Book Review: The Samurai's Wife

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Samurai's Wife     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Laura Joh Rowland
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Private Investigator   Ethnic   Historical
Series: Sano # 5
St. Martin’s, Apr 2000, $23.95, 293 pp.

In 1691 Japan, Imperial Minister Konoe Bokuden searches for any noble threatening the rule of his Shogun. However, the minister must have gotten too close to uncovering a plot because, an unknown assailant, applying the extremely difficult to master and therefore rarely used spirit cry of kiai, kills Konoe.

The Shogun sends his Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, Sano Ichiro to make inquiries into the death of Konoe and to uncover what the minister learned. Sano knows he must succeed because the failure of his previous case not only dishonored him but also left the Shogun wondering whether to replace him. Over his initial objections and his fears how the Shogun will react, his new wife Reiko insists on helping him with this dangerous case. As the newlyweds get closer to the truth, their lives and that of the nobility is endangered, as civil war seems eminent unless they can expose the culprit.

THE SAMURAI’S WIFE, the fourth historical mystery starring the Samurai Detective Sano, continues in the tradition of providing readers with entertaining novels. The who-done-it is cleverly designed and the lead couple is a fascinating duo working as a team over Sano’s objections. However, what makes talented author Laura Joh Rowland’s novel a jubilation for historical fans is the resplendent descriptions of Feudal Japan that makes the audience feel they are visiting the island in the late seventeenth century.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner