The Salaryman's Wife [Mass Market Paperback]

Sujata Massey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 18, 1997

Japanese-American Rei Shimura is a 27-year-old English teacher living in one of Tokyo's seediest neighborhoods. She doesn't make much money, but she wouldn't go back home to California even if she had a free ticket (which, thanks to her parents, she does.) Her independence is threatened however, when a getaway to an ancient castle town is marred by murder.

Rei is the first to find the beautiful wife of a high-powered businessman, dead in the snow. Taking charge, as usual, Rei searches for clues by crashing a funeral, posing as a bar-girl, and somehow ending up pursued by police and paparazzi alike. In the meantime, she manages to piece together a strange, ever-changing puzzle—one that is built on lies and held together by years of sex and deception.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Salaryman's Wife is proof that arts grants do occasionally produce good art. Sujata Massey taught English in Japan and worked as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun. She applied for and won the Malice Domestic Grant for Unpublished Writers, which allowed her to finish this beautifully crafted story of cross-cultural suspense.

Rei Shimura is a 27-year-old Japanese American English teacher, living precariously on her tiny paycheck in Tokyo, the most expensive city in the world. She's determined not to use the plane ticket back to California offered by her parents. On a visit to the ancient castle town of Shiroyama, brought to such rich life that you'll want to head there instantly, Rei gets involved in a local murder. Her probing angers the conservative police and most of the citizens, but Rei persists, in spite of threats to her life and freedom. Her character is so well conceived and her adventures so believable that readers across the world should identify with Rei--and hope for a second serving soon.

Review

"A terrific debut, crafted with surprising twists and turns, and steeped in the flavor of contemporary Japan." -- -- Jonnie Jacobs

"A witty, perceptive take on how contemporary society clashed with traditional culture in modern Japan." -- -- Laura John Rowland

"This book is a magic carpet to the Japanese Alps, and serves up murder as well. Great reading!" -- -- Barbara D'Amato

"A terrific debut, crafted with surprising twists and turns, and steeped in the flavor of contemporary Japan." -- Jonnie Jacobs

"A witty, perceptive take on how contemporary society clashed with traditional culture in modern Japan." -- Laura John Rowland

"Sujata Massey blasts her way into fiction with The Salaryman's Wife, a cross-cultural mystery of manners with a decidedly sexy edge." -- Janet Evanonich

"This book is a magic carpet to the Japanese Alps, and serves up murder as well. Great reading!" -- Barbara D'Amato

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (July 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061044431
• ISBN-13: 978-0061044434
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #600,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sujata Banerjee Massey was born in England to parents from India and Germany. She grew up mostly in the United States (California, Pennsylvania and Minnesota) and earned her BA from the Johns Hopkins University's Writing Seminars program. She then worked as a reporter at the Baltimore Evening Sun before marrying and moving to Japan. The area where she lived, an hour south of Tokyo, forms most of the settings of her Rei Shimura mysteries. The series featuring a young Asian-American woman sleuth has collected many mystery award nominations, including the Edgar and Anthony, and won the Agatha and Macavity awards. The ten Rei Shimura mysteries are published in 18 countries.
Sujata also has short stories published in several mystery anthologies, most recent of which are POLITICS NOIR and ONCE UPON A CRIME.

Sujata lives with her family in Minneapolis and is currently writing a new standalone novel with the working title THE SLEEPING DICTIONARY. It's a historical thriller that tells the story of India's struggle for independence through a young Bengali woman's point of view. It's the book she's been waiting to write all her life, as it combines her family background and her fascination with colonial life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AGATHA AWARD WINNER IS FIRST RATE, May 12, 1998

By 

Helen Howerton (La Puente, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Salaryman's Wife (Mass Market Paperback)

Sujata Massey's maiden effort (and 1998 winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel) is a fast paced look at morals and murder in modern-day Japan. Readers are immediately introduced to Rei Shimura, a Japanese-American woman teaching English in Tokyo. Facing the prospects of being "Christmas Cake" (you'll have to read the book to find out what this means) Rei figures a vacation is in order, and books herself a New Year's trip to Shiroyama, where she expects to prowl the antique shops and visit the ancient temple. Instead, she has the misfortune of stumbling upon the body of a fellow guest at her "minshuku," the family-run inn where she's staying. Rei soon discovers the peril of being involved in a murder investigation while also being "gaijin" (Japanese for foreigner - not a term of endearment in The Land of the Rising Sun).

During the course of the investigation Rei begins a new love affair, is pursued by the ubiquitous Japanese media (who know a juicy story when they see one), and comes way too close to what's going on, for police and guilty parties alike. Ms. Massey ties all these elements together in a tidy, well-told tale that is an engaging "whodunit" as well as an enlightening introduction to a society that is still rather unforgiving of outsiders.

I found the "love/hate" relationship Rei seems to have with herself as well as those around her to ring very true, and Ms. Massey's flair for no nonsense dialog fits right in with this aspect of the character. The author allows the obvious situations to remain understated, and the final unraveling of the mystery proceeds to an unexpected conclusion which readers will find has been hinted at all along. And don't expect to be swept along on a lyrical Japanese journey of discovery...that's not happening here.

I appreciated the snippets of Japanese that are included as part of the narrative, including "jinglish," or Japanese English, which is not-so-slowly creeping into the la! nguage. Also interesting were the glimpses of the seedy side of life in Tokyo, both in the dubious drinking establishment Rei encounters during her inquiries into the murder, and her own neighborhood. Ms. Massey gives her readers an intelligent, lively heroine in Rei Shimura, and both author and character are delightful additions to the mystery genre.

Finally - don't miss Rei Shimura's next adventure - "Zen Attitude" - just out!

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gaijin? Then this is a must read., June 6, 2000

By 

"douggiechan" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Salaryman's Wife (Mass Market Paperback)

If you live in Japan, this book is a page turner from beginning to end. If you don't, well there still may be a good enough mystery to make you read this book in one marathon session as I had done.

There is a definite attraction here for past, present or future "gaijin" readers. As a Tokyo resident, I found the setting of Tokyo to be a refreshing change to the usual English language mystery. Add to that a protagonist I can identify with as a fellow gaijin, and it was an instant success with me. I couldn't put it down, from the time I began reading it on the train back home until early in the morning when I finally finished reading.

Unfortunately, I found the mystery part of the story a little lacking. Without the attraction of setting and character, I would probably not have been so enthusiastic to finish. The mystery was basically solved for me one third of the way through the book. Like any good detective Rei focuses on the little details, but unfortunately the author is a little too selective with what details she allows her characters to focus on. Aside from this, the writing is well done and descriptive, but there seems to be a little Japan bashing going on at times.

So if you are, will be or have been a foreigner in Japan or have an interest in Japan, then I strongly suggest you get this book. If you are none of the above, it is still a good read and you will learn a thing or two about Japan to boot.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful! The gaijin community is thrilled!, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Salaryman's Wife (Mass Market Paperback)

Sujata Massey's "The Salaryman's Wife" is a wonderfully witty and insightful suspense novel which looks into the cross-cultural differences between Japan and the West. It does so by comparing the ancient and isolated Japan to the ultra modern and commercial Japan, a distance which is not only measured by time, but to the extent that beyond the highrises of Tokyo not all that much has changed. The eyes of the reader are those of Rei Shimura, an American teaching English in Tokyo. What makes Rei a more creditable witness to the events of this thriller is that she is more than "gaijin" (Japanese word for foreigner), she is "konketsujin" (Japanese word for one who is half Japanese and half foreigner). The basic plot as explained by the synopsis above is correct. Rei Shimura finds herself inadvertantly involved in a murder mystery by accidentally discovering the corpse of a woman staying at the same inn that she is staying at for the holidays. By way of misunderstandings and mistrust she is lumped into the murder investigation and by use of her western upbringing she doubts the outcome of the initial findings of the police. The plot twists on from this point and the reader is ensnared in the escapades that Rei Shimura finds herself involved in to prove that more exists to the death of "the salaryman's wife".

As a foreigner living in Japan, I have to say that the characters of Rei, her gay roommate, her love interest, the foreigners shown in Tokyo and Yokosuka, the Japanese outside of Tokyo and in smaller more isolated areas of Japan, and locations are depicted by an intimate acquaintance. As I read this novel I saw myself in the heart of Tokyo, at the Japanse Alps as I was this past winter, walking through a checkpoint I go through everyday, shopping at a specific shoppers plaza, in intense Engish language tutorials as the teacher thrust on the mercy of her students whom are never shy about asking personal questions. This is what makes the novel work. The plot is good and while obvious to some, the reader is caught up with images of Japan, Tokyo and it's culture that to someone who has never been to Japan should not take lightly.

This suspense thriller breathes this story. The only sense that this book does not attack is the sense of smell. Japan is a place unto itself which holds a special scent all it's own, part exotic spice carried in the wind and the modern scents of cities and industrialization. As you read this thriller close your eyes at certain points and see if you can imagine yourself in the ancient and modern world that is Japan.