Diana Renn: TOKYO HEIST

Nicole Lewis Photography

BIO: Diana Renn writes contemporary YA fiction. Though she totally respects vampires and zombies and most other supernatural creatures, they seem to steer clear of her Muse, so you won’t find any in her books. Instead you’ll find globetrotting teens, all kinds of artists, manga fans, a kimono-wearing superhero, and at least a couple of gangsters. Diana traveled widely before her son, now three, changed the tempo of life, so she especially enjoys writing about travel and cross-cultural experiences. Diana has also worked as a college writing instructor and ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher, in the U.S. and in South America. She has authored several ESL textbooks and done screenwriting for an ESL video series – no vampires or zombies in those either, sorry. In her college days, she worked at Seattle’s world-famous Golden Age Collectables, selling rare books, graphic novels, and comics, which was probably the coolest job ever. These days, when not writing or chasing after a preschooler (see above reference to son who changed life), she enjoys taiko drumming. She studies taiko and occasionally performs with the group Odaiko New England.

DEBUT: TOKYO HEIST (Viking/Penguin, Summer 2012)

As 16-year-old Violet Rossi tries to connect with her distracted artist father and to finish her manga-style graphic novel, she stumbles into a major mystery. A portfolio of van Gogh drawings has been stolen from the home of Kenji and Mitsue Yamada, art collectors who have recently commissioned a mural from Violet’s dad. When some suspicious events center around her dad, Violet tracks down leads on her own, using strategies from her favorite manga mystery series. But when her sleuthing puts her on the trail of the Yakuza, the Japanese mob, the case takes a violent turn. Violet’s efforts to find the lost drawings -- and a corresponding van Gogh painting, hidden for decades -- take her all over Seattle, and eventually to Japan. There she connects with Reika Otsuki-Silver, a friend and fellow manga fan who spends her summers in Tokyo. Together, the friends uncover secrets about the van Goghs and confront a deadly deception. Soon they are in a race against time to save the van Goghs and to save lives – including their own.

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