THE KIZUNA COAST is the 11th in the series featuring Rei Shimura, a young Japanese-American woman who tries to make a living as an antiques dealer in Japan. In 2011, Rei is living in Hawaii with her husband when news comes of the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. She is frantic to get in touch with her relatives and her old employer Ishida. Finally she hears from Ishida, who is in a hospital with head injuries and needs help. But he's not quite sure exactly where he is. Rei immediately heads for Japan to find her mentor. She manages to get signed on with a volunteer group to get into the devastated areas.
There are very affecting scenes about the damage inflicted on the coast and the people who lived there. Rei finds Ishida, but he won't leave until he learns the fate of his assistant Mayumi, still among the missing. While working as a volunteer at the shelter, Rei also searches for Mayumi. The search takes an ominous turn as she and Ishida learn more about Mayumi and her secret life.
I lost track of this series a few books ago, so I didn't know why Rei now lives in Hawaii instead of Japan. Massey doesn't provide much backstory to catch up, but oh well - sometimes a recap of previous books is more annoying than not. Most of the characters I was familiar with make an appearance. I would think someone who has never read the series would need to frequently refer to the helpful character list that's provided.
I thought the descriptions of the devastation were good without being overly emotional, and if there's a lot of happy coincidences in the search for the missing that's not a problem. I liked how most of the characters, while clearly traumatized, are still doing what they can to help others. The villain was easy to guess but the process the characters take to find out is good. Rei has gained in maturity, not quite so quick to draw bad conclusions or leap into unknown dangers.
In a foreword Massey writes that she thought she was done with Rei until the earthquake struck, and then she needed to write about her again. This would be a good ending if she chooses once again not to go on.
There are very affecting scenes about the damage inflicted on the coast and the people who lived there. Rei finds Ishida, but he won't leave until he learns the fate of his assistant Mayumi, still among the missing. While working as a volunteer at the shelter, Rei also searches for Mayumi. The search takes an ominous turn as she and Ishida learn more about Mayumi and her secret life.
I lost track of this series a few books ago, so I didn't know why Rei now lives in Hawaii instead of Japan. Massey doesn't provide much backstory to catch up, but oh well - sometimes a recap of previous books is more annoying than not. Most of the characters I was familiar with make an appearance. I would think someone who has never read the series would need to frequently refer to the helpful character list that's provided.
I thought the descriptions of the devastation were good without being overly emotional, and if there's a lot of happy coincidences in the search for the missing that's not a problem. I liked how most of the characters, while clearly traumatized, are still doing what they can to help others. The villain was easy to guess but the process the characters take to find out is good. Rei has gained in maturity, not quite so quick to draw bad conclusions or leap into unknown dangers.
In a foreword Massey writes that she thought she was done with Rei until the earthquake struck, and then she needed to write about her again. This would be a good ending if she chooses once again not to go on.
