A Sano Ichiro Collection

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A Sano Ichiro Collection

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1250108284
Total Pages : 960 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (51 download)

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Book Synopsis A Sano Ichiro Collection by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book A Sano Ichiro Collection written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2016-02-23 with total page 960 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Laura Joh Rowland's acclaimed Sano Ichiro novels, set in seventeenth-century Japan, are riveting, richly imagined, and suspenseful. As Sano navigates a treacherous political landscape he works to protect the people of Edo, his family, and his honor in these compelling thrillers. The Concubine's Tattoo Sano Ichiro, the Shogun's most honorable investigator, is summoned to the imperial palace to find the murderer of a young concubine poisoned while applying a lover's tattoo. Sano's new bride, Reiko, insists on helping him with the case. Reiko's samurai blood and warrior's skill alarm her new husband, who expected a docile wife. But Reiko is only the first of many surprises... The Samurai's Wife Sano Ichiro, the Shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, has his doubts about the partnership that he and his spirited new wife, Reiko, have forged: While he recognizes that her help on his cases can be invaluable, he sometimes longs for a more traditional wife. Still, when a botched case and the resulting loss of face sends Sano to the Imperial city to find a killer whose methods are as terrifying as they are elusive, Sano needs the talents of his wife more than ever to infiltrate the emperor's inner circle. Black Lotus When Sano Ichiro is called on to investigate the burning of a cottage belonging to the Black Lotus Temple, he makes a shocking discovery. The three victims of the blaze were murdered before the fire even began. Sano's search for a killer leads him to Haru, an orphan girl found at the scene of the crime. But Sano's wife, Reiko, investigating the case against Sano's wishes, is convinced of Haru's innocence. Behind the walls of the Black Lotus Temple she discovers a sect involved in extortion, prostitution, and hedonistic rituals. Could one of the sect's members be the killer? Now Reiko must risk her marriage to Sano in order to prove Haru's innocence...

Shinju

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 0307801187
Total Pages : 445 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (78 download)

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Book Synopsis Shinju by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book Shinju written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-12-14 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When beautiful, wealthy Yukiko and low-born artist Noriyoshi are found drowned together in a shinju, or ritual double suicide, everyone believes the culprit was forbidden love. Everyone but newly appointed yoriki Sano Ichiro. Despite the official verdict and warnings from his superiors, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People suspects the deaths weren't just a tragedy -- they were murder. Risking his family's good name and his own life, Sano will search for a killer across every level of society -- determined to find answers to a mystery no one wants solved. No one but Sano... As subtle and beautiful as the culture it evokes, Shinju vividly re-creates a world of ornate tearooms and guady pleasure-palaces, cloistered mountaintop convents and dealthy prisons. Part love story, part myster, Shinju is a tour that will dazzle and entertain all who enter its world. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Laura Joh Rowland's The Shogun's Daughter.

The Fire Kimono

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780312379483
Total Pages : 316 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (794 download)

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Book Synopsis The Fire Kimono by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Fire Kimono written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2008-11-11 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan, March 1700. Troops ambush and attack Lady Reiko, the wife of Sano Ichiro, the samurai detective who has risen to power and influence. The troops who have attacked Reiko appear to belong to Sano's enemy, Lord Matsudaira, who denies all responsibility. But if the rivals are not to blame, who is?

The Shogun's Daughter

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1250028620
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis The Shogun's Daughter by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Shogun's Daughter written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2013-09-17 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Laura Joh Rowland's thrilling series set in Feudal Japan is as gripping and entertaining as ever with The Shogun's Daughter. Japan, 1704. In an elegant mansion a young woman named Tsuruhime lies on her deathbed, attended by her nurse. Smallpox pustules cover her face. Incense burns, to banish the evil spirits of disease. After Tsuruhime takes her last breath, the old woman watching from the doorway says, "Who's going to tell the Shogun his daughter is dead?" The death of the Shogun's daughter has immediate consequences on his regime. There will be no grandchild to leave the kingdom. Faced with his own mortality and beset by troubles caused by the recent earthquake, he names as his heir Yoshisato, the seventeen-year-old son he only recently discovered was his. Until five months ago, Yoshisato was raised as the illegitimate son of Yanagisawa, the shogun's favorite advisor. Yanagisawa is also the longtime enemy of Sano Ichiro. Sano doubts that Yoshisato is really the Shogun's son, believing it's more likely a power-play by Yanagisawa. When Sano learns that Tsuruhime's death may have been a murder, he sets off on a dangerous investigation that leads to more death and destruction as he struggles to keep his pregnant wife, Reiko, and his son safe. Instead, he and his family become the accused. And this time, they may not survive the day.

The Samurai's Wife

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1429961678
Total Pages : 565 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis The Samurai's Wife by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Samurai's Wife written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2000-04-25 with total page 565 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling murder mystery set in seventeenth-century Japan, filled with finely drawn characters and suspenseful plot twists, Laura Joh Rowland's The Samurai's Wife is a novel as complex, vivid, and artful as the glorious, lost world it portrays. Far from the Shogun's court at Edo, Most Honorable Investigator Sano Ichiro begins the most challenging case of his career. Upon the insistence of his strong-willed and beautiful wife Reiko, Sano arrives with her at the emperor's palace to unmask the murderer--who possesses the secret of kiai, "the spirit city," a powerful scream that can kill instantly. A high Kyoto official is the victim. Treading carefully through a web of spies, political intrigue, forbidden passions, and intricate plots, Sano and Reiko must struggle to stay ahead of the palace storm--and outwit a cunning killer. But as they soon discover, solving the case means more than their survival. For if they fail, Japan could be consumed in the bloodiest war it has ever seen...

The Snow Empress

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1429991208
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis The Snow Empress by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Snow Empress written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2008-11-04 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acclaimed author Laura Joh Rowland's mystery series set in fuedal Japan featuring detective Sano Ichiro continues with The Snow Empress. Japan, 1699: On a moonlit night on the northern frontier island of Ezogashima, a woman is running through the forest when an arrow strikes her dead. Meanwhile, in the city of Edo, the young son of Sano Ichiro, the samurai detective who has risen to power in the shogun's court, vanishes during a moon-watching festival. When one of Sano's political rivals hints that the boy was kidnapped—and may be in Ezogashima—he and his wife, Reiko, begin a desperate journey to find their son...only to discover that the local ruler, Lord Matsumae, is holding the entire province hostage for another crime: The murder of his mistress. So Sano strikes a deal: He will solve the mistress's murder if Matsumae will free the hostages and return his son. Soon, however, Sano and Reiko find themselves caught up in a dangerous scheme that includes clan warfare, bitter jealousy, and murderous betrayal as they race to unravel the mystery of The Snow Empress.

Bundori:

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Villard
ISBN 13 : 0307801470
Total Pages : 412 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (78 download)

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Book Synopsis Bundori: by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book Bundori: written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Villard. This book was released on 2011-11-23 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sequel to the acclaimed novel Shinju again features detective Sano Ichiro as he trails a serial killer stalking feudal Japan. In 1689, an all-powerful shogun controls the state, surrounded by bitter machinations and political intrigues. When an ancient tradition suddenly and brutally reappears, Sano risks everything to bring the killer to justice. “Bundori is terrific. . . . So good you won’t want to put it down, even to get off a plane. . . . [Laura Joh] Rowland hits her stride as a writer who can deal equally well with the pacing of plot and the nuances of character development. . . . Rowland clearly knows how to build suspense and action, a talent that she demonstrates with great skill.”—New Orleans Times-Picayune “Bundori is one of those mysteries in which the itch to find out whodunit recedes before the pleasure of prowling through a different world.”—Washington Post Book World “Sano may carry a sword and wear a kimono, but you’ll immediately recognize him as an ancestor of Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade.”—Denver Post “A colorful pictorial style that conveys . . . excitement and . . . danger.”—The New York Times Book Review

Black Lotus

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1429908459
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis Black Lotus by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book Black Lotus written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2002-03-15 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Set in the luscious finery of the samurai court of medieval Japan, this installment in the bestselling series by Laura Joh Rowland, is filled with shocking surprises and suspense as readers are once again allowed access into the world of Sano Ichiro. In September of 1693, the Black Lotus Temple, spiritual center for hundreds of Buddhist nuns, monks, priests, and orphans, is burned to the ground leaving three dead and one orphan running for cover. Veteran samurai-detective Sano Ichiro, the Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations and People, is called on to investigate the incident. He quickly discovers that despite appearances, the victims did not die in the fire: they were brutally murdered before the fire even began. With a triple homicide on his hands, Sano's search for a killer leads him to Haru, the orphan girl found at the scene of the crime. But Sano's wife Reiko, investigating the case against Sano's wishes, is convinced of Haru's innocence. Reiko's investigation leads her behind the walls of the Black Lotus Temple. It is within these walls that she discovers a sect involved in extortion, prostitution, and hedonistic rituals. Could one of the sect's members be the killer? Will Reiko risk her marriage to Sano in order to prove Haru's innocence?

The Iris Fan

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1466847433
Total Pages : 351 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (668 download)

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Book Synopsis The Iris Fan by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Iris Fan written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2014-12-09 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Riveting and richly imagined, with a magnificent sense of time and place, The Iris Fan is the triumphant conclusion to Laura Joh Rowland's brilliant series of thrillers set in feudal Japan. Japan, 1709. The shogun is old and ailing. Amid the ever-treacherous intrigue in the court, Sano Ichiro has been demoted from chamberlain to a lowly patrol guard. His relationship with his wife Reiko is in tatters, and a bizarre new alliance between his two enemies Yanagisawa and Lord Ienobu has left him puzzled and wary. Sano's onetime friend Hirata is a reluctant conspirator in a plot against the ruling regime. Yet, Sano's dedication to the Way of the Warrior—the samurai code of honor—is undiminished. Then a harrowing, almost inconceivable crime takes place. In his own palace, the shogun is stabbed with a fan made of painted silk with sharp-pointed iron ribs. Sano is restored to the rank of chief investigator to find the culprit. This is the most significant, and most dangerous, investigation of his career. If the shogun's heir is displeased, he will have Sano and his family put to death without waiting for the shogun's permission, then worry about the consequences later. And Sano has enemies of his own, as well as unexpected allies. As the previously unimaginable death of the shogun seems ever more possible, Sano finds himself at the center of warring forces that threaten not only his own family but Japan itself.

Red Chrysanthemum

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 142996801X
Total Pages : 340 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis Red Chrysanthemum by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book Red Chrysanthemum written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2007-10-02 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Laura Joh Rowland draws on the tradition of the classic film Rashomon to bring us a masterful tale of intrigue and treachery, in Red Chrysanthemum. July 1698. Sano Ichiro, the samurai detective who has risen to become the shogun's second-in-command, is investigating rumors of a plot to overthrow the ruling regime. When the investigation brings Sano's deputy Hirata to Lord Mori's estate, he is shocked to find Lord Mori murdered and grotesquely mutilated in his own bed, and Sano's pregnant wife, Reiko, lying beside him. The only solid clue is a chrysanthemum soaked in blood. Reiko's account of her actions is anything but solid. She insists that she went undercover to Lord Mori's estate in order to investigate claims that he molested and murdered young boys. But when Sano inspects the crime scene, he finds no trace of what Reiko described. And every other witness tells a different story: Lady Mori alleges that Reiko was Lord Mori's scorned mistress and murdered him for revenge. And Lord Mori himself, speaking through a medium, claims his murder was part of Sano's plot to overthrow the shogun! Unless Sano can prove his wife's unlikely claims, both he and Reiko—and their unborn child—face execution for treason. Sano fights desperately to save his family and his honor.

The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1429908467
Total Pages : 372 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria, Laura Joh Rowland once again has written a book in which "an exotic setting, seventeenth-century Japan, and a splendid mystery...make for grand entertainment" (New York Daily News). In the carefully ordered world of seventeenth-century Japan, the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter is a place where men of all classes can drink, revel, and enjoy the favors of beautiful courtesans. But on a cold winter's dawn, Sano Ichiro--the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People--must visit Yoshiwara on a most unpleasant mission. Within a house of assignation reserved for the wealthiest, most prominent men, a terrible murder has occurred. In a room that reeks of liquor and sex, the shogun's cousin and heir, Lord Mitsuyoshi, lies dead, a flowered hairpin embedded in his eye, in the bed of the famous courtesan, Lady Wisteria. The shogun demands quick justice, but Sano's path is blocked by many obstacles, including the disappearance of Wisteria and her pillow book, a diary that may contain clues. The politics of court life, the whims of the shogun, and interference by his long time rival, Edo's Chief Police Commissioner Hoshina, also hinder Sano in his search for the killer. Sano's wife, Lady Reiko, is eager to help him, but he fears what she may uncover. When suspicion of murder falls upon Sano himself, he must find the real murderer to solve the case and clear his name.

The Ronin's Mistress

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1429973862
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis The Ronin's Mistress by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Ronin's Mistress written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2011-09-13 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ronin's Mistress is a brilliant new twist on the fabled tale of the 47 Ronin, from Laura Joh Rowland--an author with "a painter's eye for the minutiae of court life [and] a politician's ear for intrigue." (The New York Times). Japan, 1703. On a snowy night, 47 warriors murder the man at the center of the scandal that turned them from samurai into masterless ronin two years before. Clearly this was an act of revenge--but why did they wait so long? And is there any reason they should not immediately be ordered to commit ritual suicide? Sano Ichiro, demoted from Chamberlain to his old post as Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, has mere days to solve the greatest mystery of samurai legend--while his own fortunes hang in the balance.

The Way of the Traitor

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Villard
ISBN 13 : 0307801489
Total Pages : 373 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (78 download)

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Book Synopsis The Way of the Traitor by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Way of the Traitor written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Villard. This book was released on 2012-01-04 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a novel with echoes of Noble House, The Alchemist, and Gorky Park, Japan's preeminent detective-Samurai, Sano Ichiro, returns to risk his honor and life. In 1690 Nagasaki, Sano must crack his most sensitive case yet as he sets about to discover who killed a Dutch trader whose body has washed up on the shore of a small island famed for its "barbarians."

The Dragon King's Palace

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1429908475
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis The Dragon King's Palace by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Dragon King's Palace written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once again, Laura Joh Rowland's dazzling combination of history and storytelling draws us into a sumptuous and treacherous world, in The Dragon King's Palace. On a whim of the shogun's mother, a procession has left the sweltering heat of Edo, bound for the cooler climate of Mount Fuji. Among her traveling companions are Reiko, the beautiful wife of Sano Ichiro, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People; Reiko's friend Midori, nine months pregnant; and Lady Yanagisawa, the deranged wife of the shogun's powerful second-in-command. None of them look forward to the trip. But their troubles have only begun when their procession is stopped suddenly on a deserted road. The entire retinue is viciously slaughtered and the four women are bound and taken away, imprisoned by a mysterious kidnapper. Sano now finds himself faced with the most important case of his career. The shogun demands quick action, and under the threat of death, Sano is forced to work with his bitter enemies---Chamberlain Yanagisawa and Police Commissioner Hoshina. The women are in imminent danger, and the delivery of a ransom note only complicates matters---forcing both Sano and Reiko to take desperate measures.

The Cloud Pavilion

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1429983302
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cloud Pavilion by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Cloud Pavilion written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2009-10-27 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Publishers Weekly calls Laura Joh Rowland's The Cloud Pavilion "One of the best mysteries of the year." In this next installment of the enthralling series, samurai hero Sano Ichiro must mend old family fissures, and bring a culprit who has disgraced his cousin to justice. Japan, 1701. A woman is brutally attacked within a bamboo prison as clouds swirl around her head. Meanwhile, at Edo Castle, samurai detective turned chamberlain Sano Ichiro is suspicious of his old rival, Yanagisawa, who has been oddly cooperative since returning from exile. But just as Yanagisawa's true motives begin to emerge, Sano's estranged uncle comes to him for help: His daughter has disappeared, and he begs Sano and his wife—who once suffered through the kidnapping of their own son—to find her before it is too late.

The Assassin's Touch

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780312992095
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis The Assassin's Touch by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Assassin's Touch written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2006-10-31 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DEADLY SECRET It is a lost art, passed down by the ancients in great secrecy: Dim-mak. It is death, by the lightest touch of a finger. Sano Ichiro, tenuous in the new regime as the shogun's second-in-command, does not have the luxury of skepticism?another senior official is dead, a fingerprint lightly glazed into his skin. DEADLY CRIMESano's wife Reiko has an investigation of her own: a beautiful, proud, and hopelessly poor woman has confessed to murdering her family. Yet the pieces do not fit, and as Reiko looks deeper into the woman's life as a hinin?a moral outcast, shunned by the world?inexplicable connections appear between her investigation and Sano's. DEADLY TOUCHAs Reiko's questions spiral her further into the squalor of life as a hinin, Sano and Hirata?his most loyal samurai?pursure their prey, uncovering an intricate tapestry of betrayal woven into the highest levels of the new regime. But they are no match for the one who has mastered dim-mak, a warrior who will strike all those who cross him or his path?even Reiko. "Sano may carry a sword and wear a kimono, but you'll immediately recognize him as an ancestor of Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade." --The Denver Post

The Perfumed Sleeve

Author : Laura Joh Rowland
Publisher : Minotaur Books
ISBN 13 : 1429908491
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis The Perfumed Sleeve by : Laura Joh Rowland

Download or read book The Perfumed Sleeve written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Perfumed Sleeve is the ninth book in Laura Joh Rowland's mystery series set in feudal Japan featuring Sano Ichiro. November 1694. The streets of Edo are erupting in violence as two factions struggle for control over the ruling Tokugawa regime. One is led by the shogun's cousin, Lord Matsudaira, and the other by the shogun's second-in-command, Chamberlain Yanagisawa. Each side pressures Sano Ichiro, the shogun's most honorable investigator, to join its ranks. When one of the shogun's most trusted advisers is found dead, Sano is forced to honor a posthumous request for a murder investigation. Senior Elder Makino believed that his death would be the result of assassination rather than natural causes. Although he and Sano were bitter enemies, Makino knew that the incorruptible Sano would be duty-bound to oblige his final wish. Under the watchful eyes and thinly veiled threats of both Lord Matsudaira and Chamberlain Yanagisawa, Sano moves with caution. Each is eager to implicate the other in Makino's death. Sano must discover whether the death was indeed murder, and if so, whether it was motivated by politics, love, or sex. The discovery of secret alliances, both romantic and military, further complicates matters. Sano's investigation has barely begun when violent death claims another of the shogun's favorites. With his wife, Reiko, working undercover, Sano and his chief retainer, Hirata, must not only investigate multiple deaths, but stem the tide of an impending civil war.