Japan by Eleanor Dixon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tally and Jophiel are back and carrying on with their adventures around the world, this time, they are in Japan where Tally and her father are visiting one of his co-workers and while her dad is working, she will be staying with the family of his co-worker. Tally and her father head to a restaurant to meet the family and have a meal with them before Tally travels with them to their home, fortunately, there is a son who appears to be about twelve, about the same age as Tally is, as well as his best friend of the same age, they are keen to speak to Tally and practice their English and the introductions go well.

The next day, Tally is walked to the train station to go and meet the family for their journey back where they live, this is where Tally sees the Shinkansen, or Bullet Train for the first time and she is amazed at how clean it is and how fast it goes and her new friends point out things outside the window and tell Tally all about them as they go. While they are on the train, they also talk about the things they are going to show Tally while she is there, after they have all finished their school work of course and Tally is more excited than ever to learn all about the culture and traditions of her Japanese hosts.

The first place they are going to go is the local museum where the two friends show Tally artefacts and treasures from the past, as well as talking about their families and how they are tied to the area, but some things strike Tally as strange, however, when she tries to ask them about it, it brings out mixed reactions and not all of them are good. As the days pass, Tally notices other things which are a little strange, especially when Tally meets a fellow Angel called Kumi who Jophiel seems very attached to, to the point where he stops talking to Tally at all, but as she becomes more involved in her new friends lives, she wishes beyond everything that he would talk to her, especially when during a tea ceremony at the museum when strange things start to happen!

Finally, her friends start to open up about some historical facts about their families and the traditions which are so important to them and how sometimes, these traditions can harm as well as heal, but when Tally becomes embroiled in a local mystery involving samurai, Taiko drums and their families, Tally becomes increasingly worried, but when a curse is created, can Tally figure out how to break it before danger comes calling? This is another exhilarating tale where historical facts are woven into a fantasy adventure where time is of the essence when history, secrets and truths are combined into a mystery which will keep you reading through to the end.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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