This book started off strong, but by the end, I was not as interested. We follow Ruth, as she is asked to translate a novel under mysterious circumstances. When a gruesome death in the novel happens in real life, Ruth decides to investigate. The mystery part of the book started off well enough, but then it tried to do too much. About halfway through, another mystery was introduced, but it did not flow well with the first one. I had no idea what the end goal was. There were too many threads to follow, and it left me feeling confused. However, I did really enjoy learning about the history and culture surrounding kimonos, and the way that information was weaved naturally throughout the whole book.

A suspenseful story that is set in Japan. Ruth is asked to translate a novel written by a mysterious writer. As she works on the book, some of the characters seem to come to life in her present world. The beginning of the story, the daughter of a kimono maker is found dead. In her life now, a similar situation is happening. Ruth soon discovers why she is asked to do this task of translating. With the help from Maho, Ruth needs to decipher the text to find a killer. This was an enthralling story that beautifully described the area where this tale is set. I received the audiobook version of this story. The narrator had a calming voice and it helped move the story at a smooth pace.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Brother Mockingbird for this Audiobook, I received review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I chose this audiobook by the cover and title. I travelled to Japan a few years ago and loved every bit of it and so I’m always happy to pick up (or listen to in this case) a book set in the country. The narrator was brilliant, the intonations and expressions were on the mark and I wanted to keep listening to find out more. I’d argue that is both the plot itself and also the voice I was listening to.
As for the story, there were twists and turns, the plot was original and it was well written throughout. You definitely have to keep concentrating. Whilst there were some little off shoots in story, I.e. the main characters family and brother being one - whilst I didn’t feel it added much value it didn’t detract from the story for me and it did add some depth to the character and story.
Overall I would say it’s worth a listen.

A red headed American who is passionate about all things kimono is tasked with translating a story by a well known author (many thought to be dead). Seeing as how the mystery author is a scion of one of the most famous kimono-producing families in Japan, our lead can’t help but say yes. That’s when life goes more than a little sideways for her.

This is a modern mystery set in present-day Japan. The storyline was fantastic, but the book felt like half mystery (which was wonderful!) & half culture-fanfiction (which was significantly less interesting for me). The intrigue of the storyline was strong enough, though, to drag me through the continuous descriptions of food, fabric, decor & (even) hygiene… Perhaps part of my irritation with the descriptions of food (how much does one person need to eat & drink?!) was my impatience to find out what was going on.

I listened to the audiobook, & though the narrator’s voice was sweet, the sentences. Seemed to. End. In weird places. Perhaps this was the way the book was written, though? I’m not certain. I do think she did a wonderful job transitioning between Japanese & English.

3.5 (rounded up to 4 stars) for this because, even though the details were a bit too much for me, the author certainly did her research and(!) the mystery kept me coming back.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

'The Kimono Tattoo' is a unique, engaging, and instricately crafted mystery rife with suspense from nearly the very beginning. Each twist and turn in the plot unveiling another thread in Copeland's meticulously woven tapestry of a novel and reminding you that in a good thriller: nothing in coincidence, everything is connected.

Apart from a plot that keeps you hooked right to the very last page, Copeland's deep love and respect for Japanese language and culture, the city of Kyoto, and everything embodied by kimono shines through consistently. This personal touch makes it all too easy to become invested in every detail of 'The Kimono Tattoo.'

The narration of the audiobook is well done, but I can't honestly say it added much to the experience. I would recommend whichever format a reader prefers and imagine they would not lose out on any nuance of the novel either way.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Brother Mockingbird for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a refreshing, original piece that felt like an ode to Japan and Kyoto especially. The vivid descriptions of each kimono, what the symbolise and foreshadowing later in the book was one of the standout aspects for me. I really enjoyed the narration as it was smooth and relaxing, taking me out of a busy day and leading me through a cultural history of a world I’ve never known. The imagery is intertwined with intermittent action, creating a thriller and mystery novel within the beautifully painted setting. The pacing is very good, gripping me right up until the satisfying ending!

I also love that translation is at the centre of the novel, as the discourse between linguistics and novels is something I found very intriguing! I’d recommend this to anyone who reads crime, but would like to delve deeper into the world general fiction, or vice versa, as It titres on the edge of those genres (in my opinion)!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with the audiobook.

Fantastic concept but the narrator was slow and almost disjointed when speaking sometimes. I thought the character was english but she speaks almost like english isn't her first language, it is a strange match.

Thank you to NetGalley, Brother Mockingbird, and Rebecca Copeland for the opportunity to read this ARC.

There was a lot to love about this well-researched novel. I loved learning about the history of the kimono and how they’re still purchased and used today. The primary mystery was super interesting and I loved the book-translator-turned-mystery-solver angle.

There is a secondary mystery in the book that I think I would rather have had either wound more throughout or as a sequel. There was a bit of tunnel vision when voyaging through the two mysteries, and many characters that became hard to connect and keep track of.

I really appreciated this story and think it’s quite a worthwhile read.

I want to start by saying that I received a complimentary audiobook. In return for my thoughts and my review. Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity for allowing me to listen to such amazing book. I haven’t read/listen to anything for this author before. I will be definitely adding more and future books from this author. This book was so unpredictable. This book took a lot of twist and turns. I loved everything second of this book. The characters and the world this author as created is so beautiful and twisted. I sometimes felt like I was there with Ruth trying to figure out the murders and the way the describe the Kimono’s that were mention in this book. I highly recommend this audiobook. I never found myself wanting to turn it off. It’s just amazing book to get lost in. I no negative things to say about this audiobook. The narrator does amazing job.
About Book
Based in Japan Ruth is a translator for books. When someone wants her to translate a book to English. It’s not sounding like a book. More a diary. The history of a famous cloth from a Kimono. Ruth goes on to investigate this woman who tattoos. But uncovers something else she didn’t think was even possible.
Thank you the author and publisher for allowing me to listen to such amazing story. My review will be posted goodreads, BookBub, amazon. I will be posting on instagram.

Interesting plot where a translator is tasked to translate a book by chapters, as the book progresses there appears to be a true story emerging, the story of the kimono dynasty. The translator is sworn to secrecy and cannot discuss her concerns with anyone. Yet things seem to be getting very close to home and real life. Interesting facts about the kimono and how and why its worn and the Japanese culture will decide the design of the kimono. There is also detailed description of Kyoto the city where the action takes place, detailed and precise. A triller set in Japan with a cultural, historical and mysterious slant. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of The Kimono Tattoo by Rebecca Copeland in exchange for an honest review. Ruth Bennett grew up in Japan and after a brief stay in the US, returned to do translation work in Japan. She gets drawn into a mystery that centers around a Kimono, death and her missing younger brother. This was a beautifully written story with interesting details about kimonos. I feel like I got to visit Japan every time I listened to this book. I really enjoyed it and look forward to learning more about kimonos.

This book was super hard to get into. I really wanted to give it a chance and listened all of the way through, but it felt disjointed and hard to follow. I think the storyline has a lot of potential, but the amount of jargon in regards to the kimono industry and stories handed down through families- meshed with all of the different characters, I felt myself confused and constantly trying to reorient myself within the story.

This is a wonderful modern day thriller, which touches on the heritage and customs of Japan.

The Narrator, Theresa Bakken, was simply brilliant. Her pace of reading was relaxing and steady, it allowed the listener to take in all the details and really picture the scene in their mind. Her tones with smooth and angelic.

The story is set in Kyoto Japan, Ruth who is of American Heritage but now calls Japan home after a marriage breakdown in the US. Ruth works as a translator, translating Japanese novels into English, and is studying Japanese dance in her spare time.

One evening, Ruth receives a knock at her door by a well dressed stranger and is requested to translate a new novel by a famous author, who has disappeared from society for the past few years. Ruth is intrigued by the mystery and also persuaded by the money she is offered in return as well as her love for the author's previous works, that she decides to take on the job, even though it is a breach of her employment contract to take on outside work.

The translation of this new novel, puts Ruth in a dangerous situation, things just do not make sense. Ruth translates the first chapter, and then mysteriously the events in the novel are transpiring in real life, right before her. People are being murdered, Ruth is being followed by shady characters, things go missing from Ruth's house, and then Ruth gets caught up in the middle of it all.

Thank you NetGalley and Brother Mockingbird for this audio book. This book was available to purchase from 26 April, 2022

5 Stars: It was amazing. It was compelling, well-researched, entertaining and/or moving and often complex. I will definitely want to read more books by this author

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4.5 Stars

I had the pleasure of listening to the audio book of Kimono Tattoo by Rebecca Copeland, narrated by Theresa Bakken. Ruth Bennet is an American woman who spent most of her life in Japan. It it here, to Kyoto, that she has returned after a failed marriage and a halted career in the US. Speaking Japanese like a native, she works as a translator on mostly boring items such as business brochures. One day she is approached by a mysterious woman to translate a chapter of a book that is being written by an author long thought to be dead. The woman tells Ruth that he is in hiding in Italy and only now is returning to writing, She will deliver a chapter at a time for translation for which Ruth will be handsomely paid.

It is in this first chapter that the story tells of a woman found dead. Her torso is covered in tattoos of kimonos, fans, scrolls and flowers. This is highly unusual for tattoos to be of kimono or for a woman to be tattooed at all. Ruth soon finds that the story she is translating is beginning to infiltrate her real life. As she tries to unravel and investigate the mystery of the kimono tattoo she uncovers much more than she could foresee. How did this mystery tie into her family's past?

I loved learning more about the history and culture of the kimono. It brought to life the visit I made many years ago to Kyoto. It is a beautifully written story with great attention to the small details of Japanese life, society and culture. I enjoyed the mystery as well as the culture in which it was embedded.

it did take me a bit of time to adjust to the narrators cadence of reading. Her annunciation was very exact, but at times there were odd, stunted pauses which brought Christopher Walken to mind.

The Kimono Tattoo will transport you to the veiled culture of Japanese life , dark underbelly and beautiful traditions included - no passport required.

My thanks to NetGalley for the Audio recording of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This one started out really strong but gradually devolved out of the realm of mystery and into the realm of cultural exploration and historical description in a way that eventually lost me..

I loved the concept of the mystery and the tattoo. I loved the tie in with historical fact and fiction within the world that Copeland built. The narration is lovely and really brought the vivid descriptions of Kyoto to life for me. But after a while I must confess that the extensive history of kimono and fabric and dying techniques really drew me out of the central mystery and I started losing interest as a result.

It is possible that in actual book form, as opposed to the audiobook, where I could have skimmed a little bit that this might not have been such an issue for me. But in the audiobook I really couldn't skip ahead without any sense of where I would end up, and ultimately I simply couldn't keep going. I am still intrigued by the mystery though, and will look for a physical book at the library to get that resolution.

This book was a little from my normal choice of books. The cover wasn't inviting which is what usually draws me to books. This book fell a little flat for me. It had such promise but did not deliver. Struggled to finish.

I was not impressed with this book at all. I just couldn't sit and listen to it. It was a little boring and just dragged on. The story is supposed to be a mystery and I was not impressed with it at all.

4.5*

This is one of those books I happened to stumble upon over on NetGalley, as an audiobook, and what a pleasure it has been to listen to it. It is beautifully narrated by Theresa Bakken and transported me for the duration over to the wonderful city of Kyoto.

Ruth Bennett is a translator and who, from an early age, has come to see Japan as her home. Her medical missionary parents settled in the country, with both their children, Ruth and Matthew. But early on Matthew went missing whilst in young Ruth’s care and that is something the family has struggled to deal with. Her parents are back in the States, so she is forging her own way and getting on with life in her tiny apartment.

She is offered a tantalising translation project, a book penned by an author who has long been considered missing or dead, so already there is the first of several upcoming mysteries. As she turns the pages and happens to catch the TV news, she becomes acutely aware that real life is mirroring the contents of the script. There is murder along the way, with several twists and turns, flipping and cleaving through the murky waters like a Japanese carp fish.

The well turned storyline sets a framework for a wonderfully immersive Japanese experience. The detail of kimono culture is shared in a way that makes it fascinating and I craved to learn more. Did you know that for a kimono to be laundered, it needs to be unstitched? The undergarments, the Obis and the quality of the delicate fabric, the intricacies of decoration, are all woven into the story. And of course there is a strand, which threads its way through the storyline about a full body tattoo, again the process and pattern are described and, of course, they link down the line when everything comes together.

This is a gem of a find and wonderful if you want to continue your reading journey after finishing Arthur Golden’s Memoir of a Geisha – each novel, in its own way, is terrifically transportive to this incredible city.

This review refers to the audiobook.

I recently read Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka and wanted to read another book based in or about Japan. This book was perfect. Hallelujah, what a book!!!!! Let me say first before I did deeper into why I liked the book that if you are OK that some of the events are a tiny bit unrealistic, then this book is great. If not, then you may want to choose a different book. The unrealistic part and the fact that the MC was absolutely naïve is why I only gave it 4 stars. With that being said, This book was fantastic! It was fast-paced with action from the very beginning. I'm not sure how accurate the descriptions are, but all I loved all the fascinating details about the Japanese culture and the history of the kimono. This book was packed with cultural references! I loved it so much that I want to do more research and read more!

Thank you, Netgalley and the author/publisher, for the opportunity to read (listen to) and review an advanced reader's copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this book. The story is way slow moving for my taste abd even though the detailed discriptions of kimonos and Kyoto itself is amazing I stopped at about 20%.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.