I was very cross with Mo Hayder for the way that she ended 'The Treatment', so I grit my teeth and wait for the follow up when ... there isn't one!! She writes Tokyo instead, a book totally unconnected from the first two. Consequently, I put off buying this one - until I realised that she's now written a fourth.

So, Tokyo. Unbelievably chilling. Grey is obsessed with the Nanking Massacre, particularly with tracking down some film footage that she believes exists. She goes to Tokyo with no plans other than to find this footage and ends up stranded and penniless. She is befriended by a man who gets her a job as a hostess in a club; here she becomes entwined in something that is far bigger than she could have imagined.

This book is terrifying, not one character is without flaws, particularly Grey. Her drive to find the truth puts her and others lives in danger. This is the stuff of nightmares. It also highlights a chapter in the history of the twentieth century that is barely acknowledged and almost forgotton: the occupation of China by Japan and 'the rape of Nanking'.

Note: this book contains florrid and graphic acts of violence.

Sending to Plum-crazy :o) Looking forward to seeing what you make of this one. Enjoy...!

Thanks platypussj for this wishlist book....it's off to sit on my TBR mountain for now but somehow I don't think it will be there long!

Phew! I expected a gripping read from Mo Hayder & I certainly wasn't disappointed!
As platipussj says it's unbelievably chilling -& some events are quite horrific but I defy anyone to put the book down once it's been started. Hayder creates believeable but flawed characters (Jason appears to suffer from dysmorphophilia, which I first heard of in "Pig Island" & have never heard of since!) & Grey herself is a complicated character but still a credible one, searching for the proof that something she once read is true.

The ending (which answers a particular question I had about Grey) is both shocking & heartbreaking....a haunting read that is made so much more terrifying when you consider the real massacre that the tale is based on.

Thanks so much for sharing this platipussj, I'll pass it on to KawasakiBabe at our next "mini-meet-up".

Passing to KawasakiBabe at our meet-up, I know she wants to read it as it's on her wishlist under it's alternative title of "The Devil of Nanking"....be ready for a sleepless night!

Woo hoo! A Mo Hayder - thank you so much for this: going to the top of the pile.
Passed to me in a bag of allsorts by my good buddy Plum-crazy, of the Green Boot Brigade.
Had a fab day today, thank you x

Hmmm . . . yes, gruesome in parts, and I foresaw the ending.
A tad disappointing as I've come to expect more? different? from Mo Hayder, but nevertheless it did keep me up a couple of nights. There's a lot going on in this novel - I loved the descriptions of Tokyo, her people and their lifestyles - observations drawn, I would guess, from Mo Hayder's time working there. I could vividly picture the dilapidated house framing the "secret" garden, and the views from the windows.
I missed a couple of things along the way . . . such as the relevance of Jason's wealthy family in America, and what exactly had happened to Jason for him to lock himself in a wardrobe! And questions I had about the Nurse were never answered . . however, well worth the sleepless nights, and thank you Plum-crazy.

Heading off for an Anita Shreve marathon next . . . I'll save you the best ones!

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