This is an exciting and engaging mystery murder thriller set in Kyoto. I immediately engaged with the main character, Ruth Bennett, a translator who is approached by a strange woman with an unusual proposition. Ruth is an eminently sensible, level headed woman and at first does not want to believe that the ‘fiction’ she is translating is mirrored in real life. As the story develops and begins to link to Ruth’s own family history I was totally hooked. I loved the association to Japanese language, art and culture especially the textiles and dependence on the kimono traditions. The plot is quite complex, carefully plotted and revealed in a tantalising, measured way that was very moreish. I really liked the way that each chapter was associated with a bird that was referenced someway in the text. In addition to being very well written, the audiobook narration was excellent. The occasional Japanese vocabulary was incorporated smoothly and naturally. The voices of characters were generally distinctive although the male characters were sometimes difficult to distinguish.
An excellent polished literary debut, interesting and clever- I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an Arc.

Name of Book: The Kimono Tattoo
Author: Rebecca Copeland
Narrator: Theresa Bakken
Publisher: Souls Take Flight
Genre: Japanese Culture Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: April 26, 2022
My Rating: 3.5 Stars!

Ruth Bennett speaks fluent Japanese and has a PHD in Japanese Literature now translates Japanese books into English.
When she is given the job to translate Chapter One which wouldn’t be strange if the entire book had been finished but translating chapter by chapter before the book is finished seems strange. She told not to reveal her translation ~ in other words it must be a secret. Told if she accepts this assignment she will be more than adequately compensated.

While translating one of the stories, she feels that it is very similar as a real life murder.
She also comes across evidence that her brother who was kidnapped years ago just may be alive!

This story turned far more interesting than I expected. Narrator Theresa Bakken has such a pleasant voice; it was a joy to listen to her. Additionally she did a great job performing all the characters.

Want to thank NetGalley and Brother Mockingbird Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me for my honest opinion.
Audiobook Release Date was April 26, 2022

I picked this book up by chance and I’m so glad I did. The book is a brilliant mystery, with lots of twists, kidnapping, murder and the search for the truth, captured perfectly within the history of Japanese culture and Kimon. The author’s knowledge, the attention to detail and culture, adds a beautiful depth to the writing. I had the audio version and the narrator adds so much with their knowledge of Japanese dialect I think I gained more listening than I might have reading the book myself. All of this, the story and narration, adds to the feeling of finding one’s self immersed in Japanese life in Kyoto, Japan. Thank you to Brother Mockingbird and NetGalkey for the audio ARC. All the views expressed are mine, freely given.

Rebecca Copeland has given us a 2-for-1 story with The Kimono Tattoo. Ruth is a translator who considers home to be in Japan having been raised there with her Missionary parents and younger brother. Having had previous experience and vast knowledge she has acquired over time and in research for a past book she translated, The Kimono Killer, a woman finds her with an offer to translate another novel, and that is where things quickly take a turn towards the unexpected. Ruth is intrigued and is steady on putting the pieces together, little does she know how big the story is and how it revolves around her. A page-turner that will have you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what is truly going on and also appreciate the details of the Japanese culture that made this book much more interesting.

Rebecca Copeland and narrator, Theresa Bakken weaved a incredible story. Ruth Bennett is a translator but she suddenly finds herself in a middle of a murder investigation revolving around a murdered woman and kimono tattoo.
The descriptions are so vivid that I felt like I was beside Ruth in Kyoto's dark alleys and tunnels. The author had a certain way of introducing several characters that intrigued me, while adding Japanese culture in the story.
Before long, I was invested in the story and was eager to discover more alongside Ruth and her friends. If you're looking to escape to another world while solving a interesting murder, consider grabbing this book. I highly recommend the audiobook. The inflections and tones used were great. I don't speak Japanese but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the narrator. It added another element to the story.

Special thanks to Brother Mockingbird and Netgalley for the ALC.

I loved this book for so many reasons even though the story is complex the threads are woven together beautifully, I also love the Japanese history lesson mixed into this, the way they describe things you could be their seeing it yourself. Rebecca Copeland is a great writer that is like an artist with her words I fell in love with her books #netgalley #TheKimonoTattoo A must read for 2022

I recently listened to the debut novel, “The Kimono Tattoo” by Rebecca Copeland and really enjoyed this book! It was a combination of historical fiction and murder mystery. I really enjoyed learning more about kimono and Japanese culture. This book also held some great twists surrounding the murder! The book and audiobook are already published so there is no wait to check out this great read!

Thank you @netgalley and @brothermockingbird for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the Audiobook ARC.

The first chapter of this book got me hooked very quickly. The backdrop of this story is Kyoto and the description of the places made me nostalgic.

The books was wonderfully weeby in its inclusion of the etymology of the word "Tasogaredoki" the time between day and night with the magical light.
It also had characters discussing Kanji characters which was fun to read as a Japanese language enthusiast but might not be interesting for people who don't know Japanese.

There were some funny elements. One of the character is called Kimura Takuya. (Kimutaku the Jpop star?) There was a shoutout to Murakami Haruki too.

The mystery and thriller part of the book felt a little shaky and contrived to me.
I got lost in the last 15% of the book because the story shifted drastically in a totally different direction.

There were some Japanese words that the narrator couldn't pronounce well.
Eg. Omiai was pronounced like Omaiai
and Mie prefecture was pronounced like Maie

Even though there were some negatives, this book was interesting enough and I enjoyed it.

I will recommend it to people who love Japan and Japanese culture and want to read a relatively light murder mystery.

Anyone who knows me would think I would absolutely love this - it had murder, mystery, family tension, kidnapping, secrets, but when you put it all together it was just too much. Even the most mundane moments of Ruth’s life (the narrator) was too much. Too much detail weighing everything down. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t my ‘cup of tea’.

Very intrsteing story!

The Kimono Tattoo tells a story of an American woman who lives in Japan. She works a boring job, is a little disappointed with how her life turned out but still tries to enjoy life. One day unexpectedly she gets an offer to translate a book written by a Japanese author. Everything seems good, a little of excitement enters a boring routine, until the first chapter of the book describes a crime scene which just happened.

I thought that I know where this book is going. And I was stunned when it went somewhere else. The plot is thought out very well. It is entertaining. It has a lot of interesting informations about Japan, specialty about kimonos. It has a lot of interesting informations about Japan, specialty about kimonos. My only problem is that at one point it felt like too much is going on. You think "Ok, that's it. That's the motive of the story, that the reason." but no, there is more, and i started to wonder if that was necessary... Did it make a story more interesting? Not really, I just started to doubt the story and the author. Personally I think that Rebecca Copeland overdid it a little but over all I really enjoyed the story. It was something different for me and I appreciate it a lot.

The City of Kyoto brings us The Kimono Tattoo. We are transported to a Japanese setting full of mystery and the life of Ruth Bennett. She translates Japanese books to English and comes across a book that mysteriously has similar settings as a real life murder. She also comes across proof that her brother who was abducted years ago might still be alive.

This book was way out of my comfort zone, the setting was unfamiliar to me and I went in open minded. What a beautiful piece written by this author. It transports you to a world unknow. The character development was well thought out, it gave great insight and I really appreciated the explanations around the Kimono pieces. With a satisfying ending this book makes for a very entertaining listen.

Thank you Netgalley and Brother Mockingbird, Independent Book Publishers Association for this audiobook ARC.