The Bride's Kimono
Sujata Massey'slively bicultural seriesfeaturing Rei Shimura, the Tokyo antique  dealer who can't seem to keep out of trouble, brings her heroine back to her  American roots in this engaging tale of corruption and chicanery in the museum  exhibition game. Rei is unexpectedly invited to accompany a treasure trove of  antique kimonos to a Washington, D.C., museum and to deliver a couple of  lectures on the cultural history of the gorgeous garments. A last-minute  decision to substitute a priceless wedding kimono for one that's too fragile to  travel sets in motion a chain of events that lands Rei in serious peril.When Rei's former boyfriend, Scottish attorney Hugh Glendinning, turns up at the  Washington museum, she's caught up in a romantic crisis, having just settled  into a new relationship with Takeo Kayama, the Japanese playboy she met two  books ago  (inThe Flower Master).  But that dilemma is soon eclipsed by the theft of the wedding  kimono, which was uninsured, and by the disappearance of Rei's seatmate on the  flight from Japan. When the seatmate's dead body and Rei's passport and tickets  turn up in a Washington dumpster, Rei is suspected of murder, larceny, and even  prostitution. Through all this, Massey does a nice job of imparting a wealth of  fascinating information on the kimono tradition.Rei gets more appealing with every outing, and in this one Massey ratchets up  the romantic tension and action--maybe because Rei's in a country that's more  obsessed with sex than with tradition. Nicely plotted, well characterized, and  carefully crafted, this may be Massey's best yet.--Jane Adams--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.