Nightshade
An Only In Tokyo Mystery #1
Jonelle Patrick

InterMix
August 2012/ ASIN: B007TCDWPC
Mystery
Amazon

Reviewed by Cheryl Green

Yumi Hata's day started off with a hangover. She had spent the evening at the Mad Hatter Club with her best friend, Rika Ozawa. Rika left early for an appointment and left Yumi with her other friends to drink. This morning, Yumi needs to hurry to make a hair appointment so she will look good for her date with Ichiro Mitsuyama. He is son and heir to a large fortune. Yumi's mother used a matchmaker to set her up, and she doesn't want to disappoint her. On her way to the hair appointment, Yumi realizes that she has Rika's cell phone.

She calls her own number but no answer.

Meanwhile … Police Detective Kenji Nakamura has been sent to a crime scene at the Komagome Shinto Shrine and finds a car with three dead bodies inside: an older man and woman, and a younger woman. From the looks of things, it appears to be a mass suicide - a jisatsu. Strange thing is that the suicide note the young woman has is blank. Bodies will be autopsied. A cell phone is found nearby so it is tagged and now part of the evidence.

Yumi decides to call Rika's mother to find out what happened to Rika. She finds out her friend is dead - looks like suicide. Yumi know that Rika would never commit suicide. Through friends Mei and Kei, Yumi finds out that Rika was very excited to be working on a freelance article - but not its subject. Yumi decides to investigate and try to find information that will prove Rika was murdered. Kenji meets with Yumi and it turns out that they had gone to school together when they were children. And it looks like Kenji never got over his crush on Yumi.

Some questions that need answering: Why were 50 breath mints found whole in Rika's body? Why was she researching suicide websites? What did Mr and Mrs Hamada (dead couple found in the car and owners of Hamada Sweets) have in common with Rika? Why was a long time employee of Hamada Sweets let go and left a year's wages in their will? Will Yumi's sleuthing get her tangled up with a killer? And who will Yumi end up with Kenji or Ichiro?

This is the first book in a new mystery series. I liked how the chapters are headed Yumi or Kenji so we get two views of the story. It is well written and fast paced. Lots of red herrings included and not the type you eat! The glimpse we get into life in Tokyo, from the food to the locale and events, make the story different from the type I usually read. Who knew that wearing a kimono was not comfortable?