And now he knew what was wrong with the arrangement. It was the Ma… the negative space… There was only one thing beautiful enough to fill it and — finally — she was with him. Ready, if not willing, to play her role.
Holly Blain wants to cover real news. The entertainment beat — pop stars and teen trends — was not why she moved to Tokyo. When she meets Inspector Tetsu Tanaka, head of Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police’s Gaikoku-jin unit, it might just be her big break.
Tanaka isn’t so sure. Always one to do things by the book, he’s hesitant about bringing this headstrong reporter into his carefully controlled investigation.
But young women keep disappearing and Tanaka is given no choice. He and Blain must trust each other if they are to stop a tormented killer from bringing his twisted plan to its shocking conclusion.
The Flower Arranger has atmosphere in spades, a beautifully descriptive sense of place, a creepy bad guy and two main protagonists who are very different to each other creating a yin yang feel to proceedings – I thought it was great.
The cultural layers are highly intriguing and very well layered, the mystery element is clever and imaginative and bound to cause the odd shiver or two. More of a whydunnit than whodunnit we also get scenes from the killer which added huge flavour to the overall read.
I liked the nature theme, the flowers, these things of beauty used in a dark dark art and overall this was a tense and considered thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I hope we get more from Holly and Tanaka. A dynamic duo indeed.
Recommended
You can purchase The Flower Arranger (Agora) Here.
Happy Reading!
