Mystery Authors You May Have Missed
Sujata
Massey
http://www.interbridge.com/sujata
Biography
Sujata Massey was born in 1964 in Sussex, England. Her father was Indian and
her mother, German. When she was five years old her family moved to the
United States where she graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1986 and
worked as a journalist for the Baltimore Evening Sun newspaper. Massey spent
two years living in Yokohama with her husband, Tony, a Navy medical
officer. It was there that she created the Rei Shimura character who is part
Caucasian, part Asian. The Salaryman’s Wife was published two years later
in 1997. Massey now lives in Baltimore with her husband and two children. She travels to Japan each year to retain her knowledge of the Japanese
culture.
What she writes: While living in Japan, Massey was fascinated with Japanese culture and history and decided to combine that interest with her love of mystery stories. Like Massey, the character Rei Shimura is multicultural, born in California to a Japanese father and an American mother. The author is intrigued by the endless possibilities of storylines that come from a mixed background. Her other characters are from many races, ages, and religions and have varying social, political, and sexual orientations. The author speaks to this on her website: “In the end, my sleuth and I both share a belief that everyone is human, no matter how badly he or she behaves.”
| List of works |
||
| The Rei Shimura Series | ||
| The Salaryman’s Wife (1997) | The Bride’s Kimono (2001) | |
| Zen Attitude (1998) | The Samurai’s Daughter (2003) | |
| The Flower Master (1999) | The Pearl Diver (2004) | |
| The Floating Girl (2000) | The Typhoon Lover (2005) | |
| Awards and nominations |
| The Salaryman's Wife Winner, Agatha Award for Best First Novel Winner, Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original Nominee, Barry Award for Best First Mystery Nominee, Macavity Award for Best First Mystery |
| The Flower Master Winner, Macavity Award for Best Novel Nominee, Agatha Award for Best Novel |
| Zen Attitude Nominee, Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original Nominee, Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original |
| The Floating Girl Nominee, Agatha Award for Best Novel |
| The Bride's Kimono Nominee, Agatha Award for Best Novel |
| The Samurai's Daughter Nominee, Simon & Schuster - Mary Higgins Clark Award |
| The Pearl Diver Nominee, Agatha Award for Best Novel |
| What the critics say |
| “Author Sujata Massey debuts with a highly original and fresh new voice guaranteed to garner her many fans. Top notch romantic suspense with a fascinating cross-cultural edge! Rating: 4 (Excellent).” — Jill M. Smith, Romantic Times, September 1997 |
| “Zen Attitude is simply splendid... Massey, an Agatha winner for The Salaryman's Wife, is a gifted storyteller who delivers strong characters, a tight plot and an inside view of Japan and its culture. This paperback original is one of the summer's best deals.” — Katy Kelly, USA Today, May 28, 1998 |
| “Rei is a fascinating character: bold, unique, spirited and intelligent... Massey makes good use of the clash between American and Japanese cultures as a backdrop for an enjoyable story.” — David J. Montgomery, Chicago Sun-Times, October 16, 2005 |
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