(Sujata Massey)
Teaser: In The Samurai's Daughter, Rei has flown to San Francisco to spend time with her parents and trace the heritage of the Japanese side of her family. However, she isn't the only one staying there. Her parents have been hosting a Japanese exchange student with very traditional values who becomes appalled at the fact that Rei's current and past lover Hugh will be staying there as well.
Teaser: In The Samurai's Daughter, Rei has flown to San Francisco to spend time with her parents and trace the heritage of the Japanese side of her family. However, she isn't the only one staying there. Her parents have been hosting a Japanese exchange student with very traditional values who becomes appalled at the fact that Rei's current and past lover Hugh will be staying there as well.
If it wasn't complicated enough, Hugh is working on a very sensitive case against some Japanese power players and one of his clients turns up dead. Also, the Shimura residence is burglarized, and Hugh's car has all its windows shattered. Rei, once again, finds herself in the thick of a dangerous situation that hits closer to home than she realizes.
Short Thought: A decent addition to the series, not the best, but worth the read.
Expanded Thoughts: So, we finally get to see where Rei grew up. Since the beginning of the series, Rei has portrayed herself as a person who struggles with her finances (she works two jobs in Japan) and was raised humbly. When her childhood home is revealed, we are fed a different story. Rei is freaking loaded, upper class freakin' loaded! (No, seriously.)
It threw me for a loop, because of Rei kind of turning her nose at up Hugh's semi-lavish lifestyle in some of the previous novels. (Hugh was born working class and worked his way up the ladder. I say spend it, brother!) Her mother wears designer clothes and vintage designer clothes, and their house is huge and stately. Her parents definitely have the air of members of the upper tier. It shouldn't have surprised as much as it did, because I then realized that the Shimura's would have had to have been wealthy to allow their daughter to get a college degree in Antiquities.
As for the historical element that Massey usually weaves into her novels, it just wasn't there in this one. Granted there was a lot of historical themes introduced, (the abuse of the Filipino women during the war) but it wasn't easy to understand or woven in well at all. I felt like the author could have just put a 5 page historical note at the end, and it would have been better than the blocky forced back story dialogue in some scenes.
As for the romance, it was pretty good. It was nothing spectacular. It was just the usual, "Hugh is trying to make a living, and Rei butts her head in and complicates it all" scenario. Rei bulldozes over him. He charms back into her good graces, all the while there are dangerous happenings around them.
As for the main character, Rei, I find myself liking her less and less with every novel. I find her to be very self-centered, fake, irresponsible, morally flexible, and just down right annoying. (I know, harsh.) She fancies herself the solution to every problem even if she has no place solving it.
In closing, I have read too many books in this series to stop now, but it definitely isn't near as good as it was in the beginning. However, it's still a great and entertaining mystery, so it's worth a read.
Additional Notes: This novel contains mild violence and sexual situations.
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