It’s finally June! We’re excited to announce the release of Ink and Ashes, the heart-stopping debut mystery by Valynne E. Maetani! Ink and Ashes is Tu Books’ first New Visions Award winner.
How far would you go to discover the truth?
Every family has its secrets, but Claire Takata’s family secrets can kill her…
In Ink and Ashes, personal vendettas and organized crime collide, sending Claire Tanaka on a race to outrun her father’s legacy. When a letter from her dead father reveals a family secret, Claire searches for information about her father’s past and discovers a dangerous family connection to the yakuza, the Japanese mafia.
Here’s what early readers have said about Ink and Ashes:
“This fantastic debut packs a highly suspenseful blend of action, intrigue, and teen romance.” —starred review, Kirkus Reviews
“Full of character, culture, and suspense, Ink and Ashes is a fascinating read with surprising new elements and a true heroine in Claire Takata.”
—Ally Condie, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Matched Trilogy
Happy book birthday to Ink and Ashes!
Be sure to buy your copy from our website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie.
Ink and Ashes by Valynne E. Maetani is Tu Books’ first New Visions Award winner. Seventeen-year-old Claire Takata discovers a secret about her deceased father that should have remained a secret.
The New Visions Award, modeled after LEE & LOW’s successful New Voices Award, is for unpublished writers of color who write science-fiction, fantasy, and mystery YA or middle grade novels.
Ink and Ashes is set to be released Spring 2015!
Claire Takata has never known much about her father, who passed away ten years ago. But on the anniversary of his death, she finds a letter from her deceased father to her stepfather. Before now, Claire never had a reason to believe they even knew each other.
Struggling to understand why her parents kept this surprising history hidden, Claire combs through anything that might give her information about her father . . . until she discovers that he was a member of the yakuza, a Japanese organized crime syndicate. The discovery opens a door that should have been left closed.
The race to outrun her father’s legacy reveals secrets of his past that cast ominous shadows, threatening Claire, her friends and family, her newfound love, and ultimately her life. Winner of Tu Books’ New Visions Award, Ink and Ashes is a fascinating debut novel packed with romance, intrigue, and heart-stopping action.
Thanks to the following blogs for participating in the Ink and Ashes cover reveal:
YA Interrrobang
RT Book Reviews
YA Highway
We can’t wait to hear what you think of the cover! Thanks to Sammy Yuen of Sammy Yuen Interaction Art and Design for the cover design.
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| Title: Tokyo Heist Author: Diana Renn Publisher: Viking |
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
| Sixteen-year-old Violet loves reading manga and wearing scarves made from kimono fabric, so she’s thrilled that her father’s new painting commission means a summer trip to Japan. But what starts as an exotic vacation quickly turns into a dangerous treasure hunt. Her father’s newest clients, the Yamada family, are the victims of a high-profile art robbery: van Gogh sketches have been stolen from their home, and, until they can produce the corresponding painting, everyone’s lives are in danger — including Violet’s and her father’s. Violet’s search for the missing van Gogh takes her from the Seattle Art Museum, to the yakuza-infested streets of Tokyo, to a secluded inn in Kyoto. As the mystery thickens, Violet’s not sure whom she can trust. But she knows one thing: she has to solve the mystery — before it’s too late. |
Review:
Mysteries aren’t my favorite genre, but Tokyo Heist had me curious because of the setting. Violet is a huge manga geek, which I could definitely relate to, and she gets to go globe-trotting – to Japan. How could I not want to read that?
Violet is resigned that she isn’t going to have the best summer. Her mother is in Italy for work, and she’s going to be staying with her father. To say that her father is distant is an understatement. To say that he is distracted also falls far short of the mark. Her father, a man she barely knows, is an artist, and a rather eccentric one at that. When he’s in a creative frame of mind, there is no room for anything, or anyone, else. Not even his teenaged daughter. While Violet understands that theirs is not the closest of relationships, she is shocked to discover that her father has never told his co-workers, or even his girlfriend, about her existence. Ouch!
When Violet’s father takes a commission from a wealthy Japanese couple, Violet finds herself embroiled in a mystery. Somebody has stolen some van Gogh drawings from the Yamada’s, and all fingers are pointing to Skye, her father’s girlfriend. Determined to find the drawings, and collect the huge reward, Violet discovers that there is so much more at stake than the drawings. Her father’s life is on the line. A yakuza boss is demanding the return of a van Gogh painting based on the drawings, claiming that Tomonori Yamada had stolen it from him. Tomonori committed suicide years before, but Violet is starting to suspect that it wasn’t a suicide after all.
Most of the appeal of this read for me is the location. What I wouldn’t give for an all-expenses paid trip to Tokyo (and a ryokan in Kyoto). Even with all of the related danger! Traveling to the Land of the Rising Sun is a dream of mine, one that I have had for a long, long time. I want to slurp noodles at a ramen shop, stuff myself with fresh sushi, and snack on Melty Kiss and limited edition Kit Kat bars. Through Violet, I was able to see some of the highlights of Tokyo, all without the expensive plane ticket and hotel room.
I liked Violet. I felt for her when her best friend and secret crush, Edge, started dating her former BFF. Everything she did to try to make things better and repair her friendship with Edge only made ma
Here’s what early readers have said about Ink and Ashes:
Definitely adding Ink and Ashes to my reading list! I am a big fan of reading and writing about Asian American historical fiction.
This is actually contemporary mystery, not historical fiction, Kathleen, but we think you’ll love it anyway!