Zen Attitude

Written by Sujata Massey

Narrated by Justine Eyre

Life in modern Tokyo is a blast for Rei Shimura, a young Japanese-American woman who enjoys busy days as an antiques dealer and steamy nights with a devoted new boyfriend. But things come to a standstill when Rei overpays for a rare old chest of drawers for a wealthy client, the owner of a famous Zen temple in Kamakura. The exquisite tansu turns out to be a fake: the worst deal Rei has ever made. When the temple family turns on Rei-and the con man who sold the tansu is murdered-she realizes she's opened a Pandora's box of deception and murder. A young martial artist, an aspiring rock singer, and an elderly antiques mentor all become part of Rei's search for the killer through the shadows of an ancient culture. As her world begins to rapidly and inexplicably unravel, Rei realizes that it will take strength, wit, and a Zen attitude to survive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781977348210

Reviews for Zen Attitude

[pussreboots · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Zen Attitude by Sujata Massey is the second of the Rei Shimura mysteries. Rei has moved in with her boyfriend and her antique business seems to be taking off. Everything, though, goes wrong when she is tricked into paying too much for a tansu.Shimura has fallen for a classic con and it's cost her most of her savings. The blow to her confidence and her wallet strains the relationship with her boyfriend. Pretty soon everything is flying out of control.Having started the series with the later books first, I'm surprised by how naive and scared Rei is. I'm also now saddened that she gets back together with her boyfriend later because he's actually abusive here — not physically, but definitely emotionally.As far as the mystery goes, I'm reminded most of the film, The Spanish Prisoner, though the con run on Rei isn't specifically that con. But there's that sense of realizing the pieces of the con by the shock of revisiting the places and events a day or even days later and realizing it was all put on for her benefit.

[teaperson_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

My wife loves this series, but I find the detective's neuroticism to be a bit too annoying. There's lots of great local color, though.