out there who want a solid mystery with some detours down an already-forgotten world, do yourself a favour and spend some time with this book.

• Lento

  Sinceramente, trovo il personaggio principale poco credibile così come le situazioni. Lettura faticosa e poco avvincente. Non mi ha presa.

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