Idolmaker by Jonelle Patrick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Disclaimer: I was given this complimentary copy of Idolmaker by the author, Jonelle Patrick for an honest review.
I can’t believe I am finished with yet another of the Tokyo Mysteries. I so love this series. Though I have tagged this as romance, it isn’t led by that squishy, gooey stuff rather, these are people and caring is a part of their being.
These books do start with a murder and a wonder as to who did it and why. But the most important feature of the books is the character driven adventure of the two main characters, Yumi and Kenji. Thrown in the recent historical event of earthquake and tsunami, the criminal investigation is thrown for a loop.
The characters are believable and likable. I feel I have become friends with them through Jonelle Patrick’s ability to write from each character’s point of view.
Oh, what the couple goes through! Then the book wraps up nicely with only a small thread that gives promise that I don’t have to give up on my favorite Japanese couple. 🙂
Thanks for letting me read this, Jonelle!
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Location of Tokyo within Japan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Darswords 
Thank you for the lovely review! I’m so happy that you enjoyed Idolmaker! And thanks for taking the time to think about what you liked and write about it. I love hearing what people enjoy (and what they don’t), because it’s so easy to stray into alien territory when writing books set in a different culture. I’ve always loved international mysteries, because even though people are people all over the world – they all live, love, and have dreams for the future – many times they do things for reasons that are different from ours. I hope that through the books, everybody gets to experience what it’s like to walk a mile (and solve a mystery!) in Japanese shoes.
As a little cherry on top, it you’d like to see some pictures that go with the book, here’s a link to the Idolmaker slide show I put together for book clubs & such: http://jonellepatrick.com/home/idolmaker/idolmaker-slideshow-2/
If you or any of your readers have questions about the book (or the research that went into it!), post it in this comment thread and I’ll be sure to answer! （＾Ｏ＾☆♪
Oh, thank you for the slide show! It did add depth to my memories of Idolmaker. Are you planning to adding these to the book? I think it would enhance the experience. My only question right now is… Will there be a book four? 😉
I’m working on book #4 right now! ^_^
As for the pictures, I wish I could have put these in the book, but my publisher’s lawyers only allowed me to include photos that I took myself, with model releases . Because the slide show isn’t part of something being sold, I can include all the great stuff scanned from fashion magazines etc.!
Yay #4! Weird that you can use something already published but not your own personal pics. Still, I was happy to see them in slide show.