This is a later book in the series of Rei, a Japanese American, antique buyer and dealer, who has on and off again affairs with Hugh, a Scotsman, and Takei, a independently wealthy Japanese flower arranger, both highly attractive. The plot is a bit improbable; the CIA wants Rei to go to Japan, where she has been kicked out of because of previous sleuthing, to find out if Takei has an ancient Persian vase, stolen from the Iraq museum. Why would the CIA care? Rei gets into a peck of trouble, and seems to rush from place to place even wading through a typhoon. Massey throws in a lot of current rock n roll musical groups which seems a bit forced, but I actually like all the details about Rei’s vintage designer clothes. Also the descriptions of Japanese houses, streets and social conventions are very well done, giving an eye to another culture. She loses both lovers, one becomes a monk and one moves, but maybe a future job with the CIA. Maybe she should retire.
Improbable but entertaining. Rei Shimura has been banned from Japan for her sleuthing but gets a chance to return thanks to the CIA. The agency wants to know about an ancient Iraqi ewer that has turned up in Japan, and although Rei's specialty is Japanese antiquities, she has the connections to find out what the government wants to know. The plot never answers the basic question: why does the American government care about an ancient piece of Middle Eastern pottery? Despite this, the book is entertaining and Rei is a compelling character.
