She’s lost her mother and her memory. And if she fails to escape… she’ll lose herself.
Meiko Wright wants nothing to do with the mother who abandoned her nine years ago. Spending a year in Tokyo, where her mother lives, won’t change that fact. But when she takes a nasty fall in a Shinto temple, she wakes with no memory of her mother…or anything of her past life. Without any idea who she is, she must rely on the kindness of a local priest who offers to help. When the amnesiac Meiko suspects that something isn’t right, she vows to escape from a bond she doesn’t truly understand.
Meiko’s mother Chieko is determined to make up for lost time. But when her daughter mysteriously disappears, Chieko vows she won’t lose her again. Along the trail of clues, the detectives working Meiko’s case discover a pair of suicides linked by a strange seductress and matching fox tattoos. Fearing for her daughter, Chieko visits a local shaman who tells her dark spirits could make her attempt for a rescue impossible.
With time running out, Meiko and her family must uncover the mystery of her mental captivity before she loses herself and her only way home forever.
Advance Praise:
“Matthew O’Connell combines ancient Japanese folklore with modern-day life in this fast-paced mystery. O’Connell beautifully and vividly describes the Japanese cityscapes, food and culture. The main characters are likeable, caring and believable. As this story pitting myth against reality unwinds, murder, suicide, deceit and Meiko’s clever grandmother conspire to make it an indelible page-turner.”
—Blue Ink Starred Review
“Spirit of the Fox is a gripping, culturally immersed mystery. Matthew O’Connell’s intriguing and compelling mystery draws on the culture and history of Japan. The atmospheric descriptions of Japan’s spiritual landscape help to set the scene, and the schemes of the main character’s alter-ego, Hana, are gutwrenching and impressive.”
—Clarion Review
